Worse Than Death [Mass Market Paperback]

Sherry Gottlieb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

Worse Than Death is the very sexy pulp novel about making love to a woman -- who happens to be a vampire. Gottlieb, whose first novel, Love Bite, became a made-for-TV movie, is back with a horrifyingly funny vampire novel about a Los Angeles policeman who has resigned from his job to spend eternity with his beloved. Their lust knows no bounds, but he is shy about making the transition from human to vampire. When he does, both of them are shocked to find that his new state has a significant sexual drawback, one that injects discord into their love nest -- he can bite, but the honeymoon seems to be over.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sherry Gottlieb adds a little spice to the tasty bloodsucker stew of vampire fiction. Like Laurell K. Hamilton's excellent Anita Blake series, Gottlieb writes about steamy, erotic power duels between humans and the undead. Gottlieb's Love Bite introduced Los Angeles homicide detective Jace Levy, who falls under the spell of the damnably attractive vampire Risha Cadigan. Worse Than Death plunges Jace still deeper into vampire country in another tale uniting horror, suspense, and never-ending vampire hanky-panky.

Retired from the force, Jace still does private investigations, and he takes on a Hollywood extortion case. Producer Robert Brandon may preach clean, moral family fun in his films, but his real-life ethics are filthy. A videotape of his brief encounter with an aspiring actress has fallen into the hands of a blackmailer, and it's Jace's job to expose the felon. Although there is no great mystery novel here, the preternatural elements give the book some fizz. Deeply in love with Risha, Jace faces a life-or-death choice: should he become a vampire himself, allowing him an eternal honeymoon with his undead goddess? Is he prepared to feed on the blood of humans, say goodbye to his reflection, and God forbid, lose his taste for coffee? Jace loves coffee.

Worse Than Death is not on the same elevated literary plane as Laurell K. Hamilton's books, but it's at least as sex-obsessed--a quick and dirty read, a supernatural romp that will amuse die-hard vampire fans and voyeurs alike. --Naomi Gesinger --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Immortality may solve certain problems, but it creates others, as retired LAPD detective Jace Levy discovers when he allows his girlfriend, luscious photojournalist vampire Risha Cadigan, to sink her fangs into his neck. In this vampire/detective sequel to Love Bite, 43-year-old Jace and eternally 30-year-old Risha expect to grow closer now that Jace is a vampire, too, but despite the fun they have together prowling for human victims, their relationship is increasingly acrimonious. Jace blames Risha for failing to warn him about the effects of vampirism on the male sex organ; Risha discovers that as a human Jace suffered from fatal Huntington's chorea, and accuses him of becoming a vampire to save himself from death rather than to pledge his undying love to her. All the while, Jace is working freelance to locate a blackmailer who extorts cash from a Hollywood producer and a wealthy accountant, both of whom were patrons of a high-class call-girl ring. Though he is a crime buster by day and a blood-sucking killer by night, Jace sees little irony in his position. In any case, he is too preoccupied by his dysfunctional sex life to pay concentrated attention to his work. The thriller plot heats up as Jace tracks a psychopathic orphan, but the resolution is far-fetched and ultimately disappointing. Gottlieb is at her best when she chronicles Jace and Risha's vampirism and the intersection of their domain with the human world--Risha has a human servant, Elliott, who helps her do things like apply her makeup--since vampires aren't reflected in mirrors, but monotonous vampire sex gets all-too-exhaustive treatment. Insatiable fans of fanged creatures will likely appreciate the tale, but others may find it simply tiresome. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812589637
• ISBN-13: 978-0812589634
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,833,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sex and the Inner Vampire, June 17, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Worse Than Death (Mass Market Paperback)

As the result of their earlier adventures in "Love Bite," ex-police detective Jace Levy and his vampire lover Risha Cardigan went on an extended vacation. Now they have returned to Los Angeles so that Risha can pursue her photographic career. Jace, still undecided about becoming a vampire himself, is offered a job as a private investigator by Robert Brandon, a film producer. It seems that one of the actresses Brandon has been indulging his fantasies with has decided to blackmail him. Jace's assignment is to get the extortion stopped.

