Night Life

Was this book as good as Live Girls? No, but how could it be, Live Girls is a horror classic, not only one of my favorite vampire novels, but one of my favorite novels period. I really enjoyed catching up with these characters nearly 20 years later, even though some of them wouldn't survive. Ray Garton has built on the facinating world he created in Live Girls, and I hope he really continues writing novels set there. **spoiler** One complaint, I hated that he killed off Anya, she was a fantastic villain, and if he's going to continue writing in this world, she should have been a part of it. If a movie is ever made of these novels, Dita Von Teese should play Anya. **end spoiler** If you liked/loved Live Girls, then you should enjoy this novel, sure it suffers a bit in comparison to Live Girls, but it's still a very good read, and better than most other vampire novels out there.

Private investigators Karen Moffett and Gavin Keoph are linked by multi-millionaire horror novelist Martin Burgess. He wants them to investigate former New York Times reporter Walter Benedek under a pseudonym wrote an article about evil vampires for the New York Post. Mr. Burgess wants to know if they are real. Karen tracks Walter down to a small town in Upstate New York where he tells her vampires are real and he did battle with them. He gives them an introduction to nice vampires Casey and Davey, a married couple who drink blood from containers obtained through an underground network. The "brutals" believe mortals are meat to do with as they choose and they dine on anyone looking for them. They never forget a slight and when Davey, Casey and Gavin are in the home of a psychic vampire, Karen and Casey are kidnapped and placed into a hotel belonging to the most dangerous brutal of all. The place is a fortress but they are going to make a rescue attempt regardless knowing there will be casualties on both sides. NIGHT LIFE is the direct sequel to Bram Stoker nominated LIVE GIRLS and it is a fascinating modernization of the vampire legend. These vampires can stay awake in the day, wear sunblock to go outside, are allergic to garlic but religious objects don't bother them unlike in most vampiric novels. The characters are full blooded and the storyline is fast paced, action packed and totally terrifying. Ray Garton writes horror fiction at its most frightening best. Harriet Klausner

"Night Life" isn't quite as good as its predecessor, "Live Girls", but it's still great. I almost couldn't put it down. Usually that's an exaggeration. People say "I couldn't put it down", but they don't mean it literally. But with "Night Life" I read the entire book in one day. It was that gripping. I'm a big horror fan, but I'm not specifically interested in vampires. I'll read a vampire book by an author that interests me. Garton is just fantastic, so horror fans should read his books regardless of what they're about. I recommend "Live Girls", "The Loveliest Dead", and "Darklings" for starters. Don't read "Night Life" before "Live Girls." Also, don't read them back-to-back. They were written about 17 years apart and they are set just as far apart. Give yourself a breather between the two books.