Dying Bites: The Bloodhound Files and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading Dying Bites: The Bloodhound Files on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Dying Bites (The Bloodhound Files, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

DD Barant
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)

List Price: $6.99
Price: $6.29 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $0.70 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 10 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Wednesday, May 29? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $5.98  
Mass Market Paperback, Bargain Price $2.80  
Mass Market Paperback, June 30, 2009 $6.29  
Audible Audio Edition, Unabridged $23.95 or Free with Audible 30-day free trial
Summer Reading
Summer Reading
Browse the best books of summer including blockbusters, beach reads, and editors' picks in our Summer Reading Store.

Book Description

June 30, 2009

DD Barant launches The Bloodhound Files with Dying Bites—a "fresh and original take on urban fantasy" (Romantic Times) with a heroine who's "remarkable, strong-willed and smart" (Publishers Weekly).

Her job description is the "tracking and apprehension of mentally-fractured killers." What this really means in FBI profiler Jace Valchek's brave new world-one in which only one percent of the population is human is that a woman's work is never done. And real is getting stranger every day…

Jace has been ripped from her reality by David Cassius, the vampire head of the NSA. He knows that she's the best there in the business, and David needs her help in solving a series of gruesome murders of vampires and werewolves. David's world—one that also includes lycanthropes and golems—is one with little knowledge of mental illness. An insane serial killer is a threat the NSA has no experience with. But Jace does. Stranded in a reality where Bela Lugosi is a bigger box office draw than Bruce Willis and every full moon is Mardi Gras, Jace must now hunt down a fellow human before he brings the entire planet to the brink of madness. Or she may never see her own world again…


Frequently Bought Together

Dying Bites (The Bloodhound Files, Book 1) + Death Blows (The Bloodhound Files, Book 2) + Killing Rocks (The Bloodhound Files, Book 3)
Price for all three: $20.67

Buy the selected items together


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This engrossing debut adds another captivating protagonist to the urban fantasy ranks. FBI profiler Jace Valchek is abruptly yanked into a parallel universe where vampires, werewolves and golems are 99% of the population. The supernatural beings aren't affected by mental or physical disease, so they're baffled by the emergence of a crazed human killer. Vampire NSA chief David Cassius hopes Jace, who has special skills in dealing with mentally deranged criminals, can catch the Impaler. Until she succeeds, he won't let her go back home. As Jace investigates the Free Human Resistance, a terrorist group, she starts to wonder which side she wants to be on. Barant's well-developed world offers intriguing enhancements to mythology and history. Jace is remarkable, strong-willed and smart, and she sets an unstoppable pace. Look for the Bloodhound Files to go far. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Snappy writing, a page-turning story and fresh world-building make Dying Bites a satisfying meal of a book."—Kelley Armstrong, New York Times bestseller of Living with the Dead

"Dying Bites is wacky, unpredictable, fresh and amazing.  I would kill to write as well as DD Barant. Seriously."--Nancy Holder, author of Pretty Little Devils

 

"Barant’s well-developed world offers intriguing enhancements to mythology and history. Jace is remarkable, strong-willed and smart, and she sets an unstoppable pace. Look for the Bloodhound Files to go far." -Publisher's Weekly
 
"Surviving in this unique alternate reality will take a heroine with plenty of guts, moxie and a sense of the absurd.  This fresh and original take on urban fantasy follows the first-person exploits of an FBI profiler literally yanked out of her world.  Huge kudos to Barant for spicing things up with a story that expertly integrates detective work, kick-butt action and a wacky sense of humor.  Make sure you get in early on the outstanding new Bloodhound Files series."--Romantic Times

 

 


Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 311 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (June 30, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312942583
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312942588
  • Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
SYNOPSIS:
Jace Valchek is a very good profiler for the FBI in St. Louis and she has worked very hard to earn her top-notch reputation. Suddenly her entire world is turned upside down when she finds that she has been moved by magic into a parallel universe and that no amount of clicking her heels together will get her back to Kansas. At least, not the Kansas she knows.

