Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Rachel Caine (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 2, 2007

Claire Danvers's college town may be run by vampires but a truce between the living and the dead made things relatively safe. For a while. Now people are turning up dead, a psycho is stalking her, and an ancient bloodsucker has proposed private mentoring. To what end, Claire will find out. And it's giving night school a whole new meaning.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rachel Caine is the author of more than twenty novels, including the "Weather Warden" series. She was born at White Sands Missile Range, which people who know her say explains a lot. She has been an accountant, a professional musician, and an insurance investigator, and still carries on a secret identity in the corporate world. She and her husband, fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, live in Texas with their iguanas, Popeye and Darwin; a mali uromastyx named (appropriately) O’Malley; and a leopard tortoise named Shelley (for the poet, of course).

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: NAL Jam (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451222385
• ISBN-13: 978-0451222381
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rachel Caine is the #1 internationally bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the bestselling Morganville Vampires series, the Weather Warden series, the Outcast Season series, and the new upcoming Revivalist series. She was born at White Sands Missile Range, which people who know her say explains a lot. She has been an accountant, a professional musician, and an insurance investigator, and until very recently continued to carry on a secret identity in the corporate world. She and her husband, fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, live in Texas.

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#46 in Books > Teens

#46 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars And you think college life is rough? October 3, 2007

By R. Kyle TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

"Midnight Alley" is the third novel in the Morganville Vampires series. While the series is written for young adults, it's a great read for older fantasy fans, too. While you can read "Midnight Alley" without reading the two prior novels, it's fascinating to see how each novel builds on each other developing complex characters and storylines.

If you've not read a "Morganville Vampires" novel yet, I'll bring you up to speed. Claire Danvers is a brilliant young woman who graduated from high school early. Instead of sending her away to faraway MIT as Claire herself had wanted, her parents sent her to Morganville, Texas and TPU--Texas Plains University.

Claire quickly learned that only the strong survive in the womens' dorm. While she's brilliant, she's not so smart in learning who not to mess with and she manages to anger Monica Morrell, who pushes her down the stairs.

Realizing she's not going to live if she stays on campus, she seeks a place to hide and finds it in the Glass House. (Also the title of the first book in the series) Three other people live there: Michael Glass, a mysterious young man, Shane Collins, a rebel, and Eve, a goth girl. They initially do not want to take Claire in since she's underage, but do so to keep her safe--and she stays.

Claire learns from them that Morganville is run by vampires. TPU is essentially a blood bank for their use and a certain number of students are 'disposable'. Claire has to walk a very thin line not to become part of that group--particularly since Monica Morrell's father is the mayor and they're one of the most influential non-vamp families in town....

In order to stay safe, humans in the know sign contracts with powerful vampires who act as their protectors in exchange for monthly donations to the town's blood bank and the vamp's control of what the person does.

So--why doesn't the town get busted? That's the question Claire asked and probably what you are wondering as well. Very few of the kids on campus actually know about the vampires. Only residents do and they generally do not leave Morganville. There's a spell on the town where people who leave forget about the vampires. If they happen to remember, the vamps send an assassination squad and eliminate the problem.

In the second book of the series, "Dead Girls Dance," Claire and her three friends end up getting in a lot of trouble when Shane Collins' father returns. Mr. Collins is one of the rare folk who can keep his memory outside of Morganville and he's bent on killing every bloodsucker in the town as well as the humans who help them. In order to keep herself and her friends safe, Claire signs a contract with Amelie, the oldest vampire and ruler of Morganville. Michael is forced to become a vampire or die. He's the first new vampire in over 50 years and quite a celebrity among them since new vamps cannot be made.

That brings us to date. Claire's not told her friends what she'd done to keep them safe. Amelie sends her the bracelet that she's required to wear as part of the deal.

What Claire didn't realize is that Amelie didn't just want a pint of blood once in a while. She wants Claire to become an apprentice to Myrnin, one of the oldest vampires around and a brilliant alchemist and scientist. At first, that seems like more of a favor to the super-studious Claire, but she quickly learns that her mentor is mentally unstable and dangerous. The research she's doing could potentially help the vampires--does she want to do that?

