I Read What?!

So yeah, I've finished another book! Yay!

Did it pass?

Yeah, I think it did. But let's talk about it in a bit more detail.

So this book is a different style of mystery than any of the previous books in this series. For once, Jack's issues are not the plot. Instead, this reminds me a bit more of something like Midsomer Murders, where we have a complex cast of characters and dynamics that weave together in its own story. Our investigating heroes are separate, friendly outsiders with no stakes in the mystery except the drive to find out the truth.

Well, kind of. There are a few elements that keep this from being a standalone story.

Most of that comes from Alex Adrian. It's not a coincidence, I think, that Jack gets very invested in Alex's story. Alex is a grieving widower, who thinks he knows the cause of his wife's death, but hasn't been able to truly comprehend it or move past it.

And of course, Jack Fleming knows exactly what it's like to grieve a woman that he loves, without understanding what happened to her or why. He finally got those answers in the last book and now he can give those answers to someone else.

We also see a lot of development for Jack and Bobbi. Jack's still pretty avoidant and his trust issues are on full display. But they talk and they move forward, and Bobbi makes her choice for the future. That's pretty great.

And I think it's significant that Jack now has three people who know the truth about what he is, who are not horrified or disgusted or judgmental. He's getting to be honest with them and has been rewarded for it. That's kind of nice.

That aside, I do think that this is the weakest book in the series, so far. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. A breezy Midsomer adventure is a welcome reprieve after the intensity of Bloodcircle and before, well...

If my memory's correct, this reprieve will not last that long. Hah.

So yeah, I enjoyed it very much, and it's time to make a decision for next week.

So last time, Jack and Bobbi reached a relationship milestone. And some artist dude might know about vampires. Eh, it's good for Jack to have friends.

( Well, hopefully not murdery friends... )

So last time, we left off with a cliffhanger - an artist in danger! Oops!

( and they say the art world is brutal... )

Sorry for the break! I had family over the weekend. Then I was lazy. But I'm back now.

As an FYI, I have tentatively settled on the next two books for review. It will be the second book of the Cleric Quintet, In Sylvan Shadows, and the third Bardic Voices book, Eagle and the Nightingale. (I am also adding the second Dragaera novel, Yendi, to my "to review" queue, but that will be farther down the line.) Thank you for your suggestions, I really appreciate them!

But now, back to Vampire Files. If Bloodlist was like "the Shadow", Art in the Blood has felt a lot like an episode of Midsomer Murders. We've had a lot of quiet, calm set up, with our heroes getting to hang out with some weird yet friendly artists for about six chapters.

But now we've finally got our murder.

( Damnit, I liked Sandra... )

So last time, Bobbi had her first sitting and we learned more about the weird social dynamics of this tiny artist clique. Still no murder yet. Maybe we won't have one at all!

( Jack's had a rough time, so I don't mind reading a book that's all about him hanging out with some weird artists... )

So last time, in a rare bit for this series, Jack actually got to have a good time and get involved with other people's drama. There's not even a case yet. It's just random artists being goofy at a party.

I mean, we know eventually someone's probably going to get murdered, but it hasn't happened yet! Woo!

( Well, unless backstory counts, but I don't count it. )

Sorry for the delay. As usual, I have an excuse: I couldn't think of which book I wanted to review next. I definitely intend to get to the next book in the Cleric Quintet, but I like to have a little bit of a break before I continue with a series.

Then I realized that it's been a good hundred years or so since I reviewed the last Vampire Files novel.

This is one of those review series that's really more for me than for any of you. They're quick, easy, and generally of pretty good quality. (Even the one I thought was kind of mediocre turned out to be awesome once I realized I'd missed the point. - See my review of Bloodcircle's last chapter to see what I mean.)

But anyway, it'll be interesting to see where it goes. This is one of those series that I read when I was much younger, somewhat out of order (depending on which books I could find at the library or used book store), and thus I have a very shaky memory for most details.

I remembered a lot of the first three books since they're kind of an enclosed trilogy, centered around Jack, his relationship with Maureen, and what exactly happened to her. But now we know. And there are nine books left. So what are they?

( Let's find out! )

So this is funny, because initially, this was going to be a very different post. However, I got hit by an amazing epiphany MID-REVIEW of chapter eleven and I have to change all this.

(If you've ever been to my tumblr and wondered how I write meta, you can actually see the birth of one in real time toward the end of my last review. It basically works like that. Though now I am resentfully glaring at all of my previous chapter reviews because I MISSED THE FUCKING POINT.)

