A killer stalks the streets of Toronto. It kills by night; it drains its victims of blood. The papers scream vampire. But Vicki Nelson, ex-cop turned private investigator, doesn’t believe in vampires. At least, not unless someone’s willing to pay her to believe in them – and it can’t hurt to have one more person on the case, even if the killer turns out to be human. Somehow, though, in a fantasy novel it never does…
Blood Price is the first Vicki Nelson Investigation. It’s also probably the best of the lot. There are a number of sequels, of which 3 or 4 are worthwhile, but the series follows the usual pattern for a supernatural investigator story: episodic supernatural beastie of the month, formulaic plot, cliches galore, and little opportunity for a story arc. Mind candy, in other words, and in this case done passably well but with nothing to distinguish it.
Laurell K Hamilton does it significantly better with her Anita Blake series, and Mercedes Lackey has a short-lived Guardians series with a similar theme (and, to be honest, the first novel of the latter series is so similar to this one with respect to certain plot points that it raises my eyebrows).
That said, this book is more than good enough to enjoy for a few hours and leave you with no regrets.
