Customer Reviews

Murder in Vein (A Madison Rose Vampire Mystery)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a fan of Sue Ann Jaffarian's other mystery series, but don't tend to read vampire stories so wasn't sure what I would think, but I loved this whodunnit, which delves into the world of vampires and vampire envy. Madison Rose finds herself shocked to discover that vampires are real, and that she almost died because of them. She goes to live with her new vampire "grandparents," who wind up becoming the only family she has, only to become the target of those who think if they kill her, they are on the fast track to permanent (as opposed to retractable) fangs. Jaffarian sends up vampire envy while introducing a whole new cast of characters, including a vampire council, with her own twist on the genre. She manages to make this a believable world, as she did with Ghost a la Mode, and Madison is an engaging heroine who is by turns wary and curious about the undercover community that takes her in. If you're a Jaffarian fan, you'll definitely want to check this out, and if you're a newcomer to her work, you'll enjoy the sly humor as well as the covens, clubs and coffins that populate Murder in Vein.

I'm a long time fan of Sue Ann's books, and she never ceases to amaze me with the depth and breadth of her interests. First murder, then ghosts and now VAMPIRES!!

I believe 'Murder in Vein' is Sue Ann at her writing best ... funny, intriguing, engaging and literate. And her character development is wonderful! Madison Rose (what a great name!) is in for the ride of her life when she gets involved with the neighborhood vampires. What is she thinking??? Find out by reading 'Murder in Vein'. You won't be sorry.

I can't wait for the next in the series :-)

I loved this book-very interesting approach to the entire vampire genre. I am quite impressed with the author's awareness of the issues concerning the heroine. I met the author briefly at Malice Domestic. She seemed like a great person-very together and very supportive of her fans!

"Murder in Vein" is the first in a new series of supernatural mysteries. Author Sue Ann Jaffarian, who already has two successful mystery series to her name, boldly takes on two very dedicated fan bases with the new Madison Rose Fang-in-Cheek series: lovers of mysteries and lovers of vampire novels. Neither group of readers is always easy to please, but if any author is capable of such a feat, it is Jaffarian.

Known for her blend of humor and mystery, Jaffarian adds a dash of horror and romance to her newest novel. The book beings with what seems to be a new trope in vampire lit - the damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by the handsome, romantic, "bad-boy-who-really-wants-to-be good" vampire. Jaffarian quickly turns this scene on its head and from this moment forward the readers knows that they are in for something other than the usual teen-lit vampire romance. Instead of a heroic, yet damaged male vampire, Madison Rose (not Rose Madison as she is quick to point out) is rescued by Doug and Dodie Deadham, an elderly couple of vampires out for an evening stroll. To further disrupt the reader's sense of equilibrium, this seemingly grandparent-like duo proceeds to viciously kill and eat another person while in the process of helping Madison.

This opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the book. The novel is a blend of humor, strange circumstances, and enough mystery to keep the plot moving. Madison is a young woman with a troubled past and despite their strange meeting, she comes to find a pseudo-family in the Deadhams and their strange vampire community. She meets the others in their circle, including a bevy of mysterious men: the equally troubled human detective Mike Notchey who also moves in the vampires' world, Samuel De La Croix, the charming and mysterious leader of the local vampire group, and Colin Reddy, the afore-mentioned "bad-boy-who-really-wants-to-be good" vampire that seems to be a required character in the vampire lit genre. Not that I'm complaining... His English accent, his aloof attitude, and his adorable interest in Madison are enough for this reader to want to see him stick around long into the series. The reader should be wary of judging Madison too quickly, however. She is no pushover and thankfully, not looking to jump into bed with every vampire who crosses her path. Readers who are frustrated by the female characters of other vampire lit series who lose all sense of reality once confronted with the "glamorous" world of vampirism will find Madison's skepticism and distrust refreshing.

Jaffarian has the unenviable task of trying to establish a set of characters, a mystery, and an entire vampire mythology in a single novel. For the most part she succeeds. However, if one part of this triad suffers it is the mystery. For the most part it serves as a fitting vehicle to introduce the author's take on vampire lore, but in the end it is a pretty straightforward plot with few surprises. Mystery lovers will have to look beyond the oft repeated story of missing girls and mysterious organizations and instead focus on what makes this particular take fresh: a feisty heroine in the form of Madison Rose who has to solve a series of very human-like of murders while coming to terms with the very inhuman world she now finds herself inhabiting.

I look forward to seeing if Jaffarian is able to bulk up the mystery in the second book now that her vampire world is sufficiently established. Even if she doesn't, I will continue to enjoy this unique blend of two well-trod genres.

I've read Jaffarian's other mystery series, but not the one with the ghost. I found the mystery series an ok, easy, breezy read. I started off not liking this as much. I found many of the characters, including Madison, kind of unlikeable. I ended with a positive impression, but would recommend people get the book at the library first before spending $10+. I am interested to see what happens next with Madison and whether or not I warm up to the other characters.

Without spoiling, I will say the very ending was a surprise. Perhaps realistic though.

I did not find this book to be excessively bloody or violent even if the majority of the characters weren't vampires, it is labeled as a mystery. That usually entails death and unpleasantness.

