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West Hollywood Vampires #2
The Trouble with Hairy
Oh, Bloody Mary – with a twist!
Cruel, sharp teeth hunger for a taste of human flesh. Powerful jaws salivate at the thought of innocent victims. And twisted, gnarled claws are just dying for a manicure!
Something not-quite-human stalks the city streets under the full moon after the gay bars close. As the ravaged corpses start piling up, coroner Becky O’Brien and her unlikely allies realize they are the only defenders who can protect scores of unsuspecting pretty boys from a grisly, bone crunching Death by Werewolf.
Welcome back to West Hollywood, where the drinks aren’t the only things that are stiff! Get ready to howl with laughter under a full moon when Becky, her best friend Christopher Driscoll – who happens to be the city’s resident vampire! – and his quirky boyfriend Troy battle to save West Hollywood’s hottest men from a vicious monster’s hunger.
Brace yourself for another runaway macabre black comedy from the author of Bite Club where you, too, will find yourself trying to discover just what, exactly, is… The Trouble with Hairy.
Hal Bodner’s previous book in the Chris and Troy series, Bite Club, was a genre best seller. A widower, he lives in West Hollywood with several dogs, a veritable flock of parrots and a new boyfriend barely half his age who was astonished to find out that Liza Minelli is Judy Garland’s daughter.
Cruel, sharp teeth hunger for a taste of human flesh. Powerful jaws salivate at the thought of innocent victims. And twisted, gnarled claws are just dying for a manicure!
Something not-quite-human stalks the city streets under the full moon after the gay bars close. As the ravaged corpses start piling up, coroner Becky O’Brien and her unlikely allies realize they are the only defenders who can protect scores of unsuspecting pretty boys from a grisly, bone crunching Death by Werewolf.
Welcome back to West Hollywood, where the drinks aren’t the only things that are stiff! Get ready to howl with laughter under a full moon when Becky, her best friend Christopher Driscoll – who happens to be the city’s resident vampire! – and his quirky boyfriend Troy battle to save West Hollywood’s hottest men from a vicious monster’s hunger.
Brace yourself for another runaway macabre black comedy from the author of Bite Club where you, too, will find yourself trying to discover just what, exactly, is… The Trouble with Hairy.
Hal Bodner’s previous book in the Chris and Troy series, Bite Club, was a genre best seller. A widower, he lives in West Hollywood with several dogs, a veritable flock of parrots and a new boyfriend barely half his age who was astonished to find out that Liza Minelli is Judy Garland’s daughter.
- GenresHorrorVampiresParanormal
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2012
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 6, 2012
Hal Bodner’s second foray into the world of the metaphysical mystery, THE TROUBLE WITH HAIRY, is a howlingly, well crafted tale of mayhem in WeHo. Our hero, Christopher Driscoll, his madcap renfield, and long time lover, Troy Raleigh, and my favorite, overweight medical examiner, City Coroner Becky O’Brien once again head the cast of assorted characters (and I don’t just mean characters in a book) who are charged with law and order in West Hollywood.
I had the pleasure of reading Hal’s manuscript for this book. Like BITE CLUB, I was impressed with the storytelling and character development. The mainstays of West Hollywood, Mayor Daniel Eversleigh, police Captain Clive Anderson, and City Manager Pamela Burman, all return, their respective feuds embellished and their stories expanded. Underneath all the animosity these three have for one another are people we have all known and loved and hated.
I hate to write a review that gives things away, so I will leave you with one thought provoking question. Is there more to Pamela Burman than bad taste in clothing and a big mouth? Start reading THE TROUBLE WITH HAIRY right now. You will not be disappointed. There is mayhem, whimsy and lot of good storytelling all happening on the streets of West Hollywood.
I had the pleasure of reading Hal’s manuscript for this book. Like BITE CLUB, I was impressed with the storytelling and character development. The mainstays of West Hollywood, Mayor Daniel Eversleigh, police Captain Clive Anderson, and City Manager Pamela Burman, all return, their respective feuds embellished and their stories expanded. Underneath all the animosity these three have for one another are people we have all known and loved and hated.
I hate to write a review that gives things away, so I will leave you with one thought provoking question. Is there more to Pamela Burman than bad taste in clothing and a big mouth? Start reading THE TROUBLE WITH HAIRY right now. You will not be disappointed. There is mayhem, whimsy and lot of good storytelling all happening on the streets of West Hollywood.
January 14, 2021
if you're looking for a book full of quirky characters, then look no further! I can't express how much I loved the people in this book. The beginning of the book was slow, and I almost gave up on it, but I'm so glad that I didn't. Once the story picks up, it's full of comedy and suspense. The narrator grew on me over time.
