Description….
Waking to a macabre world filled with thirst, Danny Roberts finds himself a thrall to a vampire calling herself Mistress, compelled to bend to her every whim. A member of an organization called the Shepherds, Mistress keeps humanity safe from wolves, those who would harm the innocent and threaten the ancient peace between humans and Vampires. But all is not what it seems. Change is coming, dark forces stir in the corners of reality, and time is growing short. Will Danny be able to overcome his own weakness and embrace his destiny or succumb to the power lurking in the shadows?
Danny is now a vampire’s slave (known as a thrall) but not just any thrall, Danny seems to have retained his own mind, and that’s never been heard of before. So his “mistress” can keep him and he can help her chase down “Wolves” He doesn’t remember how he was “turned”, but he can’t be around people, and certainly not his friend and partner Sophia. Sophia is his detective partner, she’s always worried about him, but now he’s a vampire he can’t associate with her, he needs to disappear…..
Mistress is a head Shepherd, it’s a vampire council that monitor the humans, (Sheep) and when the Wolves (killer humans) start killing off the humans (a vampire can’t have his food source killed off, they have to eat) then the vampires call for the Wolf Hunters.
Mistress is going to train Danny to be her apprentice.
There is a lot of conflicting emotions coming from Mistress, she thinks the vampires are superior. And reading all her abilities I have to agree, but spending time with Danny, you see her softening towards him. I think she admires him, she also treats him like a child and talks to him like a mother would her son.
After dispatching the latest serial killer, Mistress and Danny are then dispatched to L.A. chasing down this killer is proving a little more tricker.
Danny also has learn to harness his “Will”, (the power to change and control his body, his appearance and to influence others) that’s only one of his gifts. He also learns he can tolerate sunshine, the more he drinks, the more he can tolerate. But there is also a side to the blood taken, you can’t kill a “sheep” or the blood can have bad repercussions!
This book is more gothic horror than romance. And a really good murder/mystery thrown in. There is something else going on in the background, can Danny and Mistress figure it out? I must admit it, I got drawn in and that’s where I stayed till I finished. The suspense is there, the action is thrown at you, and if I could I would have hid behind my fingers at some of the scenes.
This would make an excellent film. And one I’d go and watch. The interaction between Mistress and Danny felt a little stilted at first, then it flowed beautifully. Her sarcastic barbs thrown at Danny had to make me both chuckle and cringe for him. Watching him grow into his new role was fascinating. In fact at one point I thought he would outgrow his mistress.
Loved the interaction with the librarian Libby, she was quick, inquisitive and a font of knowledge.
I read a lot of vampire literature, from Dracula to sparkly, Master to victim, hero and villain. But this was unlike anything I’ve read before. A new concept to an old genre.
I’d happily recommend this book to anyone that fancies a book with “bite”
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