OPINION:
Wow, Oh Wow! Just fasten your seat belt and hang on tight for this fantasy excursion into another world altogether. Jace is pulled without any warning whatsoever into a parallel universe because there is a serial killer on the loose and the NSA in that world needs the profiling skills Jace has to help them catch their killer before another murder takes place. Now, Jace is good at her job but she has never faced situations like these before. To begin with let's just take into account the makeup of the population she is now in. The percentages are: 37% vampire, 43% lycanthrope, 9% golem and 1% human. Uh-oh! And, the NSA boss Jace is working with, David Cassius, assures her that the serial killer is not only human, but that this particular human is insane. These ritual killing victims are vampires and lycanthropes alike but all of this seems to be leading to a big picture which is likely to put the entire universe at risk.

This story started out with Jace being called in to help profile the serial killer but went on to get bigger and bigger until it involved Jace trying to save an entire world. As if that wasn't enough for a girl to handle on a good day, Jace is having some very bad days. It seems that her body is suffering from RDT (Reality Dislocation Trauma) and her only option is to drink an herbal concoction called Urthbone, a substance which will help ground her both physically and psychically to her new environment. When she takes the Urthbone it makes her more sensitive to the emotions of some of those around her, when she doesn't she gets so sick that she lands back in the hospital. So, what's a girl to do?

This book is an intense reading experience and definitely not for the faint of heart. The descriptions of the victims of the killings and HOW they were killed are graphic and gruesome. Remember that Jace was dealing with victims who were either vampire or lycanthropes. That meant that special considerations had to be taken into account for HOW to not just kill them, but make them stay dead. Really, really inventive stuff from this author but not for those with a tendency to queasiness. Jace is a fabulous character for me. She is smart-mouthed but funny at the same time, sarcastic, witty, definitely not charming and she doesn't show a lot of sympathy for rules or rule-makers, but her intuition for scoping out another person is usually spot on. I liked her, I liked her a lot.

RECOMMENDATION:
I highly recommend this book. Now, does the above mean that it was a perfect book? Nope, at least not for me. My problems with it may seem small but to me they mattered. First of all, saving the entire universe??? Really? The scope of this book grew to be so large that it became almost overwhelming. It only worked for me because I forced myself to LET it work. I think the adventure went too far too fast for someone who has just landed in that universe. Hey, that's just me, but it is my opinion. Next, the use of abbreviations. I really got annoyed. Pire for vampire, thrope for lycanthrope, vic for victim. Every flippin time I came across one of those my little pea sized brain took a stumble and I had to back up and read the sentence again to understand why we were talking about spires, OH, NOT SPIRES, JUST PIRES. Well, sure, that makes me feel better. To me, the first time I saw vic I thought it was a typo. Then I wondered who Vic was. Oops, vic as in victim. I see by the excerpt from book #2 that these same abbreviations will be present again. Darn! Without those things which annoyed me personally as a reader, I know I would have had nothing but praise for D D Barant who is a new author for me to keep tabs on.

By the way, if you want to know why it is called The Bloodhound Files series, read the book. That's how I found out.
Was this review helpful to you?
37 of 43 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a little different July 9, 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I enjoyed this book. It was a different take on the vampires and werewolves. I did find the other-world kind of confusing; I never understood very well how the two worlds worked parallel to each other, and I would have liked a more thorough explanation.

Jace was an interesting main character, and I really liked her relationship with her golem partner/protector, Charlie. Charlie was probably my favorite character - he made me smile. I didn't like that she seemed to have a romantic connection with so many males in the book. It seemed unrealistic that so many of these men - I count at least 4 - would have a connection with her so immediately. I don't need it to be a romance, with a solid relationship or anything, but by the end of the book, I was wondering WHY everyone was so attracted to her, and I didn't really believe or trust in her connections to anyone.

The world-building was really interesting. When I let go of my confusion about the two worlds together and focused on the one that Jace was in, it was pretty cool. The alternate history aspect was really well done. Jace's boss and his connections to that alternate history was fascinating. I also liked the Urthbone - I was suspicious of it for a long time, but I liked that it gave Jace subtle abilities.

Overall, I liked this book, but there was too much that took away from it for me to love it. I didn't mind the first-person narration, and if you're looking for a fresh urban fantasy, this is an interesting read.
Was this review helpful to you?
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I nearly passed over this book...I'm glad I didn't August 14, 2009
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Dying Bites - The Bloodhound Files by D.D. Barant

I had this book on my wish list and had been hemming and hawing about it. One of the reasons I was so reluctant was that even though it sounded very good, I wasn't sure I could suspend my disbelief enough to imagine a parallel universe; one that consisted of43% Lycanthropes, 37% Vampires, 19% Golems and 1% Humans. Then last week I received this from a friend of mine as part of my birthday gift. I had finished everything else and said "Oh what the heck." I picked it up,looked at the back cover and shrugged, started it, and couldn't put it back down until I was done with it! Let me tell you that it is one of the two best speculative fiction debut novels I have read in this past 2 months and I'm sorry I waited so long to get to it.

