Uprising-Sean McCabe

Uprising
Sean McCabe
Signet, Feb 1 2011, %9.99
ISBN: 9780451413062

In Constanza, Romania the sailors load the cargo on their ship. They sail to London but many become sick and all live in fear. The Czech-Romanian crew is relieved as if they dumped the devil when the cargo is placed on an aircraft for delivery to Crowmoor Hall near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire where Seymour Finch awaits.

Not long afterward, Declan follows his angry girlfriend Kate who runs off to Crowmoor Hall. There he sees two vampires arguing over who drinks Kate’s blood. He informs the cops who think he is a lunatic except for Detective Inspector Joel Solomon who believes the undead live amongst humans. Soon the first grisly homicide occurs. More murders as horrific as the first follow.

The World Vampire Federation’s Vampire Intelligence Agency undercover enforcer Alex Bishop travels from the Carpathian Mountains to England to kill the rogue vampires. However, the VIA agent finds herself caught in the beginning of a vampire civil war as conservatives want a return to the tradition of stalking and killing humans rather than the fear driven “must never” rules. The rogues insist vampire is the dominant species, but the WVF says surveillance technology has changed the world order. Alex teams up with enlightened Joel. They try to prevent the war of the Undead.

This is an exhilarating vampire investigative thriller as increasingly vampires who hid in plain sight are coming out in a bloody way. The lead law enforcement pair is a delightful coupling as they work a ghastly serial murder case and ignores their mutual attraction as she knows the three “must never” rules make anything but a professional relationship a WVF law breakers. Fast-paced with a wonderful opening nod to Stoker, readers will appreciate the first act of the Vampire Federation saga because Sean McCabe makes his undead realm seem genuine.

Harriet Klausner