A collaboration of two very talented authors, Adrienne Barbeau and Michael Scott, Vampyres of Hollywood brings us mystery, suspense, and quite a bit of horror.
The famous scream queen of Hollywood, Ovsanna Moore, is stunning, talented, and besides starring in several blockbuster horror films (and a few that went straight to DVD) she also runs her own production company. Oh, and she's also a 500 year old vampire who is also the CEO of the Hollywood Vampyres. So when three extremely gruesome deaths occur within two weeks in Hollywood, and all the victims can be tied to her, Osvanna has a serious problem. Especially since two of the victims were vampires.
Peter King is a Beverly Hills Police Detective who has already had his 15 minutes of fame. While he is talented at his job and knows a lot about the city he loves, he is unaware of the supernatural beings that flock to the city- and that a large majority of them also appear on screen. Assigned to the murders that were done by the killer, dubbed the "Cinema Slayer" by the media, King meets with Osvanna and the two join together to find the killer as they both have something to gain from solving these murders. Osvanna must protect her vampire legacy and production company while King simply wants to keep his beloved Beverly Hills murder free.
This novel is very cleverly done. Alternating chapters are told from Osvanna's point of view and then Peter's point of view. This keeps the suspense rolling as we see much more of the supernatural world during Osvanna's chapters and then the view of the murder mystery from Peter who sees it without the supernatural elements. The story is set in modern day Hollywood and the throwbacks to current shows, actors, and media stories are entertaining. I also love that the group of Vampyres of Hollywood are all famous actors, they give you hints as to who they are throughout the book, not really telling you their names until the end. Does anyone else think that Buster Keaton and Kirk Douglas could have been Vampires?
One warning I will give is that this book is in fact a horror novel. The murder scenes are extremely descriptive and gruesome, not for the faint of heart. The end battle scene, while incredibly entertaining and worthy of a blockbuster horror movie, is full of over the top violence and carnage, all described in detail. These scenes definitely make this a horror novel. That being said, the writing style of this book is excellent, the tone has definite changes as you alternate between the two main characters. The details of life in Hollywood as a star are realistic and exciting. The novel is quick paced with lots of Hollywood glamour, behind-the-scenes secrets, creepy undead creatures, and bloodthirsty back stabbing characters. Overall a great read and a story to lose yourself in!
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