Does she have a choice?

Meanwhile, Captain Obvious, who runs an underground newspaper in Morganville for the humans has outed Michael as the newest vampire and slates him for execution.

Oh yes, and Eve's crazy brother Justin is out of jail and coming to exact revenge on her for turning him in. The corpse of a young girl is dumped in the trash of the Glass House, casting suspicion on Shane as the culprit.

And if that was not enough, Monica Morrell wants to at least be allies with Claire. This is a dangerous alliance indeed.

To date, "Midnight Alley" is the best of the Morganville Vampires series. It's not belabored with the setup of the two prior novels and the characters are well-established. The action is non-stop and the book is as hard to walk away from as a bowl of dark chocolate M&Ms.

One caveat: if you are a person who likes novels to have stand alone novels within a series, you may have trouble with Morganville. You'll get some answers from book to book, but the storylines continue with each of the series. Fortunately for the readers, this isn't too much of a problem since "Morganville" is coming out every few months instead of making us wait a year or more for the next addition.

And "Midnight Alley" leaves me with such a slam-dunk ending, I am going to be waiting anxiously for the next episode. Read more ›

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Book 3 November 4, 2007

By Detra Fitch VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This third book in the Morganville Vampires series begins where the second left off. Claire Danvers had signed a contract pledging herself to Amelie in return for the protection of those she cares for. Amelie is the town's Founder. She is the oldest, scariest vampire of all. Claire now wears a Patron bracelet.

Claire still resides in Glass House with Eve, Michael, and Shane. Michael and Shane are still buds, but there is some major friction between them now. Then there is Claire's archenemy, Monica Morell. Claire detects the strange scent of oddity, of something rotten, when Monica starts showing up and begins acting as though she wants to become one of Claire's closest friends.

Amelie demands Claire become an apprentice to an ancient vampire and begins some private lessons in his secluded home. Claire will soon discover why.

**** Holy bloodsuckers! Author Rachel Caine delights with this installment of the M.V. series. Readers will actually find out HOW and WHY the town of Morganville even exists. As I watched various characters turn from friend to enemy (within seconds) and the darker side of college life emerge, I detected flavors of P.N. Elrod and R.L. Stine. I can't help but wonder if the stories by Elrod and/or Stine had somehow inspired Caine as she began writing this series. Each installment had many hidden surprises that kept me on the edge of my seat. The only major down side is that each book left me hanging, like an old Batman show. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars It made me a little angry December 22, 2007

By Dani Deranged

Format:Mass Market Paperback

For Claire Danvers to be so smart, she it quite possibly the dumbest person I have ever read about. I mean the decisions she makes are clearly the wrong decisions yet she just jumps head first into making them. Yes, you can argue that she's only 16 and new to Morganville and living without her parent's influence, but really that's not an excuse. when I was sixteen I wasn't nearly as clueless as the author made Claire out to be. I honestly don't know how she makes it through the books without dieing.

Besides that little cunundrum I thought the book was good, but completely predictable. At this point the vampires have become two dimensional, which is a disappointment because the concept is quite interesting.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great moments, but lacks the "ooomph!" of the two previous books. January 6, 2010

By A. Masion

Format:Mass Market Paperback

It's business as usual. Murder and mayhem abound in Morganville and the Glass House residents are up to their ears in trouble. If vampire politics weren't enough, the four roommates now face in-fighting and trust issues with each other.

Caine introduced Myrnin, the most compelling Morganville vampire to date. His characterization is a work of genius, he both moved me and terrified me, got under my skin as the other Morganville vampires haven't managed to do. The scene in Chapter 12 where he barely allows Claire to flee his lair chilled me even as his misfortunes brought a lump to my throat. Myrnin's "retirement" is a heartbreaking relief. In Myrnin's characterization, Caine painted astonishing dichotomy and raised the stakes Claire holds in utilizing her talents to assist Morganville's monster population. Vampires may be the baddies, but I honestly don't want Myrnin to end his days entombed alive, separated from all the knowledge and learning he's earned over his lifetime.

