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Dark Moonlighting #1

Dark Moonlighting

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Nick Whittier, having been alive for six centuries, has had plenty of time to master three professions. In a typical week he works as a police officer, lawyer and doctor and still finds time to murder someone and drink their blood. He used to feel guilty about the killings, but now he restricts himself to only eating the worst members of society. Few people in Starside, Illinois seem to care about the untimely deaths of spam e-mailers, pushy Jehovah Witnesses and politicians. However, the barriers between Nick's three secret lives start to crumble when a mysterious man from his past arrives in town seeking revenge. Nick must move quickly to prevent the three women in his life, and the authorities who are hunting him, from discovering his terrible secret.

Dark Moonlighting is the first book in the humorous series. It explores four of the biggest clichés in popular culture, and it pokes fun at a number of popular television shows including Law & Order, Bones and House. It also takes a more realistic and amusing approach to the vampire cliché. For example, the average human has the equivalent of five Big Gulps worth of blood in their body. Nick takes twenty minutes to kill someone and, like the vampire bat, must immediately urinate afterwards.

201 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2013

71 people are currently reading
1030 people want to read

About the author

Scott Haworth

21 books15 followers
Scott Haworth is the author of dozens of novels including the Blue Champion series, the Second Contact series and the Dark Moonlighting series.

When not writing, he enjoys being asleep.

He lives in Ohio with a cat, a dog and a wife.

Visit his website: http://scotthaworthbooks.weebly.com/

Check out Scott's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ScottHaworth...

Follow him on Twitter: @_ScottHaworth

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5 stars
93 (19%)
4 stars
158 (33%)
3 stars
138 (29%)
2 stars
62 (13%)
1 star
24 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
Profile Image for Felyn.
328 reviews36 followers
July 5, 2013
Let me be up front - the 2-star rating not because it's a crappy book, it's because I personally did not enjoy it. I felt it took too much upon itself, satirizing too many tropes at once, and it felt overblown and jarring. I'm sure other people will love it to pieces, but it's not my cup of tea.
Profile Image for Heather.
347 reviews
June 6, 2013
Dark Moonlighting (Dark Moonlighting, #1) by: Scott Haworth
Format: PDF provided by author in exchange for review

Review: Dark Moonlighting is filled with dark humor, sharp teeth, a couple of bad guys, and clichés. Nick writes his account as he’s trapped with mocking officers in jail, awaiting his trial for a murder he didn’t commit. He is also a 600 year old vampire who defies the shiny, angst-ridden vampires that swamp the market today. His face is marked from past disease, he has (often funny) secrets, and morals… somewhere. He keeps busy by flying between his three jobs of cop, doc, and lawyer. He maintains three identities and juggles trying to fool the general populace and a genius neighbor who gets too close to the truth later in the book.

His life spirals hilariously out of control after a power hungry, cheesy enemy from his past and his three sidekicks show up in town. He develops two very different love interests and manages to whack an email spammer and persistent pamphlet pusher. (Don’t lie to yourself- we all have one of “those” people in our lives we wish some 600 year old vamp’ would come and mysteriously make disappear).

Soon all three jobs are in turmoil due to interference from his newly arrived enemies and Nick’s poor judgments. His life starts to unravel, the bodies pile up, and he has to face the reality his choices mean life and death for those he cares about.

A quirky and easy indie read.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.
Profile Image for Nicki Markus.
Author 55 books298 followers
April 28, 2013
Dark Moonlighting is a fun and entertaining read that kept a smile on my face from start to finish. I even had to share the aardvark joke with my husband and in-laws over dinner when the recent bird flu in China came into the conversation.

I love the wry humour Haworth injects into the piece, offering a different take on vampires from the usual fare and I would certainly enjoy reading further books in this series. For vampire fans looking for a lighter take on things, I can recommend this as an enjoyable, swift read to while away a couple of hours and put you in a good mood.

