Never Cross a Vampire
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
About this ebook
Toby Peters guards a horror icon against a gang of crazed vampire enthusiasts.
Coffins fill the basement of a crumbling Los Angeles movie theater. Five vampires crowd around fading horror idol Bela Lugosi, peppering him with questions. A malfunctioning plastic fang causes one of the undead-wannabes to lisp. The effect is less than fearsome, but Lugosi is terrified, for one of these oddballs has been making threats on his life. He hires Toby Peters to provide security against his unbalanced fans. The detective is not concerned, but he should be. Even fake vampires can kill.
Meanwhile, the Warner brothers contact Peters regarding a murder. A body has surfaced in one of Hollywood's darker corners, and police suspicion has fallen on one of the studio's star screenwriters: William Faulkner. As he struggles to balance the murder investigation while protecting Lugosi, Peters finds a thread connecting the two cases. To get Faulkner off the hook, he'll have to find out who wants to kill Hollywood's original Dracula.
Stuart M. Kaminsky
Stuart M. Kaminsky was the author of more than 60 novels and an Edgar Award winner who was given the coveted Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America. His series include the Lew Fonesca, Inspector Rostnikov, Toby Peters, and Abe Lieberman mysteries, which includes such titles as Terror Town, The Last Dark Place, and Not Quite Kosher. He passed away in the fall of 2009.
Read more from Stuart M. Kaminsky
When the Dark Man Calls: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Exercise in Terror Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When the Dark Man Calls Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Melody and Murder: Two Novels Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
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Reviews for Never Cross a Vampire
28 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Enjoyable tale that includes Bela Lugosi and William Faulkner as characters (Faulkner accused of murder and arrested, and Toby Peters has to get him off). Story takes place in 1942 and there are many product and entertainment references from that time. I think Kaminsky got it wrong when he wrote about an event on the Fibber McGee and Molly program where the mayor wanted McGee to run for water commissioner against Gildersleeve, but by that time Gildersleeve was living in a different town, so the two could not have opposed one another for the position. But overall, a very entertaining book. -- Read January 2010 --
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Originally written in the 1970s and set in the 1940s, this mystery had a very film noir, dark and gritty atmosphere. I liked Toby as a character but I could not follow the murder mystery plot or figure out how he was solving it. I’m not sure if this was because I listened to it on audio and so I couldn’t flip back and re-read parts or if it was the book’s fault. I suspect some of both.I liked all the voices the narrator did except for Toby. The book is written in first person from Toby’s point of view so there is a lot of Toby’s voice. I think he was trying to make Toby seem cool and confident but most of the time Toby sounded bored.The author often had Toby commenting on how much something costs or what news is on the radio as he’s driving around. If you have nostalgia for the 1940s or the past in general, I think you’ll find this interesting.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is an interesting enough book to pass an evening with. It is definitely in the mystery genre rather than the vampire genre. Nothing horrifying about it other than some of the characters. It you like PI books you’ll like this one. The inverse holds true as well.