It is no secret that I tend to have a negative reaction when presented with works of vampire fiction. All the ideas surrounding vampires seem to have been done to death. (Random House has sent me a lot of vampires books in the past, most of which I simply passed on, although their Joe Pitt series did keep my attention. However, that is not the subject of this review.)
23 HOURS is the forth book in the Laura Caxton series by David Wellington. I never have read the first three books, but the story here stands alone with enough exposition of action from previous books to help the reader keep up. Apparently, Laura was once part of a special police unit in Pennsylvania that specialized in hunting vampires. She has killed a vampire informant which has landed her in prison, where this book takes place.
Laura is a tough woman. She is a lesbian and her girlfriend, Clara, who also had been a co-worker, is saddened that her lover is in jail. Clara knows that Laura will be gone for a while and makes a trip to the prison to break it off with Laura. They converse, but Clara fails to tell Laura that the relationship is over. What neither of them knows is that the prison warden has made a deal with Laura’s arch nemesis, Justinia Malvern, the world’s oldest living vampire. Malvern always has been the one that got away, and Laura and she have been battling it out for years. This time Malvern has Laura right where she wants her: Behind bars. Malvern is weak and old, but the warden wants to become a vampire. To that end, the warden agrees to shut down the prison, take Clara hostage and restore Malvern’s health by bringing her prisoners to feed on, as well as forcing the other prisoners to donate their blood. Malvern turns the majority of the prison’s corrections officers into her half-dead slaves and sends them to kill anyone who gets in their way and to bring Laura from her cell to see Malvern. Laura is having none of that and, along with her cell mate Gert, fights her way into the prison’s loading dock area to plan an escape. Before she can escape, Laura sees Malvern on a video monitor next to Clara holding a sign that reads, “23 hours,” the amount of time Laura has to rescue Clara.
23 HOURS is an enjoyable read. It is full of a lot of suspenseful chapters, packed with action and gore. It is one of those books that has a typical vampire storyline, but with some substance to it and a plot that really moves. I have not bothered to finish many of the vampire books I have read in the past because I found their droning dialogue and obligatory overdone eroticism deathly boring. 23 HOURS avoids those weaknesses. It is a book that keeps the reader going from page to page with suspense and interesting characters.
David Wellngton obviously has put together a good series of books with protagonist Laura Caxton. The fact that she is gay is not a big deal. It does not feel as if Wellington is trying to create the first lesbian vampire hunter. Laura’s lesbianism actually gives her character more substance and shows that this tough girl actually has a heart. 23 HOURS is a great read, although it does have certain elements that are not original as it relates to the vampire genre. It does tend to get predictable at times, but for a big fan of the vampire genre who has been looking for something action-packed to read, this book is well worth picking up. I am sure the rest of the series, which includes the titles 13 BULLETS, Vampire ZERO and 99 COFFINS are worth the buy if you want to start from the beginning.
-Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