I received this book as a free e-book review copy from the author.
Profile Image for Suz.
2,293 reviews74 followers
July 19, 2013
Interesting premise/ lore. The humor was dry and subtle but there. The story read more like a framework for the world building and therefore wasn't as engaging as I would have liked. The protagonist wasn't especially likeable.

Either I got a bad download or the end is the kind of cliff hanger that literally stops in the middle of a sentence without even the grace to give you a finished sentence or even a period.

I am not amused.

Profile Image for Jeanie ~ MyFairytaleLibrary.
636 reviews78 followers
July 24, 2022
This was a free book, so I'm trying to be kind. The story was not awful, but it was not funny either. I "got" all of the jokes, they just were not funny. The references to all of the TV shows was more annoying than quaint. The main character was likable enough and the story moved along well. It just wasn't very good and the vampire thing has just gotten so old. It's a light read and I'm sure some people will really enjoy it. Just not me.
Profile Image for Donna Callea.
Author 7 books6 followers
June 22, 2013
More tongue-in-cheek than fang-in-neck. This is a clever, well written and fun-to-read vampire saga that should appeal to those who don't even like vampire sagas. Haworth is an indie author after my own heart-- as long as his quirky, six-century-old protagonist leaves my blood alone.
Profile Image for Lilian.
46 reviews
April 25, 2014
The only bad thing about Goodreads is that I feel obliged to finish books now. This might work for some, but it's ridiculously contrived and the humor is... well, not humorous.

On the plus side, it's not a long book...
Profile Image for Amanda Capper.
1 review
March 6, 2013
Funny stuff. Smiled from the dedication right through to the epilogue. Looking forward to the next one...supposed to be the first in a series of four.
Profile Image for Lorraine.
72 reviews34 followers
July 18, 2016



Dark Moonlighting - Scott Haworth
I'm back with a book review. I'm not sure if this is going to be a common thing, but this is a book I just finished reading five minutes ago, so I figured I'd review it. I've tried to make the review as spoiler free as possible, but I still recommend you read the book if you definitely want no spoilers. Then again, I always recommend reading the book before reading reviews. You don't get any preconceived thoughts about the book again. Anyway, the book itself I'd give it 3 or 4 out of 5 stars. I can't quite decide between 3 or 4, so I'll make it 3.5 then I guess. The books not all that bad, and I expect some people would enjoy it, I just didn't.

The main issue I had, is the clichés. I get the feeling they're deliberately used for whatever reason. It doesn't work for me though, I feel like I'm reading one of those stories deliberately written badly. I mean, the writing isn't bad, but if someone asks you what helps aid bad writing? I guarantee one of the things mentioned is clichés, especially overuse of clichés.

A positive, which did make a nice change, is the unattractive main character. He's a vampire, but what says he has to be godly sexy? Nothing. This character is the exact opposite, in fact, he's covered in pox scars from before he was turned. The author also sticks pretty true to the traditional allergies. The character, and despite just finishing reading it I can't remember his name to save my life, is allergic to sunlight. No sparkling in this story. He also refuses an offer of a date at an Italian restaurant due to his fear of all the garlic. You've got to appreciate that.

The introduction is also a cliché. It starts with the main character talking about how he's currently writing this story, and he's actually being given instructions on how to write better. Don't start with dialogue, don't overuse exclamation marks etc. I don't know about other people, but hearing this sort of thing didn't really endear me to the character. It sounded more like the author was preparing an excuse for the bad writing, as this introduction was supposedly written by the vampire after he'd already finished the rest of the story.

I don't want to drone on, but there's positives and negatives to this story. Like everything else, this is just my opinion, it might not be a popular opinion, so check it out. I actually bought this book when it was free for a day or something. I don't feel like I wasted time reading it, either. After all, it gave me an idea of what to blog about this afternoon.

Oh, and can we agree not to talk about how terrible that cover is. If I was judging a book by its cover, I'd cringe. Although maybe that's another of the clichés this author seems to be going for.

