In the Blood

In the Blood
by Rick R Reed

In the Blood
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Book Summary Information

Author: Rick R Reed
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09-10
ISBN: 1932300902
Number of pages: 204
Publisher: Quest

Book Reviews of In the Blood

Book Review: New dark spins
Summary: 4 Stars

Gritty, wrenching, edgy, and engrossing, Reed's dark and--dare I say, Shakespearean--take on vampires and the human condition is quite a read. All the players here are lost souls, from the isolated, haunted trio of vampires/addicts who feast on the blood AND flesh of their victims, to the artist Elise who prostitutes herself to pay the bills. In a chance meeting, Elise brings one of the vampires to her apartment as a trick but he's so captivated by her disturbing and distressing artwork that he spares her. One of the other vampires, Maria, is also struck by Elise's art and Elise herself. Perhaps seeking something other than the shadowy and gore-ridden existence she and her two companions have created, she pursues Elise as something other than victim, perhaps a glimmer of her human past aching for some kind of fulfillment beyond mere subsistence.

But Elise knows too much, and she endangers the vampires, so a decision must be made. It is, but perhaps not the one the reader anticipates.

Reed also juxtaposes 1950s New York with present-day Chicago, giving readers a glimpse into the character of the third vampire, who lost his ability to create art when he was made vampiric. He leads a half-life as a vampire, divorced from his art and creative soul. Elise leads a half-life as a human, connected only to her art, any connections she makes with humans those made in the spirit of business, the physical transaction of sex nothing more than a means to a financial end. For a moment, she finds a human connection ironically in the form of a vampire, but it's tinged with desperation and an almost frenetic sense of need.

Each of the 4 main characters is deeply flawed but Reed's skill gives them each something with which a reader can empathize, so that redemption makes sense within the context he's created here. Off the beaten vampire path, "In the Blood" will stay with you long after you finish that last sentence.

Summary of In the Blood

What Would You Give Up for Immortal Life and Love?

By day, Elise draws and paints, spilling out the horrific visions of her tortured mind. By night, she walks the streets, selling her body to the highest bidder.

And then they come into her life: a trio of impossibly beautiful vampires: Terence, Maria, and Edward. When they encounter Elise, they set an explosive triangle in motion. Terence wants to drain her blood. Maria just wants Elise . . . as lover and partner through eternity. And Edward, the most recently-converted, wants to prevent her from making the same mistake he made as a young abstract expressionist artist in 1950s Greenwich Village: sacrificing his artistic vision for immortal life. He is the only one of them still human enough to realize what an unholy trade this is.

In the Blood is a novel that will grip you in a vise of suspense that won't let go, forcing you to stay up long past midnight, turning page after page, until the very last moment, when a surprising turn of events changes everything and demonstrates, truly, what love and sacrifice are all about.

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