Customer Reviews

The Cowboy and the Vampire: A Darkly Romantic Mystery

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I know that they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but I couldn't help it! After reading the great reviews I knew this was a must read, and I wasn't wrong! I was unable to put the book down~ and have passed it around to my friends who also love it! A much needed thankyou goes to the authors! I look forward to reading future books by you!

I picked up this nifty book and read it on a San Francisco -- Dulles flight. It kept my total attention and interest even during a number of real bumpy "seat belts on" intervals.

The characters grow on you, especially cowboy Tucker and my favorite, Lenny -- here's a guy, a semi-hermit in Montana (I know a couple of real life Lenny's living in less remote areas) who's got a world of hands-on engineering talents (calling Detroit) but who keeps them hidden under a barrel, so to speak. There's a lot of vampire interest everywhere and this book brings a new dimension. It's a first class read, near the top of the heap for action novels -- and you don't have to be a vampire addict to enjoy it.

This book was lying around my house and I picked it up one day and read the back cover. I was sold immediately. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down, I stayed up late reading and got up early to finish it. The authors do a great job of making an exciting vampire story that you can relate to. Read this book, it is awesome!

Will Rogers meets Bram Stoker meets modern-day Wonder Woman and more! Reading this book was like eating a bar of dark chocolate: you gobble it up but then you're sorry you finished it because you 're greedy for more. The characters are vividly drawn, especially Tucker the Cowboy and his "sidekicks" Lenny and Dad, and I appreciated the strong women characters, Lizzie and Elita. The interplay of comedy and suspense, of Vampire history and modern technology, and ultimately, of good versus evil, makes this a great read. This is one I will recommend to friends.

Finally the genre has been reinvented! And it's about time!!! I have always been a fan of vampire novels, but have grown bored with the genre in recent years because it seems like everything being published is sort of a vampire meets 16 candles plot. Not Cowboy and the vampire. This is more Vampire meets TNT (with a touch of Raising Arizona ish humor) It explodes with drama, passion and adventure. Make no mistake, there is plenty of romance in Cowboy and the Vampire for those who like their dark erotica, but I was primarily drawn to the page turning, "ass-kicking" angle of this plot as told from the darkly funny Cowboy's point-of-view. This vampire novel is unlike any other. On a side note, there were moments when I was reminded of the classic video game Duke Nuke `Em and was thinking how cool it would be to take control of the cowboy and hunt down vampires while searching for the princess. Very cool concept here. I hope there is a part 2!!

I love the unique vampire history and culture that this book offers. It's an adventure that takes us over back roads and the underbelly of the city. I'd definitely go see it on the big screen.

A great book for the lonely flight home! I can see why this book has its own cult following from its original release. It was fast paced and smartly written. I cant wait till Hays and McFall write their next book.

I haven't read much fiction in a long, long, time, let alone Vampire fiction...(first time for me in this format). But having worked side by side with one of the authors of this book and getting to know him, I had to read he and his wife's story. (Thanks again Clark and Kathleen for your signed copy)

Just finished it no less than ten minutes ago and like I promised, here is my review. First though I must say this was a thoroughly enjoyable read. With the resurgence of Vampire novella popularity, and the Twilight books/ movies that seemed to have taken hold within the past few years, it seems apropos that this book first published ten years ago should become a new hit for the Vampire story crowd. The entire time I was reading it, I was picturing the characters in my head and the settings that they were in etc. Basically like a mini-movie going on in my brain. For me, that is a good sign with what I am reading. The characters are unique, yet familiar. Pop culture figures and world history brought to life in a new way.

This book could easily be turned into a movie, or maybe at least a graphic novel. The visuals it gave me in my head the entire time pretty much begs for it. Humor, check. Guns, check. Action, check. A little romance for the ladies, check. What are you waiting for? I reckon ya give it a read, pardner.

I never watched the soaps, but for Dark Shadows. I read Dracula and The Historian and Sookie and Bella. And, when Buffy, The Vampire Slayer came out - I was a devotee of both the movie and then the series.

On the cowboy side, I learned to ride a horse by watching Roy Rogers and Dale Evans! And I lived in the mountains out west for a couple years and have left a bit of my heart in the high arid country of snow-covered peaks and whispering pines.