 
323 reviews2 followers
June 15, 2013
No sparkly vampires here! In Dark Moonlighting, Scott Haworth manages to poke fun at every vampire, police, lawyer, and hospital TV show and cliche out there. Nick Whittier is a 600+-year-old vampire who doesn't fit any of our modern ideas about how a vampire should look--no tall, dark, and handsome here. His feeding is not sexy, especially since it's followed immediately by an irresistible urge to rid himself of the excess fluid he just took in--hence his serial killer name, The Urinator, for the massive puddles of urine he leaves behind at the scene. The book is written from the perspective of Nick as he sits in jail awaiting his execution. Since vampires only need 2 hours of sleep, that leaves Nick with a lot of spare time, so he works three jobs. He's a lawyer, a police officer, and a doctor. The lawyer gig serves to help him identify low-lifes to mark for future victim-hood. The police gig helps him stay one step ahead of the authorities who might get too close to identifying The Urinator. The hospital job allows him the means to carry out his experiments that will, he hopes, lead to a cure for the vampire virus. At each job, he has a meaningful relationship with a woman--his police partner is his best friend, he sleeps with his 2nd chair lawyer, and he's in love with the new hospital intern. All of this he does under the cover of albinism, and somehow he manages to keep his three worlds from overlapping, at least until a figure from his past comes back for some revenge.

There are references in here to just about every police procedural, lawyer show, and medical drama out there. I have to give Haworth credit for working so many in. One example--a crack-addicted, insane doctor at the hospital is Dr. Condo, an obvious reference to House. Two of the cops at the police station are Crockett and Tubbs. You get the idea. I was expecting something to happen at the end, but what did happen wasn't exactly what I expected, but then given the nature of the rest of the cliche-laden book, perhaps I should have. I'm really left with a middle-of-the-road feeling overall about the book. There were times I laughed out loud at some of the references, and then there were times I said out loud, "This book is awful!" Apparently there are sequels planned, and I can't say that I'll run out and read them, but this was definitely an interesting experience and an interesting take on the whole vampire thing.
Profile Image for Jim Kratzok.
1,070 reviews3 followers
July 27, 2017
Yes I did give it 5 stars

The reason is that this was an entertaining story that ignored all the vampire clichés and actually tried to make sense of what vampirism actually is. Also, it was fairly funny, snarky, sarcastic, and had a great ending. Oh, it's also pretty irreverent in a number of ways. Nick Whittier, is a 671 year old vampire, originally from England but lately residing in a small city in Illinois where he manages to be a lawyer, doctor, and police detective while somehow avoiding being exposed to the sun. He's not glamorous, being an unhealthy pale white, covered with scars from surviving bubonic plague and smallpox that he contracted during his 26 years of life as a human. To top it all off, he's on trial for a murder he did not commit and is touted as one of the worst serial murderers in history with the media provided nickname - The Urinator! What a pisser.... 😁
Profile Image for Moondance.
1,192 reviews62 followers
June 9, 2014
"Never start a story with dialogue!"

Nick Whittier is 600 year old vampire telling his story from behind bars. Before he was arrested he worked 3 different jobs in the same town. He was a doctor, a lawyer and a cop. All of this is basically to atone for being a killer. Granted he only kills bad people.

This is one of the most irreverent, snarky and laugh out loud funny books I have read in a very long time. The writing is very reminiscent of Christopher Moore. Nick's references to television programs to validate a point is most amusing. His take on Bones is worth the read alone. The story is told as Nick writes his view after being arrested for a murder he did not commit. He is awaiting the death sentence but wants to clear up what has transpired over the last few years.

I read this book in one sitting without putting it down. I look forward to reading more Haworth. I understand one book has heavy references to my favorite show, The Walking Dead. I can't wait.
Profile Image for Anne Odom.
Author 3 books10 followers
February 2, 2014
This may be one of the most brilliant vampire novels I've ever read, exceeding even Christopher Moore's dark humor. I couldn't stop laughing, in between "ewwwwws".

