Nick Whittier, the lovable vampire who has killed over 30,000 people, is back! He writes his latest tale from inside a shack in Montana where he is hiding out from the authorities who are hunting him. Who was really responsible for ruining his life in Starside, Illinois? Nick has uncovered the truth… but he is not going to discuss it until after he tells the story of how he killed Adolf Hitler.
Since he only feeds on terrible human beings, Nick often had a hard time finding victims over the years. World War Two was the worst military conflict in history, but for Nick it was a vacation. He happily gorges himself on the despicable people who are goose-stepping all over Europe. While the lesser Nazis are delicious, Nick’s ultimate goal is to drain the blood out of Hitler, the worst human being who has ever lived. He gets distracted from his hunt when he learns that the Nazis are developing a secret weapons program that could turn the tide of the war. Nick reluctantly decides to intervene to disrupt the program with the help of a young werewolf named Chuck Kruse.
Dark Moonlighting 2: Kruse Control is the second book in the humorous Dark Moonlighting series. While book one highlighted Nick’s work as a doctor, lawyer and cop, book two tells about his career as a Nazi hunter. It explores war clichés and pokes fun at modern hits like Captain America and Band of Brothers in addition to classics like Hogan’s Heroes and Indiana Jones. It also examines more vampire clichés as Nick tells about his early years as a creature of the night in the 14th century.
I freely admit that I really enjoy a clever and funny story which is exactly what this book is. While it shifts from the main narrative back to a sort of vampire origin story for Nick a bit abruptly, the backstory is good and the main story had me laughing out loud at times. Perhaps not everybody will feel this way, but I got a kick out of the names given to secondary characters especially as they were parodies of old TV and movie actors and characters.
I enjoyed the first book in this series enough to give it 5 stars, but I couldn't be more disappointed in this one. And I'm so very bummed about it.
WHAT I LIKED --------------- The humor still appeals to me.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE ------------------ - Their is nothing new about this book. The things that made it so great for me in the first book were just repeated here -- humor, great mix of vampire/monster, and now interesting werewolf mythology. Sadly, many of the through-gags started to wear on me, becoming old fast as I read them over and over.
- This doesn't continue the story that left off on one of the most brilliant cliffhangers I've ever read. It goes back to decades before to tell a story that *should* be interesting. Sadly, the pace is so slow, it's hard to hang in there. The delays thrown in front of the characters seemed never-ending and contrived. I got so tired of reading one delay after another that I actually gave up on the book and started reading something else. I rarely ever stop reading a book, and I'd gotten 3/4 of the way through this one before I decided it wasn't worth my time to finish.
I'm so sad, after having liked the first book so much, to find the second so disappointing. :(
I was a big fan of the first Dark Moonlighting and this was near the top of my wish list so I picked it up. Unfortunately, rather than developing on the story from the previous book this one does a flashback which is disappointing off the bat.
I think what really disappointed me the most in this book though was the scales just tipped too far into satire and used it as a crutch rather than something to blend a good story. The first book had many elements of this but they were blended into the story and enhanced it better, at least I felt. This one seemed to beat cliches into death in the hope of satire which drew me out of the story and made it a slog to read. Basically the fourth wall breaking became a hindrance rather than a enhancement.
Long story short after really wanting to pick up this book - and the series - after the first book, after reading the second one I don't have any interest in continuing with it. If I were you, I'd pick up the first one and pretend it's a standalone novel rather than the introduction of a series.
I really enjoyed reading the 1st book in this series and I had high hopes for this one but I was a little disappointed. This book is basically a prequel to the 1st book. I mean it was nice to get a glimpse into Nicks past but I don't think it deserved an entire book. It could have been done in a few chapters. None the less I still enjoyed reading the book, and I really loved the ending (and I usually hate cliff hanger endings) so I can't wait to read the next one to see what happens next.
This was fun. Laughed and laughed and laughed. Scott Haworth considers nothing sacred and pokes fun at everything. Read about Nick's origin and his involvement in WWII. It's good to read a book that doesn't take itself too serious...