Enter, Clark Hays' and Kathleen McFall's The Cowboy and the Vampire and I now add a cowboy and vampire category. I am a fan.

The authors use their backgrounds to give voice to the book's characters. Hays grew up on a ranch in Montana and McFall is a city girl from DC. With tongue in cheek humor and homespun wisdom, McFall and Hays help Tucker and Lizzie learn about the world of vampires and the grayness that infuses the often black and white world.

Main character Lizzie, big city reporter, is unknowingly from a long-line of vampires. She is destined, through the manipulations of Julius, evil vampire, to be their Queen. Tucker, the subject of an article of Lizzie's on The Last Cowboy, is a citizen of Lonepine, Wyoming. Lizzie and Tucker make the big connection, and fall in love -before Lizzie's next writing assignment on vampires.

After leaving Tucker to return to New York, Lizzie faces her vampire article academically, "Outside of Dracula, most historical characters fitting the Vampire bill were creations of frightened pre-literate societies, since those bloodthirsty Vampires could handily explain away contagious diseases..."

When Lizzie returns to Wyoming unexpectedly, she tells Tucker that she wasn't certain how long she would stay. His is the voice of pragmatism. "Hell, stay as long as you like," my mouth said, but all the while my mind was thinking just how long it had been since I'd had a woman underfoot and despite the severity of her situation, how it might interfere with this illustrious single life I'd been living....can't watch TV with a woman wanting to talk all the time."

McFall and Hays' secondary characters offer additional offbeat interplay. When a beat up Tucker goes to his father's house to enlist his dad's help after Julius kidnaps Lizzie, Dad shows his own pragmatism. `We gotta fix you up first, boy. Can't fight no Vampires all busted up. I'm gonna call the vet.'"

I enjoyed this book; the quirky characters, the new mythology of vampires, and the focus upon the uncertainty between evil and good. Especially appealing to me were the personalities brought out through behavior of Tucker's dog, Rex, and horse, Snort. No wonder Tucker's dad turned to the vet for help. With family support like that, how can a Cowboy in love go wrong? (Originally written for the Luxury Reading website.)

Embark on Tucker and Lizzie's journey into the dark world of vampires, secret ancient heritage, and their fight to save humanity, with the help of a cowboy and his posse, which includes his peculiar father, weapon/conspiracy-savvy friend, and his faithful, canine companion, Rex.

What I enjoyed most about The Cowboy and the Vampire was the balance of genre--romance, mystery, horror, and comedy, all wrapped up in a delightful adventure that keeps the pages turning.

Lizzie and Tucker fall in love unexpectedly after she literally crashes in on his world, but his cowboy lifestyle and her city life bring them at odds, though only in the beginning--for love teaches them soon that is has no boundaries, even when your lover grows fangs.

After Lizzie, a reporter, interviews a vampire named Julius, and witnesses a gruesome turning of people, she flees to Tucker, unknowing that Julius' goal is to capture and potentially kill her. And Lizzie is also unaware, much to Tucker's dismay, that she is at the heart of a 2,000 year-old legend that could ultimately change the structure of good and evil forever.

Tucker and his posse team up with another vampire, Lazarus, to save Lizzie and themselves from Julius' wrath. Who will live or die becomes a suspenseful journey that will have you cheering to the end.

I found the pacing of this novel very smooth, as authors McFall and Hayes pinpoint key plots and emotional drama in a witty, rich language that balances horror, romance, and comedy. Though Julius' character fit the classic vampire role, other characters, such as Lazarus, Tucker, Elita, Lenny, and Tucker's animals were as real as you and me. The dialogue Tucker has with his animals is hilarious: (What he meant to say was "Goddamn I'm glad you're alive," but what came out was "What the hell took you so long?") Some of this humor also bleeds over into his relationship with Lizzie, which sets up great character development between the two as they get to know each other better. I also enjoyed the surprising twists layered through the scenes, because they were not only logical, but also added conflict, and progressed the plot well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book--it is sexy, dark, witty, and nothing less. I gave it five stars for good writing, thorough attention to details and character development, originality, pacing, and a perfect balance of genres.