Madison Rose thinks her life is over. She's tied up, being held prisoner for someone who has yet to appear. But just as she is about to be killed, someone or something attacks her kidnapper and rescues her.

Madison's rescuer turns out to be a vampire, and she's shocked by the revelation that they exist. Turns out she is the latest victim of a serial killer that the vampires want caught before their secret existence is revealed. And they want to use Madison in an elaborate plan to catch the killer. Should she go along with it? Will she be in danger either way?

I'm not a huge fan of vampire books, but I am a big enough fan of Sue Ann Jaffarian's books to give this new series a try. After a bit of a slow start spent explaining vampire lore, or at least the vampire lore for this series, the plot of the book really picked up. And I found I did need the exposition to fully engage in the story that followed. The characters were great, coming fully alive (or would that be fully dead) for me.

The author has stated that this book is darker than anything she's done before. I knew that going in and still decided to read it. For the most part I did enjoy it, although a few scenes in the middle were a bit too gruesome for my tastes. Still, I kept reading because I was enjoying the book for the most part. And Sue Ann still works in humor that helped lighten the book overall.

Those who like vampires will definitely want to check this book out. Sue Ann Jaffarian's normal fans will definitely want to remember the genre before they blindly pick up the book. It's still worth reading, just be prepared for something a little different.

Ms. Jaffarian's latest novel, Murder in Vein, is part murder mystery, part vampire tale and an entertaining page turner. The protagonist, a young woman with a troubled past, is determined to make a better life for herself in Los Angeles but finds herself the center of a mystery at the nexus between humans and vampires. Ms. Jaffarian does a fine job developing the backstory of the L.A. vampire community, introducing an engaging cast of characters in the process. In the course of the novel, the protagonist finds love, lust and, for the first time since her early youth, a sense of security. This not exactly a "she lived happily ever after" tale, though, and I cannot help but wonder if she knows what she's gotten herself into as she carries the vampires' potentially lethal secret with her into the next book of the series.

Murder in Vein (A Fang-in-Cheek Mystery)

Sue Ann Jaffarian now has 3 different book series in print and I am a huge fan of all of them. I first started reading the Odelia Grey series over 2 years ago when I came accross the first book - Too Big to Miss as a local book store. It was one of those books that I stayed up all night to read in one sitting. I loved it - the characters seem very real and it was very easy to feel part of the plot. I immediately went out and bought all her other books that were out at that time and from that point on I avidly wait for each new release to come out. I admit to not normally reading vampire books and to buying Murder in Vein because of the author and not maybe the subject matter but I bought the book when I met Sue in Julian this past Sunday and started reading it before I went to bed that night and finished reading it the next morning before my husband and daughter woke up. I think that says it all :) I loved the book - The Fang in Cheek Series has a Tongue in Cheek sense of humor that I totally enjoyed and Sue Ann gave a new slant on the whole vampire scene that is so popular today. I loved the characters and the mystery - it reeled you in and left you wanting more. Of course, being English - i admit to be quietly amused to find an English vampire gracing the pages of the book. You have to admire an author that has 3 series on the go at once when they are all so different. I looking forward to buying her next book no matter which series it comes from.

Sue Ana Jaffrian stole my heart in her series with Odela Grey. So when I saw she had a new Vampire Murder Mystery I couldn't resist. This is similar to the way she writes her other series but I have to say it grabbed me right off the first page. Very good book, I won't ruin the ending but you will like it.

3-1/2 stars: Hmmm...what do I say about this book? I have really mixed feelings about it, hence the 3-1/2 stars. I couldn't quite give it 4 (when I compare it to other books I've given 4 stars to) yet it doesn't quite rate a 3.

The book started off very shaky for me. The writing felt very unpolished and perhaps that is why I didn't quite get sucked into the story immediately. The writing left me feeling ambivalent to all the characters and what was going on plotwise. As the book progressed, the writing improved; it felt more like an experienced writer to me and I was able to get into the story more. I plowed through the book in about a day, so I can't say it didn't keep my attention, but something was just missing from it. Maybe it was a connection to the characters. I really liked Dodie, Doug and Samuel, but I just couldn't rally any special feeling for Madison, Colin or Mike. I didn't dislike them, I just didn't care all that much about them.

The storyline was good but nothing spectacular. Again, it held my attention but didn't elicit any strong feelings. I will say that by the end of the book, the characters had gained enough potential that I will probably give the second book a try and see if my ambivalent feelings for this book were just a matter of having to "get into the series". I have had other series where I didn't love (or hate) the first book but the second book really sucks me in.

**Note on Kindle edition: First let me say, I checked this book out from my library's Overdrive system, but my understanding is that the kindle files we download to read are the same ones that we would get if we bought it from Amazon, since you download library books directly from Amazon. Anyway, the file for this book was less than spectacular. First off, lots of words were pushed together with no space between them. Second, there were stray marks in the text throughout the book. At first I thought I had some dirt on my screen, then realized it wasn't my screen but the file itself. I found it rather annoying and thought other Kindle readers considering purchasing this book might want to know. Since I was just borrowing it from the library I just dealt with it, but if I had purchased it for $9.99 (which is the current price at the time of this review), I would have contacted Amazon to return it. I know this is something that probably due to the file provided by the publisher, but still thought it should be noted.