The book is set in the town of Deadhart Alaska. There's also a Colony of vampyrs further out. When a teen boy is found with his throat ripped out, it seem pretty easy to know who is responsible - right? But the law needs to be followed as vampyrs are a protected species.
Detective Barbara Atkins is called in as she is also a specialist in vampyr killings. She is a the perfect protagonist - she's older, heavier and is often discounted by someone's initial assessment of her - which actually works for her. She's intelligent, reads people well and doesn't give up easily.
There's a large cast of supporting characters. The one thing that all have in common is that they all lie
- about the past and the present. Barbara has to deduce who the killer is, and do it before anyone else dies - including the vampyrs. Tudor has created her own set of traits, abilities and more for the vampyrs. (Hint - don't bother buying any garlic.)
The melding of a murder case alongside with the race issues kept me interested from first page to last. There's also a number of pages that are the inner dialogue of an unnamed captive. We have no idea who she is and when this is happening. I really like it when I don't know what's going to happen on the next page and the next chapter etc. I like being kept on the edge of my seat. Kudos to C.J. Tudor - that last page is perfect!
See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Gathering. Gentle readers, there are some triggers in this book.
2 comments:
Hmmm...this is a bit different for C.J. Tudor, right? I'm curious, but I've got a lot of books waiting right now. Maybe in the fall....
Hmm - a little darker maybe.
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