I found it 'interesting' how Vamps were accepted and involved with the community.
The two male leads, a couple, a vamp and a human, were just about the sweetest fictional duo I've ever read.
Story 4
Narator 4
I found it 'interesting' how Vamps were accepted and involved with the community.
The two male leads, a couple, a vamp and a human, were just about the sweetest fictional duo I've ever read.
Story 4
Narator 4
January 20, 2020
I didn't love it.
June 28, 2012
Wonderfully flawed characters! More than several times I thought, man, these people are just a bundle of neuroses, aren't they? I enjoyed the depth Bodner put into all of his players, from the minor to the major. If you are a plot-based reader, who must have something big happen nearly every chapter, you probably won't find this your cup of tea. But, if you like funny character sketches and biting dialogue and care for a little suspenseful horror in your fiction, this is a must.
August 6, 2018
The Trouble with Hairy (West Hollywood Vampires, #2)
By Hal Bodner
Published by Macabre Ink, 2014
Four stars
Chris and Troy, the centuries-old vampire and his not-quite-human lover of some 65 years, are settling into West Hollywood—which means they’re moving into a larger apartment. Meanwhile, another series of gory murders is looking uncomfortably similar in the eyes of overweight snack-addict coroner Rebecca O’Brien. It is Becky who has to finally force her work compatriots, the debonair police captain Clive, and the irascible city manager Pamela, to pay attention.
That’s when Chris and Troy come back into the picture.
This story knits the actions of the last book neatly into the world created by Bodner in book one, when the monster on the loose was a rogue vampire. Now it’s the reclusive and inhospitable werewolf world that gets dragged into the shenanigans in the gayest city in America. Clive, Pamela, and Becky are the reluctant humans who have to save the day without causing panic among the mortals.
What’s so fascinating about these two books is that, of all the main characters, only Chris, the vampire, is at all appealing. Clive is the least obnoxious, but he is hardly one’s idea of a best friend. Becky, for all her remarkable intelligence, is frankly repellant. Pamela, whose awful clothing choices compete with her truculent nature for top honors, should be entirely hateful. Troy, the oversexed boy-toy, is a nitwit twink of the first degree, spoiled and undisciplined in every way. And yet, somehow, and especially in this book, we kind of become their friends. There is redemption and there is loyalty in equal measure, which sort of rubs against the general mood of goofball mayhem.
One of the key features of this book that I liked a lot is that the author delves into the hidden personal side of all the main characters—including the murderous one. We learn things we didn’t know, and that helps us get under the characters’ skin and understand who they really are.
All in all, Bodner’s West Hollywood books are oddities, and more enjoyable for that. It seems clear there were more books in this series in the author’s mind, and perhaps he will produce them for us someday. But, it seems, life is difficult enough without having to write books to make strangers happy. In the meantime, I enjoy the nostalgic memories that Bodner brings to his beloved West Hollywood, as well as the absurd bloody adventures of the unlikeliest team of crime-stoppers ever to appear in literature.
By Hal Bodner
Published by Macabre Ink, 2014
Four stars
Chris and Troy, the centuries-old vampire and his not-quite-human lover of some 65 years, are settling into West Hollywood—which means they’re moving into a larger apartment. Meanwhile, another series of gory murders is looking uncomfortably similar in the eyes of overweight snack-addict coroner Rebecca O’Brien. It is Becky who has to finally force her work compatriots, the debonair police captain Clive, and the irascible city manager Pamela, to pay attention.
That’s when Chris and Troy come back into the picture.
This story knits the actions of the last book neatly into the world created by Bodner in book one, when the monster on the loose was a rogue vampire. Now it’s the reclusive and inhospitable werewolf world that gets dragged into the shenanigans in the gayest city in America. Clive, Pamela, and Becky are the reluctant humans who have to save the day without causing panic among the mortals.
What’s so fascinating about these two books is that, of all the main characters, only Chris, the vampire, is at all appealing. Clive is the least obnoxious, but he is hardly one’s idea of a best friend. Becky, for all her remarkable intelligence, is frankly repellant. Pamela, whose awful clothing choices compete with her truculent nature for top honors, should be entirely hateful. Troy, the oversexed boy-toy, is a nitwit twink of the first degree, spoiled and undisciplined in every way. And yet, somehow, and especially in this book, we kind of become their friends. There is redemption and there is loyalty in equal measure, which sort of rubs against the general mood of goofball mayhem.
One of the key features of this book that I liked a lot is that the author delves into the hidden personal side of all the main characters—including the murderous one. We learn things we didn’t know, and that helps us get under the characters’ skin and understand who they really are.
