Customer Reviews

The Hour Before Dawn

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Wow! I have read and loved all of Patricia Rasey's thrillers, but THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN is definitely her best yet. Set amid the nightclub underworld of vampyres and goths, this sexy, thrilling novel had me glued to my chair, unable to turn the pages fast enough! Ms. Rasey had my heart pounding with fear one moment, and the next, racing with anticipation for the sizzling, unbidden romance between Tevan and Krys. I love Ms. Rasey's sense of adventure and her boldness to explore the darker side of romance. Why, oh, why, is she not coming out in mass market paperback yet?!! (Note to NY publishers: Grab this lady while you can -- she's fantastic!)

"Nothing good could ever be said about the hour before dawn, not when the sun was about to arrive..."

In the darkest shadows of Chicago's allies lurks a vampyre who sadistically preys on young girls. When police find the fourth victim in two months, Officer Teven Zaber accepts the assignment to go deep undercover. Leaving behind his estranged wife and ten-year old daughter, Tev enters a murky world of leather, tattoos and body piercing, where there's no past and no future, and where the only way to freedom will come "from cavorting with the devil himself."

Tev enters a world founded on illusion. Determined to locate a rumored vampyre coven, Tev believes the serial killer exists within its midst. Trading jeans for leather, spending daylight hours on the Internet doing research and nights in clubs, Tev enters the world of vampyres. But he quickly discovers Chicago's vampyres are a secluded group that prefers anonymity and privacy.

When he enters the House of Horrors: Tattoos and Body Piercing, Tev glimpses a devastatingly beautiful woman receiving the finishing touches on a tattoo. That chance encounter leads to much more when Krystal approaches him at the club Pandemonium. Despite her youth, at eighteen Krys is ten years younger than Tev, her past marks Krys with an intriguing maturity and hidden pain. Krys rooms with two men, a marvelous gay man Azzo who owns the mansion where she's lived for three years, and Raven, a Goth style vampyre.

In a gruesome existence of blood feeding, donors and vampyres, Tev finds his inhibitions, morals and beliefs called into questions as he fights his attraction for Krys, yet uses her connections to locate vampyres. Further, despite his feelings for Krys, a torrid affair in the midst of a police investigation is against all the rules. Yet when he's with Krys, Tev's never felt so out of control or so driven by an interior hunger.

In this long-awaited sequel to Deadly Obsession, as the plot progresses in layers of complexity and entanglements, danger stalks the innocent. Just the creative voyeuristic thrill of briefly living in this world, by way of the path blazed by author Patricia Rasey, is enough to make THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN a must read. Daring and bold, Rasey presents the shadowy world of vampyres with a unique darkness that proves mesmerizing. The style is fiercely unrelenting, marking Rasey indelibly as a harsh truth teller. Although her genre is fiction, her characters are real and frightening, and not even main characters are safe from the evil that haunts Rasey's work. Further, Rasey's exploration of self-mutilation is both knowledgeable and tasteful, lending a shocking vulnerability to a striking character. Indeed, THE HOUR BEFORE DAWN is gripping, gritty, and fascinating, coming very highly recommended.

I was lucky enough to win this book in an online holiday contest. I was currently reading both Stephen King's latest written with Peter Straub, and the latest in the Left Behind series by LaHaye/Jenkins. I had to put them both down so that I could read "The Hour Before Dawn". It mesmerized me! I read it in one night because I just couldn't put it down! I've never sat Stephen King aside for any book, but Patricia Rasey had a grip on me that I couldn't get away from. The Hour Before Dawn had all the twists and turns that I love in a great mystery as well as the element of a good romance going on at the same time. Patricia threw curve after curve to the reader throughout this novel. Definitely, The Hour Before Dawn is a must read for all mystery lovers. Each character carried his/her own element of mystery, making me guess throughout the book's entirety. This was a true display of talent, talent that should be put on the market so that others can enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks Patricia, for a most excellent and well written read!

Tevan Zaber is going undercover to catch a serial killer. But his job is a little more unique than infiltrating the hideout of drug dealers or gangsters. His assignment is to enter the twilight world of the modern-day vampyre. But vampyres are a very secretive lot. The only one he befriends, Raven, wants him to prove he's "of the blood" by drinking some of his, an idea that gets Tev wondering why he ever took this assignment in the first place! Tev's problems are only beginning. Going through a messy divorce, the last thing he needs is to fall in love with a hot little number with emotional baggage of her own. Characters from a previous book Deadly Obsession, are adeptly woven into an entirely new plot.
Two things stand out in Ms. Rasey's storytelling-her lovely way with words and her characters who, though definitely not your ordinary people, are drawn with sympathy and objectivity. Why, one of the vampyres is almost likeable.
I was impressed by the research she must have undertaken to be able to so realistically portray the Goth scene and the "people of the night." I've been curious about people who consider themselves real vampyres ever since I saw one on TV, and through her authentic research she gives a glimpse into their dark, often scary world. Ms. Rasey has woven an enthralling tale that will keep you glancing behind you, watching the shadows.