The Highgate Vampire by Asa Bailey

As most of you know by now, vampire/werewolf literature is not really my thing. But every now and again I feel obligated to give one a go.

I tried Twilight 3 years ago. I read 6 or 7 chapters. I could see the appeal during the set-up stage, but by the 6th chapter I was so over Bella and the goody-two-shoes vampires, that I put it down in disgust.

Recently I read The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda and surprised myself by how much I loved it.

So when an advance copy of 'The Hightgate Vampire' came my way recently, I didn't automatically file it away on the never-to-be-read-pile.

The title grabbed my attention straight away.

When I left uni many years ago, I did the usual Aussie gap year thing and spent a year in the UK working and travelling around Europe.
The 6 or so months I lived in England, Highgate was my home.

I loved the local references. Drinking at The Flask...the pub I also drank at. The cemetery of course, plus various mentions of streets and roads I had walked down once upon a time.

And this was a good vampire story.

The vampires were mean and nasty, the way all good vampires should be. They killed people indiscriminately and they didn't care.

Sometimes the writing and dialogue left a little to be desired, but the story itself was interesting enough to get me all the way to the end.

The way that Bailey left poor Kathy at the end was desperately sad and Antwain seemed to be channelling Edward in the dying moments of the story! However Bailey wasn't afraid to kill off main characters and there was plenty of stake, holy water and garlic action.

Recommended vampire lit for those tired of vampires with a moral conscience!

Sexual references and drinking alert as well.