All in all, Bodner’s West Hollywood books are oddities, and more enjoyable for that. It seems clear there were more books in this series in the author’s mind, and perhaps he will produce them for us someday. But, it seems, life is difficult enough without having to write books to make strangers happy. In the meantime, I enjoy the nostalgic memories that Bodner brings to his beloved West Hollywood, as well as the absurd bloody adventures of the unlikeliest team of crime-stoppers ever to appear in literature.
Read
September 16, 2013The book is a sequel of Bite Club, but it can be a standalone, the main characters from the previous one, ancient vampire Christopher Driscoll, his new lover Troy, and coroner Becky O’Brien, are again together in an investigation, but now it’s not more about vampires, but werewolves… yes, since, after the discovery that vampires exist in Bite Club, gay population of West Hollywood is now threatened by werewolves. And of course there will be a new couple, werewolf Louis and drag queen Carlos/Shanda, so nice and cute as a couple that is a pity they are introduced more or less only half into the story.
The plot is mainly a mix of paranormal/comedy, with a push on the comic/comedy/paradox side, so much that I think the author wanted a little to parody the paranormal genre so much trendy in these past few years. But the character of Louis, an almost idiot savant, taken from his natural habitat and trust in the middle of West Hollywood, is among the most original and refreshing I have found lately in the genre.
For sure one of the main character of the novel is the suburb of West Hollywood; it’s clear the author lives and loves the city, and his able to transmit everything of it, history, planimetry, even the moods and the scent.
The story and plot is engaging, entertaining and very funny, with an ending that is worth of the most classical (West) Hollywood romantic comedies.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1469926970/?...
The plot is mainly a mix of paranormal/comedy, with a push on the comic/comedy/paradox side, so much that I think the author wanted a little to parody the paranormal genre so much trendy in these past few years. But the character of Louis, an almost idiot savant, taken from his natural habitat and trust in the middle of West Hollywood, is among the most original and refreshing I have found lately in the genre.
For sure one of the main character of the novel is the suburb of West Hollywood; it’s clear the author lives and loves the city, and his able to transmit everything of it, history, planimetry, even the moods and the scent.
The story and plot is engaging, entertaining and very funny, with an ending that is worth of the most classical (West) Hollywood romantic comedies.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1469926970/?...
September 25, 2013
There wasn't anything wrong with the book itself. I just realized, about a quarter into it, that I really can't read gruesomely detailed horror anymore, as it leaves me feeling physically ill.
December 13, 2024
it kept my interest, it was humorous, the charcters where each unique, yet fit well as a group.
it kept my interest, it was humorous,the charcters where unique yet fit well as a group, the ending wasn't what I expected. It was much better with a twist.
it kept my interest, it was humorous,the charcters where unique yet fit well as a group, the ending wasn't what I expected. It was much better with a twist.
November 9, 2014
The Trouble With Hairy is a great novel. Plain and simple. Written superbly, it's a supernatural laugh fest and mystery, with enough wit and charm to keep you warm and tingly for years. I found myself laughing out loud when reading. But it isnt just the laughs that make this puppy shine. It's also a horror mystery with plenty of violence and bloodshed. Mr. Bodner is a genius. The man knows what he is doing. His cast of characters are ones you'll never forget, each one unique and essential to the story. My favorites: Becky, loved her. Troy, funniest character I've read in a long time. Highly recommended for horror fans, dark comedy fans, and fans that simply enjoy a well-crafted gem.
February 4, 2013
I like the way Hal Bodner writes. His imagery and details put you right into the conflict of the protagonist. I've never been to West Hollywood and yet, somehow, I've been to West Hollywood. Hairy is not something that goes bump in the night. He's something that will leave very little left of his victims. I could smell the blood while mine ran cold. A fine little tale of horror with some unique points of view. If I ever visit West Hollywood, I'll be looking over my shoulder and I sure as hell won't be wandering around in the middle of the night. Bite me! Not!!
Michael Goldcraft, author of Ascent of Evil.
Michael Goldcraft, author of Ascent of Evil.
March 11, 2012
This is probably the best book you haven't read yet. Rare is the book that will cause me to look up, realize it's 3 am, shrug, then keep going in order to finish it.
It's an improvement in every way over its prequel, and I loved the prequel. The characters really get fleshed out, the plot is literally laugh out loud hilarious, and yet there's still a sense of soul in it. You care about the people in this book.
It's an improvement in every way over its prequel, and I loved the prequel. The characters really get fleshed out, the plot is literally laugh out loud hilarious, and yet there's still a sense of soul in it. You care about the people in this book.
March 29, 2012
Loved it!!
September 8, 2012
Not my normal fair, but the characters were very well developed and entertaining. From a cultural standpoint, I learned a LOT from this book.
April 6, 2016
A good secondary book I give it 4 stars,laugh out loud funny.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews