Blood Vice (The Nightfall Syndicate, Book 1)
Keith Melton
Release: February 17, 2009
Buy Kindle version: here
Goodreads Entry: here
Rating: 4 Stars

I have read a lot of books over the last year or so…. and I can honestly say up until now, I have read not a single book that combines mobsters and vampires. Somehow Keith Melton successfully tells the tale of bad ass vampires, violent mafia wars, with a dash of romance on the side.

Maria is the daughter of powerful crime boss. She is desperately trying to prove her worth in the family business to her father and his lieutenants, an impossible task in a male dominated world like the mafia. She has the brains and balls, she just has to convince her family that a woman can do the job. Maria hires Karl Vance, a hired hitman and powerful vampire, to help weaken the enemy crime family. Over the course of the story the war between families becomes much more than a war over money or territory – it becomes personal for Karl and Maria.

At first glimpse of Maria I was prepared to dislike her. She was independent, frank, stubborn, and sometimes sarcastic. While I like my men a bit feisty, these same traits in female characters sometimes lead me to roll my eyes. Too many times a strong/bitter female is defiant even when it doesn’t make sense in an effort to be heroic or self sacrificing. I was fully prepared for Maria to be that type of woman and was pleasantly surprised to find she wasn’t. She may kick you in the balls and call you names, but she also knows when its best to go with the flow and save herself some pain.

Karl Vance is a bad ass mofo. His employers may not know his true nature as a powerful vampire, but they know he has no problem doing what needs to be done. While he gave up on his soul many years ago, he struggles to keep his darker nature in check and do the right thing. I don’t want to say that he is looking for redemption because I don’t believe he thinks its realistic, but at the very least he is looking to minimize his own impact on the world. If the book cover is accurate, he manages to do all of this with his shirt open. What more could we ask for in a vampire hitman?

The plot of this book is hard hitting and quick paced. I was sucked into the story line from the first chapter and snuck in reading time wherever I could find it! I love a good urban fantasy novel that takes no prisoners and this one does that. There is a surprising twist with Maria’s character arc during the first half of the book that completely threw me for a loop! It was daring and unexpected and may have even broken some of those unwritten book rules. I had to check my progress bar to make sure I wasn’t at the end already!

If I had anything to complain about it may have been the romance aspect of the plot. I didn’t feel the chemistry between Vance and Maria at first… and even at the end felt like I needed more time with them and the connection between them. However, I liked that Vance didn’t always know what to say to comfort her and often found himself saying nothing even when it was probably not the right move. It was realistic to his character, even if it sometimes left me feeling a bit cold.

Oh wait, I remembered one more thing I wanted to complain about…. the people in this book are way too good at recognizing fancy suit brands at first glance. I mean this is dark gritty urban fantasy world, not project runway I jest.. I get that its a mob thing!

FTC Disclaimer: This book was purchased by me.