19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The start of Elrod's excellent period vampire gumshoe series, September 27, 2004
This review is from: The Vampire Files, Volume One (Paperback)
These are the first three books of P N Elrod's vampire detective series, set in thirties Chicago. Her attention to the details of a period setting pays off, as does her attention to character. The books combine humor, suspense, detection, and a consistent attention to the practical necessities of living as a being with both supernormal powers and special disabilities. Her vampire, Jack Fleming, is actually less dark as a character than his friend and associate Charles Escott, much less the gangland characters they both sometimes associate with.
The series continues beyond these three books, and spins off into the Jonathan Barrett and Quincey Morris books, also first person vampires with period settings featuring likeable and very human bloodsuckers. The vampire books she does with Nigel Bennett are quite different, with a different and obnoxious style of vampire character (an incompetent and morally vacuous vampire version of James Bond.) One can hope she will turn that series over to Bennett and do more work on her own.
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19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The opening trio of adventures of Jack Fleming, Vampire P.I., January 31, 2004
This review is from: The Vampire Files, Volume One (Paperback)
In literature and popular culture there are the Bram Stoker vampires of Dracula, the Anne Rice vampires like Lestat, Louis and Armand, and the Joss Whedon vampires of Angelus, Spike and the Master. A distant, but by no means a poor relation, are the vampires of P. N. Elrod. "The Vampire Files" collects the first three novels in the Jack Fleming, Vampire P.I. series, where a slightly different type of vampire inhabits the film noir world of the hardboiled detective.
"Bloodlist" introduces us to Jack Fleming, who does not remember how he became a vampire let alone how he ended up dead, which lends an air of mystery to "Bloodlist." Jack was (is?) a reporter, so he sets about to learn who wanted (wants?) him dead. Fortunately, shortly after waking up on the beach a goon tries to run him down and tells Jack, after some encouragement, that he had some sort of list that is important enough for some gangster types to want him dead. Unfortunately, Jack remembers none of this. Allied with Charles Escott, an eccentric private investigator and former actor who is fascinated by Jack's current, ah, condition, our hero gets closer and closer to solving one of this two burning mysteries. Along the way he makes the acquaintance of Bobbi, a beautiful singer at one of the clubs and the current "girlfriend" of one of the bad guys. But even dead, Jack knows how to show a lady a good time. More importantly, eventually he gets to remember every excruciating detail of his "death."
"Bloodlist" certainly establishes the potential for this series, which as even Jack notices is more reminiscent of the Shadow than Dracula; the best parts of this book are when Jack uses his new powers to toy with the bad guys. Jack is a vampire, but since he feeds his blood lust at the Chicago Stockyards and is still trying to learn the ropes about being one of the undead he qualifies as being a "good" vampire. As a faithful sidekick, Escott is a unique combination of elements from a lot of literary ancestors, while Bobbi makes an interesting love interest for our hero simply because she does not bat an eye at Jack's unique approach to love making. The Vampire Files is clearly a series that is going to rest on the strength of the three main characters and she has certainly given herself something to build upon. Plus, there is that other mystery to solve as to how he ended up undead.
The first novel is the weakest of the three, only because the film noir aspects are not as strong as the developing idea of vampires the first time around. In "Lifeblood" vampire hunters are after Jack, as "The Vampire Files" kicks into high gear. Nice guy vampire Jack Fleming is still getting used to being one of the undead, helping his friend Charles Escott with a few investigations and trying to build some sort of happy live with Bobbi Smythe. However, his "life" is suddenly facing a couple of major complications. First, a pair of fairly incompetent but nonetheless deadly vampire hunters are on his trail. They do not know that crosses and silver do not bother our hero, but there is no reason for Jack to tell them that. Second, he has finally had a response from the ads he has been placing for Maureen in newspapers around the country and meets Gaylen Dumont, an old woman who claims to be his beloved Maureen's younger sister. Yes, it seems that Maureen is the vampire who sired Jack, and now Gaylen wants a small favor from our hero.
Elrod has a much better feel for the bad guys (and gals) this time around that she did with the gangsters. The practical side of being a vampire has been pretty much worked out in terms of what parts of what everybody knows about vampires, courtesy of Bram Stoker's "Dracula," are actually true. But what I like is that the practical realities of being a vampire are central to the story Elrod is telling. There is also a harder edge to this story, with the more gruesome elements balancing the comic confrontations a bit more than in the previous volume. It is clear that we are in the beginning of a lengthy tale to be told and I appreciate a writer who wants to take their time in telling their tale well.
In the third offering, "Bloodcircle," Jack finally finds out the truth about Maureen. After cleaning up a few loose ends from their previous adventure, Jack and Escott try to uncover what happened to Maureen, Jack's former lover and vampire sire, when she disappeared five years ago. Apparently on that night she was at the estate of Miss Emily Francher, whose personal assistant Jonathan Barrett not only turns out to be a 160-year-old vampire, but also is revealed to be the one who sired Maureen. With plenty of in-jokes for those who still remember the soap opera "Dark Shadows," P. N. Elrod follows our hero and his faithful human companion as they seek to solve the mystery of Maureen's disappearance, which has been haunting Jack for years. Once again, Elrod saves the best for last, as the climatic chapters of this novel elevate the story line to a new level. What I continue to appreciate with these novels are not only how Elrod deals with the practical aspects of being a vampire, especially once they are staked, but how Jack never responds in a predictable manner.
I also like the fact that "Bloodcircle," like its two predecessors in "The Vampire Files," are clearly part of a larger story, always "to be continued" and always compelling our continued interest. These books are fun reads, perfect for a day at the beach or living the commuter lifestyle, even when they come three to a volume as is the case with this collection. Elrod has created a rather different but still entertaining type of vampire, and even got around to trying to integrate her vampires with Bram Stokers in "Quincey Morris, Vampire." However, you should start here, with Jack Fleming, before moving on to that particular vampiric tidbit.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Captivating!!!, May 5, 2007
This review is from: The Vampire Files, Volume One (Paperback)
I'm not going to review the plot of the stories here. Other reviewers have done a great job and I owe them a debt of gratitude for introducing me to Elrod's story. What I will address here is just how compelling the stories are. Rarely do I find myself drawn to think about a storyline and/or character during every waking moment, but I couldn't stop myself. Are Elrod's stories stuff of great literature like War and Peace or The Three Musketeers? No. Are these three stories captivating? ABSOLUTELY! Elrod's writing flows smoothly, her characters are interesting, funny, and the reader can fully identify with them. The vampire issue is just a mild charater feature and add on. I simply couldn't stop reading the stories.
I was happy to have this volume rather than three separate books. This way, once I was finished with one story, I could plow on ahead into the next. And I did that more nights than I should have. I stayed up way late past my bedtime reading them. These three stories really flow like one continuous story with mild plot adjustments kinda forcing you to read on into the next story. The Vampire Files and the story of Jack Fleming are addictive. The type is easy enough to read and the book paper is fairly durable. That's important 'cause I'm going to be reading this volume again. Sooner rather than later if I don't get Vol 2 fast enough. (It's in the mail as I write this.)
Have fun with this series. Elrod did. But remember to get some sleep.
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