14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"The Vampire Files" should be a TV series., May 14, 2003
It has the structure of episodic TV. Each novel has a whole adventure story in it involving new people we've never met before, their problems, and eventually a resolution of their problems.
But meanwhile, within each novel, Jack Fleming struggles to become a "better" vampire -- when he's not even sure what it means to be a vampire. He has problems that resolve at the end of the novel into even worse problems yet to come.
Charles Escott, Jack's human partner, struggles to keep his private investigating business going despite Chicago's gangsters and the depression.
Together, they are telling us a tale of two people assimilating trauma and overcoming it. All right, those of you who've read my vampire novels like Those of My Blood know that's what I write, so it's no surprise it's what I prefer to read.
Charles Escott has had his psyche reamed and re-arranged by events -- from the first book where a vampire walks into his office in dire need of blood, to his Dark Sleep where he must confront his past. And Jack wakes up murdered and now a vampire, and must confront the implications of his hypnotic powers and his bloodlust. Every time he thinks he has it all together and stabilized, another case comes along and he learns he really has no clue what being a vampire is all about.
In COLD STREETS - we go with Jack to a whole new level of bloodlust -- learning, feeling, and knowing what it means when a vampire has all his blood drained out of him. Is there anything he won't do to replenish himself? And how can he live with it afterwards? Will his human friends stand by him? Do they know how to administer psychiatric therapy to a nearly catatonic vampire?
It seems to me this series is very much like the TV Series Magnum P.I. -- with Jack Flemming as Magnum and Charles Escott as Higgins. Instead of being set in Hawaii, it's in 1930's Chicago, and instead of being a caretaker of a large house, Charles is the owner of the house and the private eye. But their relationship is very similar.
In COLD STREETS we've come to 1938. I keep wondering what's going to happen when the war comes to America. Will Jack enlist? Will they draft him? Will he dodge the draft and go overseas by himself on his own mission? After all, Charles' family and friends in England are going to need help.
I do hope P. N. Elrod keeps writing these novels. I'm dying to see what she plans to have happen next. I guarantee it won't be what I would write -- but I won't be able to put it down once I get my hands on the next book.
Live Long and Prosper,
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
...
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A First Rate Thriller With Wit And A Bit Of Bite!, April 18, 2003
Jack Fleming is back in this the ninth book in Pat Elrod's Vampire Files series. In case you haven't met Jack yet, he's a former newspaper reporter who now owns and runs a swank late 1930's nightclub (Lady Crymsyn) in Chicago. Oh, and he's also a vampire - but one to the good guys as opposed to a bloodsucker. (And though each book in the series can stand alone, if you really want to discover the where, why, how and when of the whole story, you'll have to go back and read the previous eight books. You'll enjoy them, too!)
When not acting as gracious host at Lady Crymsyn, Jack spends his evenings work with private agent (detective) Charles Escott and mixing it up with various Chicago mob bosses both friendly and un. This book opens with the solving of a kidnapping masterminded by character destined to become Jack's nemesis. Then it mixes in a pending mob war that could eliminate not just some of Jack's friends, but Jack himself.
Elrod is great with seeding her plot with twists, turns and all out action. And in addition to bringing Jack back to life, she also brings reality back to Chicago and the 1930's. Jack might be a vampire, but you're sure to love him by the time you finish this book. I'm addicted to the series, and I can hardly wait for each new book's arrival. (And I would love to get hold of the one book I missed that is currently out of print.) As always I give COLD STREETS my ***** rating, and I can't wait for her next one.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just when Jack thought things were going well........, January 17, 2003
This is the 11th book in the Vampire files series, and it is still immensely readable with great characters that are like old friends by now.
This book starts with Jack and Escott finishing a nasty kidnap case, that turns out to have unexpected consequences for them all. Jack's club "lady Crymysn" has turned into the neutral zone of the Chicago ganglands - however that doesn't stop gang trouble landing on Jack's doorstep at a very inconvenient time.
This is a well told story with twists and turns throughout that keep your attention riveted, though at times you do feel sorry for Jack given the sheer amount of times the poor man has been shot, tortured and staked at various points throughout these books.
While this novel can be read as a stand alone, to get the most out of it you should read all the series in order. This is an evolving series, where the characters change and the events in one novel can have consequences in another.
I'm already looking forward to the next book in this series as it's such great fun following the adventures of Jack Fleming and his friends.
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