In the Blood

Rick R. Reed
Quest Books (2007)
ISBN 9781932300901 
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (9/07)

Elise, once a good Jewish girl from Ohio, is now an artist by day and a hooker by night.  She has to prostitute herself to make ends meet.  Creating her art is her passion, however, because it reveals so much of the darkness in her soul, she is not able to share this much of herself with the world, so she is not marketing her work.  Elise’s lifestyle connects her with the scum of the earth.  She frequently finds herself in danger.  She despairs over this; however, she is unwilling to dig herself out. 

When she encounters sexy, enigmatic Terrence, she is intrigued.  She does not know that he is a vampire.  He introduces her to Maria and Edward.  Maria falls in love with her.  Terence feels jealous.  Edward’s story is told alongside Elise’s.  He was also an artist before Terence turned him in 1954.  Edward lost so much of himself when he was turned, he regrets that it happened.  He does not want Elise to make the same mistake.  When Elise finds out what they are, she is intrigued and scared.  The vampire trio commits brutal attacks on their victims. 

As Elise is sucked into their world, she finds a great deal of inspiration for her dark art. Maria tries to talk her into joining them with their immortality.  Terence and Edward do not want this.  Edward warns her about what it will be like to spend eternity having sacrificed her talent.  Elise life becomes endangered when she regrets them.  She has to find a way out.

“In the Blood,” is a gripping, brutal vampire tale.  The author, Rick R. Reed does an incredible job of painting the story with his words.  You feel like you are watching everything instead of reading the words.  The vampires are dark and brutal. In spite of their innate sensuality, they do not have very many redeeming qualities.  Edward is truly a tortured artist.  He was literally suckered into being a vampire by his feelings for Terrence.  He has to spend eternity regretting his decision.  As you read the story, you hope that Elise will hang on to her humanity and try to find a way out.  You don’t want her to go back to her old life; you want her to grow from what she has learned and move on.  This is an excellent story for vampire fans.  Be prepared to squirm in your seat at the brutality of these creatures.

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