WHAT I LIKED
-------------
* Dark dry wit
* Clever mix of "romantic" and "monster" vampire. Plus, black plague. Heh.
* Excellent supporting characters
* Dark dry wit
* The "journal" feel of the novel
* The wicked, wicked ending
* Did I mention the dark dry wit?

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
----------------
* The "vampirism is a virus" thing isn't my favorite take on vampirism, but the rest of the book more than makes up for it.

If you like dark (dark) humor, satires of tortured vampires, and a nice helping of violence, give this book a try. I imagine the ending is polarizing - a love it or hate it thing - and I LOVED it. Will definitely be reading more.
Profile Image for Dawn Genna.
94 reviews
April 22, 2013
I was given this book in exchange for my review: I really liked the book. I think that the way that the story was written was interesting (from the vampires point of view). The fact that he isn't "perfect", puts him away from the rest of the vampire stories that I have read. I really liked the fact that he's portrayed as human. The whole story revolves around the book that he's writing while he is sitting in jail waiting to be executed. He is going through the events that brought him to this point.
Profile Image for Glenda.
1,158 reviews
July 7, 2013
The Urinator? now really. You lost me.. maybe not, as I read the whole book to see what was going to happen and then it didn't say...bummer. I won't be checking out the next in the series. Glad this one was free.
Profile Image for Wendy Galloway.
2 reviews1 follower
July 23, 2013
the concept was interesting...not just another romanticized vampire story....but the humor was not wittty. subtlety in humor goes a long way. I feel that the writing choices killed the concept.
Profile Image for Lisa Michalski.
20 reviews1 follower
July 17, 2014
ugh...I finally gave up. mildly entertaining at times, but I spent too much time rolling my eyes in disappointment for any plot to grasp my attention.
1,840 reviews16 followers
February 16, 2021
A vampire tale starts with the vampire in prison, awaiting execution by wooden stake.
He is writing his memoirs and goes into his backstory. As vampires only need to sleep 2 hours a night, he has 3 careers, a policeman, a doctor, and a defense lawyer.
Life catches up to him, and he is captured and sentenced to death. He is saved at the end by a surprise twist.
Profile Image for Elizabeth Myles.
Author 15 books111 followers
May 23, 2023


That was the line that made me laugh the hardest, but there were lots of funny ones :). A fun read. I plan to read the next one.
Profile Image for Donna.
874 reviews4 followers
March 7, 2018
Not Your Classic Vampire Tale

An interesting and often humorous tale of a multi talented vampire caught and convicted of the one murder he didn't commit. Full of rich description and sometimes comical, this was actually a fun read.
Profile Image for Michelle.
1,576 reviews1 follower
July 28, 2017
Good book

You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
4 reviews1 follower
June 29, 2018
Very enjoyable. Different take on an old subject.

Great book. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Really enjoyed the storyline and the authors wit Nd humor.


Profile Image for Tina Bartz.
75 reviews16 followers
February 15, 2017
3.5 stars. This was definitely different from my usual read. It was amusing in a macabre way, making fun of vampire, cop and medical genres, especially TV shows. This book was very entertaining and posited some very interesting and logical ideas about vampirism as a scientific/medical condition.
Profile Image for Kristine.
3,422 reviews52 followers
July 25, 2013
The author has an extremely witty writing style and a dry sense of humor. It was an easy read and it was a nice change to have a male author when lately it seems I've been reading an entirely large amount of books from female authors. With that being said, the premise of the book was unusual (a vampire who kills only bad people but when he finishes draining them he has to urinate immediately at the site of the killing, therefore being called "The Urinator" by the police. ) Interesting -actually, pretty disgusting, but it seems to work for him.

I just couldn't really get completely into his world and for me, that is really the worst possible outcome for me. The relationships of the characters in the books seemed forced and not really fleshed out. I think the most in depth relationship was between the vampire and his cop partner. Several things stood out at me - to "fall in love" with Lara, really? The two barely spoke - didn't seem feasible. Then, to fall in love with Christina as she was dying? Just odd.

