Review - Vampire Blood

Vampire Blood

Kathryn Meyer Griffith

I first read Human No Longer which was the second book. Vampire Blood was the first and I must say I do wish I read it first. That most likely comes from my OCD more than anything. I think both books could be read as stand alones. 

Read Review HERE

In Human No Longer we read the story of a woman who lost her husband in a vicious attack which she barely survived. She decides to move back to her childhood home with her two children. As days go by we learn that Jenny is being changed into a vampire. The book then is her story of fighting the change and also her battle with vampires who are looking for her.

In Vampire Blood we have the story of Jenny, divorced and living in a trailer on her father's property. She is helping her dad renovate a friends' home when the owners are suddenly missing. Jenny learns they are not the only ones missing. Several people have been reported missing lately. Next door to her brothers' restaurant is an old closed theater. Jenny has good memories of going there with her first husband, Jeff. She notices that someone is planning to open it again. She and her father get the job of renovating it. But just who are the owners of the movie theater? Why do they want to open it? What happened to the missing people? Will Jenny be able to do anything to help? Will Jenny and her family survive?

I enjoyed this story. It kept me reading late into the night. The writing was very good. The story intriguing. I was reading a horror mystery with a bit of romance tossed in. I loved that. A confession...I was reading it downstairs and as it was very late needed to go upstairs to bed. As I was reading this on my Kindle Fire I had enough light to be able to walk around, so I was turning off lights without turning any on. I walked halfway up the stairs, still reading, when I glanced up. OMG! There were no lights on. It was completely dark. I stood frozen on the stairs. Light switches were located in the dark at the bottom of the stairs or at the top. I know it was completely irrational but I could not figure out which light switch would be safer. Finally, I used the kindle light to shine in front of me until I reached a light switch. Hahaha. That will teach me to read scary stories while walking around in the dark. Okay don't leave me alone in this. Have you done this? Have you read a book that had you afraid of the dark, even for a moment? Which ones? 

There was one difference between the books that bothered me. In Vampire Blood, Jenny has a grown daughter and grandchild. Samantha was mentioned often and both Jenny and Jeff have a desire to have a good relationship with her. They want to know their grandchild. At the end of the book they are reunited. Yet in Human No Longer they play no part. I wonder what has happened to them. I hope in the next book that mystery is solved. 

I am really enjoying Kathryn Meyer Griffith's writing. She has the ability to draw you into the story. She writes characters who become friends. Both are the signs of an experienced writer who cares about what they are writing. She has written a number of books that I find intriguing. You can read more about her on my blog post Human No Longer. Her book covers can also be found there. 

It is hard to choose my next read from her but I think it will be Don't Look Back, Agnes. This book has been calling my name since I read Human No Longer. 

Book description:

Don't Look Back Agnes--Agnes Michaels is coming home. Home to her childhood town of Fairfield and the house her father lovingly built for her mother. A house surrounded by the woods where Agnes’ two childhood friends and her boyfriend, Tyler, were all murdered twenty summers ago when she was just seventeen. She was the only one who escaped, but not without emotional and physical scars. Agnes knows that the woods and the evil entity that lives in it have been waiting for her all these years but she has no choice but to return to Fairfield and her mother’s house when her mother falls very ill and needs her care. Agnes can no longer avoid her destiny. Because the killings have begun again and she’s the only one who can stop them. And with the help of a new friend and Tyler’s ghost, she’ll defeat the evil and save another child’s life.

A second short story included is In This House.  Bernard and Althea have lived their whole lives in the neighborhood, in the same house and have grown old there. But Deer Run’s lead smelter plant has been buying out the houses around them because of lead contamination fears and now the lots are empty weeds and only their house remains. Their neighbors are gone. They’re alone. Althea’s been sick and Bernard cares for her even as he remembers how lovely she once was, all the friends they once had and all the good times they enjoyed when they were young. He loves her and he’ll never leave her. They’ll never leave their home. But they can’t stop time and they’re only waiting for their lonely daughter, Jenny, to make one last visit so they can say goodbye to her and introduce her to the man they know she’s meant to be with…then they can leave this earth happy.

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