By: Cherie Priest
This is evidently the first in a brand new series and I am already a little too eager for the next installment. This book was so much fun, I couldn't put it down! Raylene is such a likable kind of vampire and I could feel myself relating to her on more than one level. In most urban fantasy, the vampires might have one or two flaws, but are overall considered to be perfect or near perfect. Raylene has so many (minor) flaws that I sometimes temporarily forgot she was a vampire - she seemed so human. She has a moderate case of OCD, is a bit paranoid (and freely admits this!) and is (per her own words) on her way to Crazy Town. What's not to like about that kind of vampire?! She also has a soft spot for children, even if she won't admit it, as she lets two homeless siblings squat in one of her empty warehouses AND provides them with money, a disposable cell phone and a key to the mailbox (so she can send them money and replacement cell phones while she's out of town) and let's not forget her kickin' sense of humor. Mix all these attributes together and you've got one pretty hip vamp.
Raylene is hired by the blind vampire Ian to retrieve some medical paperwork that details what was done to him to cause him to go blind. This sounds like a fairly easy job and Raylene takes an immediate interest in this case because, to be honest, it scares her. What kind of things can people do to a vampire to make him go blind? Vamps are supposed to be fast healing creatures and should not be able to go blind. Well, Raylene takes the case and soon finds herself being hunted down at every turn. Obviously, there is somebody out there who either 1)wants this paperwork for himself or 2)wants to keep Raylene from getting her hands on it or 3)both of the above. Raylene soon meets up with one sexy ex-Navy Seal drag queen who also has a personal interest in this case. Together they go on the road to try to track down Ian's medical paperwork.
I couldn't put this book down! This is the first of Ms. Priest's work that I've read and I am so impressed (I found myself laughing out loud frequently while reading this book!) that I am planning on looking into some of her previous work. I donate the majority of my books to the library when I am done with them, simply because I don't have enough space to keep every single book I buy, but this particular book has earned a permanent spot on my bookshelf, as I know I will be rereading it in the near future.
