Book five of the Vampire Babylon series finds the Los Angeles based team of vampire hunters led by Costin, a soul traveler now trapped in Jonah’s body, still in England trying to locate the illusive Underground. The story picks up immediately after A Drop of Red when the team attacked the Queenshill School. The schoolgirl vampires and their demanding matron Mrs. Jones have gone into hiding during which time; the downtrodden Della has shaken things up by asserting her dominance. Thanks in part to some interference by a custodes unhappy with Wolfie, leader of the local vampires; Della is gaining the strength and insight necessary to see Mrs. Jones and Wolfie for the predators they are.
Dawn is caught up in a turmoil of angst and emotional upheavals that seem out of character with the kick butt, no holds barred warrior woman readers have come to expect. Neither Dawn nor Costin are able to cope with the fallout from an earlier, life or death decision that rendered him a vampire, trapped in Jonah’s body and unable to make full use of his powers. Caught up with her changing abilities, Dawn begins drawing upon the tempting strength of the “darkness” in her fight against vampires but is terrified of what it can lead to.
Della is the star of this urban fantasy as she comes to terms with the consequences of Wolfie’s excesses and seeks to protect the other schoolgirl vampires as they face attacks from without and within. Dawn’s character falters under all the emotional baggage and her newly found power, which is unfortunate. Like the romantic triangle between Dawn’s father, ex-wife and a ghost, Dawn’s doomed attraction to Costin over complicates what could have been a great original story.
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