"Dying Bites" starts with FBI Behavior Analyst and Profiler, Jace Valchek in bed and dreaming after getting a little drunk the night before, and it seems like a fairly typical dream...or is she really dreaming ? Nope, she is not asleep; she has been taken from our reality and been plunked down in another that mimics our own except for the previously mentioned creatures!
She is being asked by the head of their NSA, vampire David Cassious, to help profile and catch an insane serial killer, since this universe has no experience in dealing with insanity. Unfortunately, it seems that this killer may be human. Now what is Jace supposed to do? What will happen if she does deliver this human, who may very well be protecting the last 1% of humans left in this universe? But, she has agreed to the contract and the terms state that the contract will be "successfully concluded with the capture or elimination of the target of the mission." Then she can go home.

Jace is a kick butt, smart mouthed, protagonist that seems to spend a bit of time having her own butt kicked by things bigger and badder than she is. She is being teamed with a witty, funny and surprisingly sympathetic group, a Golem, a Werewolf scientist/nerd and a Vampire. This book is in first person but you never seem to have any problems knowing what the others are feeling since Jace has a bit of empathy going for her. There is a lack of profanity, but a huge amount of sarcasm and dry humor, since not everything in our world have been the exact same throughout time! Some things just do not cross over well from world to world. The world is easy to understand and the history is sometimes heart breaking. D. D. Barant, should be applauded for having the power to write something that is fresh, stimulating, exciting and funny.

I cannot wait for "Death Blows" the next book in this series.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I thought
Description sounded better than the book actually was, but I don't regret spending the money--also bought 2nd in series and found it to be not much better but reading them did... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Susana
2.0 out of 5 stars Fell short of my expectations
So I bought this book (and the other 5) after reading rave reviews about the books. The series looked and sounded to be very different from the norm and interested me right away. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kitten of Angst
4.0 out of 5 stars First in the series
I am enjoying getting back into this series about a parallel world. In this world there are four races-pires (vampires),thropes (lycanthropes), lems,and humans. Magic is real. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jewelry buff
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Start!
This book was a recommendation by Amazon a little while back. The descrption got me really interested and I just bought it. I am definitely glad I did. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Larissa
3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings but would recommend skipping the audiobook production
I'm not sure where to start with this review as I have very mixed feelings about this book. First, I listened to the audio version. Read more
Published 1 month ago by twinsmom
1.0 out of 5 stars Based on Book 1, I am going to give this series a big pass.
I always wonder why a male author decides to write a first person book with a female protagonist. Jace just did not feel authentic (and why do they always have to give them a... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bobbee
2.0 out of 5 stars Embryonic at best
When I first picked up this book, the whole concept seemed rather interesting and unique. Most of the time we're used to seeing urban fantasy books that present an alternate view... Read more
Published 2 months ago by acid_raine_burns
3.0 out of 5 stars Potential but needs more
This is a unique take on the whole vampire/were/other type of novel. Loved the updated inclusion of golems to boot. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Alison Grove
2.0 out of 5 stars I'm giving up on it.
Dull, unlikeable heroine. She's supposed to be funny and feisty and is neither, she's boring, ineffectual, and unpleasant to every one around her. Read more
Published 4 months ago by S. Rose
3.0 out of 5 stars Paranormal Mystery that could have been more balanced
Audio- ( 2.7 stars)
I liked it, I didn't like it. it was thrilling, it was annoying. This has to be the most conflicting book I have read this year. Read more
Published 5 months ago by YodaWay
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Forums

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions

Topic From this Discussion
Kinde pricing strikes again!
I think it is just nut's for the Kindle version to cost more than the physical book. Almost everything I read now is on Kindle and if they want to play these games by overpricing the Kindle version, I will not read the book.
Aug 16, 2009 by iamemblue |  See all 4 posts
Kindle Edition? Be the first to reply
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 






Look for Similar Items by Category