A Chill in the Blood (Vampire Files) 
asked by jdog on October 31, 2006 12:07 PM
Gangland Chicago, 1937. Jack Fleming, vampire PI, doesn't care for the Mob. He was killed once by a Mob boss, see, and he's seen too many shot down since. Ambitious gangsters are like roaches--there always seem to be more coming out of the woodwork. And the wise guys never seem to learn that knives, bullets, and drowning don't kill the immortal Jack. They just make him mad. In A Chill in the Blood Jack has good reason to be mad. The prohibition laws have just been repealed, and the mobsters are immersed in vicious warfare on his turf. Jack's very mortal partner, Charles Escott, has a hit placed on his life, and Jack is forced into negotiations with a powerful gang leader--Angela Paco. It turns out that Angela is the daughter of the mobster who ended Jack's human life, thus transforming him into a vampire.
A Chill in the Blood is the seventh book in P.N. Elrod's noir detective series, the Vampire Files. Mixing horror, mystery, and comedy, these books really bite! Nona Vero
Reviews
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A Chill in the Blood is GARBAGE. I love vampire novels as well as detective stories. I never would've thought it possible that an author could combine two of my favorite genres into such a rotten book. Some other review referred to this as a "hard-boiled" detective novel. Nonsense. I have never, EVER, read about such a wishy-washy private eye. This guy, our "hero" spends half his time getting beaten up and the other half whining about his ethical problems about using his vampiric abilities to defend himself. Hard-boiled? Maybe if the reader is 9 years old. The plot is half-baked and transparent. It occurs to me that perhaps the reason the "hero" is such a wimp is because an individual with any courage or strength would've brought the story to a close in about 25 pages.
Don't waste your time. You want hard-boiled? Read L.A. Confidential or Altered Carbon. You want vampires? Read Salem's Lot, The Vampire Chronicles, or Dracula. But avoid this turkey like the plague.
Don't waste your time. You want hard-boiled? Read L.A. Confidential or Altered Carbon. You want vampires? Read Salem's Lot, The Vampire Chronicles, or Dracula. But avoid this turkey like the plague.
reviewed by crafty1 on November 29, 2006 2:38 PM
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CHILL IN THE BLOOD is the seventh installment of the Vampire Files. While it too is rather repetitive because it uses the same plot devices as the previous stories, it does have some redeeming qualities.
Once again Jack is in a fight with the mob and goes through all kinds of physical abuse. I think in every story so far his head is smashed in by somebody. But at least here we get some more insight on some mobsters Jack befriends, like Shoe Colefield, the black mobster on that side of town. And Bobbi, Jack's lady friend, is always fun to be around.
Not the best of the Vampire Files by far, but not a total waste of time either.
reviewed by flow on November 29, 2006 3:01 PM