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“And all around them, the bestiality of the night rises on tenebrous wings. The vampire’s time has come.��

Spook-tacular, Fang-tastic and 4 ‘bloodthirsty�� stars for a book by an author that needs no introduction, and this time delivers a vampire-ology story about a town under siege from a growing number of vampires in Jeru-salem’s Lot.

Chilling, haunting and horrifyingly fang-tastic �� once it got going!!! and my first addition to my spooky month reading list.

The Plot

With the image of Marsten House still haunting his mind, Ben Mears returns to his home town to finally put the ghosts of his childhood to rest, by writing a book about this seemingly haunted house.

“The town kept its secrets, and the Marsten House brooded over it like a ruined king.��

However, Ben’s arrival coincides with the disappearance of more of the town’s folk �� but only slowly and with no connection which helps supress the towns hysteria and suspicion, and creates that perfect hunting atmosphere. Add to this, Marsten House finds itself a new owner. The strange and reclusive Straker who brings his own brand of mystery and menace, but it is the investigation, discovery and hunt for the vampires that delivers the most in suspense, thrills, and chills.

With Susan, his new love and former college student, and Matt (the schoolteacher), all three embark on this classic hunt for answers and ultimately the vampires. Although not an easy task because this breed, unlike other vampire stories, can operate in daylight which added to the ever-present sense of doom and evil.

Review and Comments

We had a lot of peripheral characters in this story, which was probably needed for the numbers the vampires eventually kill off �� a blood thirsty lot!!! Other than that, the characters did not add much to the story. It was this and the very slow pace at the start that brought this down to a 4 star read. However, the rest of the book was spook-tacular.

The pacing in the rest of the novel was just right, which helped create the perfect atmosphere and tone for this spine-chilling book. The evil was accretive, gradual, and penetrating and the events were so well articulated and put together, that on occasions I found myself at the edge of my seat or doing my Meerkat impersonation with every noise around me. Ok, horror is not my thing for a reason.

I do love authors who dare to kill off some of the main characters, instead of playing safe. So, in all a wonderful and compelling book for Halloween month, a timeless, eerie, and creepy classic and a recommendation to anyone who enjoys a bit of yearly fright or horror stories in general.

Lingering, ominous, and spine chilling without the gore.

“If a fear cannot be articulated, it can’t be conquered.��

Ok I confess my fear - this scared the pants of me, in some chapters - now I’ve conquered. Sorted!!!