Anyway, I was dead wrong and this book is amazing, both in its own right and as a conclusion to one of the biggest plot threads of the series so far.

Though, I do think there were a few flaws here and there.

So let's talk about the Plot:

My biggest complaint at the beginning of Chapter Ten was that we spent too much time with meaningless, plodding details of the investigation, rather than fleshing out important figures, like Emily and Laura, who proved to be such a big part of the plot.

But, I hate to say it, but I think those plodding details had a point. Over and over again, we watched Jack talk to witnesses: step-by-step. Methodically talking them into revealing the tiny relevant clue that they held.

We watched Jack break into the Francher mansion, but we didn't just see the important scenes with Emily and Barrett and Laura. We saw the plodding, meaningless bits too: the servants' sleeping quarters. The stables. Step-by-step.

It was unlike Elrod, who is usually a crisp, efficient storyteller.

It is, however, maybe like another character, who operates with a similar methodical nature. Step-by-step.

I do feel like maybe another pass from an editor could have helped the interim chapters feel a little less ploddy though.

There are basically two plots intertwined here: Maureen's disappearance and the present day story of the Francher family. Sadly, in contrast with Bloodlist and Lifeblood, I felt less of a connection to Maureen as a character in this book. I suppose you could attribute that to Jack's emotional state. He was grieving in Bloodlist, and taking cautious steps to heal and move on in Lifeblood. This is more about closure than reconciliation. And even then Escott's more of a driving motivation behind it.

It is a bit of a shame though. I feel like having Maureen as an active cast member could have been fascinating. (Expand the polycule!)

The Francher plot is far less of an emotional investment. And I think it's a shame. Emily, in particular, could really have used some actual focus and development. She's central to so many events, and so many characters' motivations and even the end: I wanted to care more about her. And I didn't.

Overall though, I think the ending justified the unwieldy middle and it was worth it over all.

So let's talk about Characters:

No Bobbi this time. Bleh. That's the big down point right there. But I'm not being fair, because we do "see" her a couple of times (via Jack's phone calls), and she remains the fantastic force of nature that she always is. I love what we see of her relationship with Jack: the trust and the honesty. Jack doesn't fall into the trap of a lot of heroic protagonists in these sorts of genre shows/books, who needlessly keeps secrets and makes things worse. He's looking for Maureen. He loves Maureen. He loves Bobbi. Bobbi loves him. And Bobbi understands why he needs answers.

I feel like, if Maureen had joined the cast, she and Bobbi could have sorted out the whole mess between themselves.

Jack is Jack, for the most part. I didn't like the sexualization of Laura during the scene where he was investigating the manor, or the way that Jack occasionally reflected on it afterward. I think I get what Ms. Elrod was trying to do, but the execution didn't quite work for me. We've known Jack for two books now: he's not that guy. But that's a small complaint. Overall, he's great. And Escott is delightful.

I already kind of addressed the Franchers. Laura got a bit more substance toward the end, but Emily was a non-entity and that's pretty sad. Walk-on-role Clarice got more of a personality in two pages than Emily did in...well...four pages. Eh.

The big new character of course is Jonathan Barrett. And well, the book does at least try to make us think he could be the villlain for like...a chapter. Maybe. But well, if you knew about the spin-off series, you'd probably figure out that he's a red herring/protagonist type after all.

I definitely enjoy Barrett. I particularly enjoy Barrett clashing with Jack and Escott over various things. I love that Barrett and Jack seem to have this utterly profound disconnect with each other that comes their completely disparate backgrounds and social classes. And then there's Escott, who fluidly suits every environment. Jack can occasionally upset Barrett, but it's Escott who really gets under his skin. Only a gentleman can truly insult a gentleman?

I don't recall Jack and Jonathan interacting again in the main series, though it's implied that Jonathan and Escott still communicate occasionally. There is however a post-series novella that is just our two vampire heroes, and it's pretty dandy too. And maybe provides one tiny last bit of closure on the Maureen issue.

It'll be a while before we get there though.

So anyway, yes, it passes. Now I need to think of another book to take its place.

So last time, our protagonists cleared the air, Escott told us who the likely murderer is, and Jack goaded Barrett into punching him in the face.

( I mean, dude, have you considered therapy instead? )

Last chapter, the investigation started heating up and Jack got bashed in the head a few times. As tends to happen.

( You get used to that kind of thing, reading these books. )