Customer Reviews

The Shake

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

 

 

The shake is a vampire / detective novel. It's fun, almost whimsical, yet at the same time grim and somewhat horrifying.

The plot follows Shake - a vampire whose curiosity turns him into a detective. The plot is tightly woven and the story moves along at a steady pace. Shake is a somewhat philosophical vampire, who strives to understand why he does what he does.

The character of Shake is well thought out. Vampires in other novels are often simply humans with a thirst for blood and insomnia. Shake is definitely not human, yet his attempts to rationalize his decisions definitely are.

Shake's side-kick Karla juxtaposes the nonhuman side of Shake and allows us to see the vampire world from human eyes. The novel is full of memorable characters such as the very deadly and very dangerous, Mio - the only vampire with whom Shake spends time.

You can't go wrong with The Shake - It is gripping from beginning to end.

is not worth living, apparently even for vampires. This book was a nice change in that the vampire is introspective. In fact, the author uses the vampire, Shake, to comment on human nature and that alone may make you squirm. Shake finds himself in need of a new chauffeur and while he's going about his meticulously planned routine, he stumbles upon a murder. I guess even a vampire likes a little mystery.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review at [...]

Shake is lost, trying to find the meaning behind the choices he makes in a life that seems never ending. His choice of dinner leads him into a world where a husband has been killed, a young girl has disappeared and the word 'Bloodsucker' ties it all.

The Shake is a very good, darker than normal, Vampire mystery book. I take that back, mystery book. The fact that Shake is a Vampire should not deter you from reading a good mystery.

The characters are very well written and Shake is a Vampire that is in a world of his own. I've yet to read about a Vampire quite as deep, quite as thoughtful as Shake. For being so very unhuman he has a lot of human thoughts.

If you enjoy a mystery.. If you enjoy Vampires.. If you enjoy a thought provoking book... If you enjoy any of those three combined or on their own check this book out!

Melissa
Reviewer for 1000 + Books to Read

I didn't expect to enjoy this book nearly as much as I did. Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of vampire fiction. But this is a great read, and Mel Nicolai is a talented writer.
This book is a mystery with an interesting plot and surprising solution. It will appeal to mystery fans, even if they're not into vampires. Some mysteries have a priest, or a lawyer, or a cat as the amateur sleuth. Don't be put off because Shake is a vampire.
If you do enjoy vampire fiction, this will be a treat Shake is the most interesting vampire since LeStat. His philosophical musings are thought-provoking. I hope this is the first of a series.

"The Shake" reminded me of some of Anne Rice's vampire series in that the author chose to include long passages describing the intimate details of becoming and learning to "live" as a vampire, their individual tastes, etc. but considering this has been done so many times before, this wasn't very compelling for me and I was hoping for someone out of the ordinary. For lovers of any and all things vampire, that may be a plus, but in the case of historical events or facts, sometimes they seemed like events the author simply wished to include, but I didn't really see exactly how they added to the whole of the story. Overall, I found "The Shake" to be another author's take on the explanation of vampires, how they came to be, and how they can overcome their inherent drawbacks. Rather like the minute details included of Sacramento and California, like street names, etc....nice, but truly necessary? Entirely the reader's choice.

A twist of mystery, a vampire "cause", a number of players introduced and expounded upon from the main character's view, Shake, who I found far less compelling or interesting than most of the secondaries like Mio and Karla. Even ordinary people can have something unique about them, something that makes you want to learn more about them. That's how we're seduced, make associations for friend, lovers, or ourselves, how we become attached. I searched for that with Shake, yet it eluded me. From the tone and direction of the tale's end, there may be forthcoming titles, perhaps in a series, from this author about "Shake" and his fellow undead and human friends and followers.

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