Book Review: Under a Blood Moon

Under a Blood Moon by Rachel Graves
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

'Under a Blood Moon' is a highly entertaining debut novel which blends dark elements with a light chick-litty feel in a similar way to Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books. I love stories which explore how supernatural elements would fit into the structures of our everyday world, and the heroine Mallory's role within the Baton Rouge Supernatural Investigations Department puts this book squarely into that category.

With the book coming from The Wild Rose Press, I was expecting more of a romance, but as it turns out, Mallory's relationship with Jakob, a six hundred year old vampire, provides plenty of heat without detracting from the pace of the detective story, and her friendships with others from the supernatural community are much-needed light relief from the dark events which follow from the initial zombie attack. When supernatural powers are thrown into the mix, human politics and interpersonal relationships get even more complex, and Rachel Graves spins this into some superb sub-plots and comic scenes.

The core of the story, however, remains Mallory's fight against the forces of darkness. As the region's only Death Witch, Mallory has some formidable powers of her own, but with her opponents including not just mindless zombies but voodoo practitioners and rogue werewolves, she faces some daunting challenges. As the bodies pile up and the motives get murkier, Mallory and her colleagues must use all the powers at their disposal to find and expose the true villains, putting their own lives at risk in the process.

Dark and dangerous, yet full of humour, the world of Mallory Mors is one I definitely hope to see more of.

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