Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Vampire Jerome-Ann B. Morris

The Vampire Jerome
Ann B. Morris
ImaJinn, Jun 2010, $14.00
ISBN: 9781933417509

Everyone believes that the deaths and vast destruction of the Mississippi delta was caused by Katrina, but what is mostly unknown is that during the chaotic lawlessness in which civilization temporarily vanished, evil deep earth vampires feasted. The malevolent potent Zurik captured Dottie Crawford with the intent of using her to get to the Whitcombe brother Julian. After being tortured many times, Julian frees her and sends her to his sibling Jerome for medical treatment.

Jerome loves being a vampire but if he meets a mortal woman he cherishes more then he would give up immortality for her. He knows Julian who found his soulmate wants that for his brothers even though that means fighting the amoral immortal deep earth vampires with the powers the Goddess Lilith will give them as humans. A shift in the magical forces near the earth’s core indicates a major earthquake is coming soon; Jerome and his cadre are needed to prevent another Katrina hammering the Bay area. Jerome knows he has feelings for Dottie, but fights his desire as undesirable because he detests the concept of monogamy. He finally concludes he loves Dottie but is duty bound to his bother and their Whitcombe legacy; either way he fears for the woman whose blood is imprinted on his brain.

The Vampire Jerome is a terrific urban romantic fantasy filled with plenty of action and yet also contains complex moral dilemmas; together they grip the audience to keep turning the pages to learn what happens next. Dottie is a person of strength who loves Jerome although he is a vampire who seems to cherish being undead and she was a hostage of one of his kind. The second Whitcombe triplet’s legacy (see The Vampire Julian) continues the fresh take on the vampire mythos as each of the brothers must choose the dank darkness or the light of love.

Harriet Klausner

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