Book Review: Ghost Town

By Sandy Amazeen Oct 24, 2010, 21:16 GMT

Get ready for "non-stop vampire action" (Darque Reviews) in the latest Morganville Vampire novel from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine. While developing a new system to maintain Morganville\'s defenses, student Claire Danvers discovers a way to amplify vampire mental powers. Through this, she\'s able to re-establish the field around this vampire-infested Texas college town that protects it from outsiders. But the new upgrades have an ...more

Book nine of the popular Morganville Vampire series is the first to be published in hardcover and appropriately enough, features a strong, straightforward storyline featuring the residents of the Glass House facing a different kind of antagonist. At a rave gone terribly wrong, Claire Danvers kills a vampire while trying to protect fellow humans from a rampage. While that action saved lives including her own, Claire must face punishment Morganville style. Sentenced to work nonstop, no sitting, sleeping or anything besides working on the town’s broken security system, Claire guts her way through and completes the task set before her. Unfortunately, the resulting machine is calibrated using Claire’s employer’s brain, which even by Morganville standards is hardly a poster child for sanity.

Within days, humans and vampires alike begin suffering memory lapses that erase three years of their lives. While traumatic for humans, for the vampire population such a breach results in catastrophe. Few residents believe her when Claire points the blame at the machine and there are even fewer who remember enough to be able to assist in trying to shut it off. The clock is ticking and Claire must find a way to orchestrate a daring break-in before she succumbs to the machine’s effects.

Caine continues to come up with interesting twists and turns to her young adult series that appeals to older readers as well. The basic premise of a closed community of humans ruled by vampires works, due in part to a solid history and strongly drawn characters, especially Claire and her housemates. Edgy politics, petty bickering and a sense of family add to the plot with a sad if satisfactory conclusion that will leave readers wondering how long before something else goes terribly wrong in Morganville.

Rachel Caine's upcoming tour schedule is listed below:

October 26th: Murder By the Book at 6:30 PM
2342 Bissonnet St.
Houston, TX 77005

October 27th: Mystery Bookstore at 7:30 PM
1036-C Broxton Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024

October 28th: Books, Inc. at 7:00 PM
Not Your Mother's Book Club
Town & Country Village
855 El Camino Real #74
Palo Alto, CA 94301

October 29th: Powell's (Cedar Hills Crossing) at 7:00 PM
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
Beaverton, OR 97005

October 30th: Third Place Books at 6:30 PM
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

October 31st: Uncle Hugo’s at 4:00 PM
2864 Chicago Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55407

November 1st: Anderson’s Book Shop at 7:00 PM
5112 Main Street
Downer’s Grove, IL 60515-4601

November 2nd: Borders at 6:00 PM
Exton Square Mall
298 Exton Square
Exton, PA 19341

November 4th: Barnes & Noble at 6:00 PM
*With Heather Brewer, author of the Vladimir Tod series!
1442 Turner-McCall Blvd
Rome, GA 30161

November 6th: Barnes & Noble at 2:00 PM
1430 Plaza Place
Southlake, TX 76092

November 20th: Borders at 2:00 PM
2190 N. Rainbow Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89108