Anyway, it was an easy read and it was interesting to read it in the first person from Nick's perspective. The end to me was confusing - not in a good way - but I'm assuming he's setting up a sequel. But in my copy, it ends mid sentence - their is a cut off sentence that I suppose is the end of the book. Have to say in all of the books I've ever read, that is a first. If I could give out 1/2 stars, I really would and would give this a 2.5 star rating.
Profile Image for Graham Downs.
Author 11 books66 followers
August 30, 2017
What if vampirism was caused by a good old fashioned virus? In that case, they wouldn't be demons, or demon possessed, and crosses and holy water wouldn't work on them. They'd be able to see their reflections just fine, but they wouldn't be able to shape-shift.

That's exactly the scenario postulated by Dark Moonlighting, a humorous story of a 600-year-old vampire trying to make it in the modern world. He only needs two hours sleep a night, so to pass the time, he works three different jobs.

I really enjoyed this book. It's funny, almost in the style of the Fat Vampire series by Johnny B. Truant, but it's not nearly as silly.

The writing is polished and the plot is fast-paced, but never too much. And there's lots of humour... although it took me a while to "get" the names of Nick's nemesis' henchwomen, once I did I couldn't stop laughing!

The ending's not really a cliffhanger, but it does pave the way nicely for the sequel. Which is definitely going on my to-read shelf.

If you like vampires, but hate Twilight, and you don't feel the need to take yourself too seriously, this is the book for you.
Profile Image for Sadie Forsythe.
Author 1 book287 followers
May 3, 2015
3.5

Dark Moonlighting is a bit hard to review. It's satire and as satire it's quite funny. If I hadn't known going in that it was meant to be sarcastic, I'd probably be accusing the author of having the sense of humour of a 5th grader, but as purposeful humour it's pretty good. I'd recommend the book for anyone who's familiar with or has a love for TV cop and medical dramas.

The problem is that the joke got old at about half way through the book. At about that point, two things happened roughly simultaneously. One, the jokes (for lack of a better word) became predictable and thus lost their lustre, and two, the satire went from being relatively subtle to openly interacting with/through the characters and story. This made the whole thing feel slapstick and clumsy instead of cleaver and satirical (even when some of this same clumsiness was, in itself, a satire). Dr. Condo and the FBI agents were especially heavy-handed and groan-inducing.

The writing is pretty good. I found it to be well edited. I enjoyed the autobiographical nature of the story and especially liked the ending. All and all, an enjoyable enough book, even if I preferred the first half to the second.
Profile Image for Amy.
74 reviews
January 15, 2014
The rating was more like 3.5, but I rounded up. A few scenes literally made me laugh, and the rest kept me interested.

Overall it was a bit campy, and some parts were kind of dumb . I thought the hero was well thought out, and this version of a vampire seemed plausible. I liked most of the secondary characters. I'm typically not a fan of a cliffhanger, but thought it was cute the way it was done, since he's writing a book. I may look into book 2.
Profile Image for Joyce Robbins.
57 reviews
August 13, 2014
Well done!

Well done!

not your everyday, typical vampire story. The hero in this book is admittedly ugly, envied the looks of Hollywood's hot vampires. He paints a picture of the inconvenience vampires deal with, yet filled with humor, this story takes you on a fun filled ride of how he wound up sitting in a human prison on death row for a murder he didn't commit. And, meanwhile he is holding down three jobs, along with being a serial killer. Oh and he loves cats. So how bad can he be?
a good enough read to make you want to get the next book.
104 reviews
April 5, 2015
I really enjoyed this book beginning to end. The clever humor that seems to have been lost on some reviewers here is good and not over done. I really enjoyed how Nick juggled his three careers even though I found it hard to believe that he wouldn't get found out being the three professions are interlinked and with his physical appearance - well I don't think he'd get by in the real world as long as he did - but hey - this is fun fiction so who cares? Looking forward to reading the rest in the series and other books by Mr.Hawoth.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews

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