Almost from the beginning the case turns weird. Jace traces many of the `actresses' to a single agent, who died recently. As he pries beneath the surface he begins to suspect that there is some form of collusion among several of the women. Jace suspects that he is dealing with an organized gang, but the more he looks the murkier things get. When some of his suspects seem to evaporate, if they ever existed at all, he is completely baffled.

In the meantime, Jace's love life begins to get murky as well. Jace is secretly suffering from Huntingdon's Chorea, and the symptoms have been worsening. Out of love for Risha and fear of his own mortality, he decides to take the big step. He asks Risha to make him a vampire. Weeks later, after he has made the big switch, Jace discovers a serious flaw in the male vampire design. Before switching he and Risha had a rich and varied sex life. Now, Jace has become impotent.

This induces a crisis of epic proportions. When Risha mentions that her previous vampire lover had the same problem, Jace feels betrayed. When Jace's disease comes out, Risha feels used. In the subsequent argument Risha heads for New Orleans to think things over and Jace finally returns to his case, after some exceptionally rash behavior. Will Jace locate the real blackmailer? Will Risha forgive him? Will our poor hero regain his abilities? Only the reader can find out.

I'm afraid I found this tale a bit unsatisfactory. The conflict between the two plots causes a complete standstill in the action for the middle third of the book while Jace tried to deal with his issues. Since Jace's self image was extremely macho, he doesn't do very well. In the meantime, a plot which was already a bit thin and anemic nearly evaporates. When the action finally gets underway again Sherry Gottlieb rushes everything to a conclusion. The change in pace is almost jarring.

In the final analysis, this is neither the hard-boiled detective story nor the sexy vampire tale that the cover promises. Risha demonstrates an unappealing coldness in her choice of victims (she prefers the homeless and other innocent victims). Jace embraces better ethics, but his total character dissolution in the face of his impotence is not a pretty sight and reveals an uncomplimentary shallowness. It's up to the reader, but Laurell Hamilton does sexier vampire tales and Tanya Huff writes stronger vampire/human detective tales. If you haven't encountered these authors I suggest you look into them.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worse Than Death, not quite, but close, March 11, 2000

By A Customer

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This review is from: Worse Than Death (Hardcover)

I expected to like this book having really enjoyed Sherry Gottleib's Love Bite. Instead I found myself bearly able to stay awake - the vampire as detective plot has been over done, and the mystery was fairly easy to figure out but the real let down was in Jace's constant preoccupation with his sexual prowess. This was over emphasised to the point that every other aspect of the book was secondary to the state of Jace's penis. The other characters were two dimensional and Risha (the vampire) went from being a fully fleshed out character in the first book to being the person Jace was sleeping with in the second. Worse Than Death is proof that the state of someone's penis is not a replacement for plotline or character developement.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Entertainment "Must Read" Selection, February 22, 2000

By 

Sandra Wellborn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Worse Than Death (Hardcover)

"Worse Than Death" by Sherry Gottlieb is better than bubble gum! Outrageously funny and right to the heart of what is most important to man and beast - sex, more sex, and ...feeding.

From the first page to the last, I enjoyed the suspense, constantly thinking 'gee, who would have ever thought...' and the winding through the maze of plot, sub-plot, and provocative actions of the characters. I found myself taking "Worse Than Death" everywhere I went so that if I had even enough time to read a paragraph, I would have it there to read.

I hated getting down to the last few pages. I wanted the book to keep right on going. The absolute best part of all that generated the most wonderful belly laugh was, of course, the end.

The research needed to incorporate such fascinating little-known facts and accurate time line/events of the day (that must have taken forever) made the novel even more believable. After reading "Love Bite" I was thrilled to find "Worse Than Death." I can't wait for the next one.

What a treat the readers are in for!