Another reviewer cited "Midnight Alley" as "filler" in the series. The novel is filler as far as fleshing out Shane, Michael, and Eve. Michael's still holding my interest, but Shane seems more and more so "Mr. Wrong" for Claire his scenes are starting to bother me. He never seems to do much of anything beyond initiating arguments or fistfights and telling everybody else why their decisions and choices are wrong. I'm not liking him a bit. The novel threw table scraps concerning Eve's bad blood with her family, particularly her presumably psychotic brother, Jason. I didn't complete the read feeling I'd found out anything nifty or new about the Glass House residents, and that disappointed me....

Additional disappointment is the aspect of Claire's contract with Amelie, Morganville's vampiress Founder. I have numerous issues with this storyline due to its inconsistency. Claire is a minor (unless she was legally emancipated by her parents.) Therefore, any contract she enters can be nullified by her parents or by Claire herself upon reaching adult age. I realize this is a paranormal series, but my understanding in Book 1 ("Glass Houses") was that minors were effectively "off limits" to Morganville's vampire population; children are effectively under the same "protection" as their parents.

Even though Claire is now "Protected," I have to question the value of this alleged protection since her "Protector" sent her on an assignment clearly intended to result in Claire's death. To my mind, this assignment qualifies as a "dealbreaker" in the contract. It also demonstrated duplicity and unreliability in Amelie that bothered me since, earlier in the series, Amelie cheerfully advised Claire she would never harm her without informing her prior to taking action.

Nor has Amelie's "Protection" proved to have much value elsewhere. If anything, Claire and the gang end up in hot water regularly, and with the same problems and threats prior to Claire entering contract with Amelie. Plus, Claire must now put up with additional grief from Amelie's rivals and enemies. The sole "improvement" I've discerned in the arrangement is that Monica Morrell and her Goon Girl Clique stopped terrorizing Claire. Somehow, signing away one's life for that one perk is a tad overkill.

I'd hoped for and was glad to see some depth and dimension developed in Monica's character. While I still don't find her genuine, it interested me to learn more about her practical motives.

I'd like to see Claire Danvers lose her Mary Sue status and be free to function as a real character. It's getting tiresome and predictable fast. Morganville Character meets Claire. If Character is a "good guy," s/he likes Claire immediately and treats her very well. If Chracter = "bad guy," s/he hates and abuses Claire and demonstrates psychoses. Everyone reports to Claire for whatever problem or issue occurs relevant to the storyline, even when it makes no sense.

My quibbles may sound nit-picky, and maybe the average reader doesn't share them. A good series should connect all the books in a cohesive, credible way. Yes, we'd like to witness evolution, growth, and change. But the chaotic element shading Caine's charactertizations of the vampires is getting harder to take in. Bottom line: most all are all neurotic (with good reason,) murderous (sometimes without good reason), and untrustworthy. People like that are hard to do business with. At this point, Claire can't trust Amelie to even safeguard Claire's own life and health. Claire has been slated for murder and plied with narcotics as a "study aid" by her "benefactress" or with her blessing. Now what?

My final peeve is the new cliffhanger ending of "Midnight Alley" which is not new at all, but a recycled double whammy of the "Glass Houses" cliffhanger. Rather than hurrying to load my "Feast of Fools" ebook, I found myself rolling my eyes and shaking my head. After the delicious poignant terror of Myrnin's storyline and its painful resolution, the novel's finale read to me as contrived and uninspiring. I think I would have digested it better if Caine hinted at the surprise earlier in the story. Some of the "surprise visitors" have no reason to visit the Glass House (apart from providing Caine with an opportunity to shock/surprise her readers.)

Overall, I'm not sorry I read "Midnight Alley" because Myrnin's story made the flaws worth the read. but I hope "Feast of Fools" is better than this. Read more ›