They Drink Our Blood

by Lucy Leitner

The bodies are piling up. A throat slashed in Nashville. A jugular drained in Cleveland. A head dangling from a nerve in Annapolis.

It’s too intense, too grotesque, too oddly familiar to write off as a coincidence. Even for Lisa, an artist turned rideshare driver in a creative funk. When her Pittsburgh neighborhood becomes a blood-soaked crime scene, she begins to doubt the purpose of enriching lives through art if they will just be drained from a hole in the neck when the sun sets.

Maybe if she’d pulled her head out of her oils earlier, she’d have a stake sharper than the splintered end of a canvas stretcher or squirt gun loaded with holy water or even a head of garlic bought before the rationing orders.

Lisa and the neighborhood barflies can’t change the past, but can they triumph over what the media is labeling an ancient evil?

This slow burning, existential horror story asks what you will do when we’re no longer at the top of the food chain.

134 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2025

About the author

Lucy Leitner is the author of five novels and many published short stories that blend horror, sci fi, black humor, and irreverence to explore “the terror of knowing what this world is about.” Her books have been classified as transgressive fiction, satire, splatterpunk, and, her personal favorite, “goofball noir.”

Reviews

[Rainbeaux Harvest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampires? Teen Vampires? Twilight... but a little goth/emo? If you love stories about vampires, then give this baby a read. Make sure you remember tips to rid yourself of vampires, though.

[DA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Art. Paranoia. Mob mentality. Vampires (maybe).

I'm going to start with the art aspect of this story. The author uses different pieces of famous art as descriptors. "she felt the doom of being inside a Zdzisław Beksiński scene." "What's left of the mouth gapes like Francis Bacon's Pope Innocent X, screaming a pain so deep there are no words." The main character's weapon of choice is Man Ray's "The Gift" from the DADA movement. At first I was kind of confused with these references, but then I started Googling and after viewing the art referenced, the words made so much sense.

Mob mentality and paranoia are a big part of the story line, spurred on by social media. Everything can be shared around the world in seconds whether it's true or not. And things can quickly turn violent with a thumbs up emoji.

"When you find out vampires exist and it explains all that is evil."
"When you find out vampires exist and it explains why we can't heal."
Are the vampires real in this story? Or are they used just to explain all the bad in the world? The author hints at the answer, but you have to really figure it out on your own.

All in all this was a great book. Yes it was a little bit of work so I understood the art references, but I really didn't mind since I learned some things. It's also a slow burn, there's no "action" until the end, but that action is bloody and brutal.

[John Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can also call this They Take Our Jobs or They Control Our Lives. Vampires are used to represent all the ills that people blame for their own anxieties and failures taken to 9th degree with success. Highly recommended.

[Ky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking conspiracy theories to another level in this town! Are the bloodsuckers a hoax? Hard to deny when you have dismembered neighbours but hey… could be.

I loved the artistic nature of this novel, the added drawings were a great touch. It was a great twist on the good old fashioned vampire story, a little bit of modern art to elevate the experience. If vampires were real, what side would you be on? What would you do? Me, I’m headed to the bar. Dirty martini please, with a pickled garlic garnish.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

They Drink Our Blood by Lucy Leitner
🧠 pre dystopia vibes | 🎧 art soaked horror | ⚖️ moral gray chaos

➡️ɢᴏᴏᴅ ꜰᴏʀ:
Readers who want horror with teeth and a side of social commentary.
➡️ꜱᴋɪᴘ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴇᴇᴅ:
A clean good versus evil line or a fast plot drop.

➡️ᴀᴅᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʙʀ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ…
° Crave slow rising dread
° Love lots of fine art references baked into the story
° Enjoy messy characters
° Want horror that makes you think

➡️ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ:
A rideshare driver and burnt out artist forced to face a string of brutal vampire style murders as society starts to tilt into panic. The teens might be the threat or they might not be and the city is ready to blame before asking questions.

➡️ᴛʜʀɪʟʟ-ᴏ-ᴍᴇᴛᴇʀ: 🩵🩵🩵🩵
This one felt like watching a fuse burn toward a world shift, that eerie spot right before society cracks. The FMC's anxious loops and inner debates made her feel real. Readers who are chronic overthinkers, suffer from anxiety, or just love living inside a character's head while they have 6 different conversations in their head will really love this one (because the narrator is all three).

Envisioning the ragtag crew of bar regulars having their Buffy the vampire Slayer moment made me chuckle. And I loved the concept that we don't have a line drawn in the sand for us - there are reported vampire murders, yet there are moments we encounter them and they're just a little... Strange. Is it all vampires, or just certain ones? There was an eerie gray area that the mainstream society in this tale does not choose to explore. It shines a fat spotlight on our current world, because we all love a good scapegoat - whether it's warranted or not. The ending left me chewing on the idea of blame and who gets turned into a monster first.

🐶 Dog alert: The dog is okay in this one 👍🏾

[Beverly Laude · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a long time reader of Vampire novels and I'm always looking for the next great one. This book was very different than most I have read.

Lisa is an artist who is working as a "taxi" driver due to her local art gallery closing. When people start being killed in ways that point to vampires on the loose, she is determined to try to fight this scourge. Bars and other businesses in her neighborhood are suffering due to people being afraid to go out after dark.

When she picks up a rider without a reflection, she knows that she has encountered a vampire. Will she and her friends be able to stop the killings? Or, are they all insane to believe that teenage vampires are stalking the streets of Pittsburgh?

I enjoyed the book, but it was heavy on art and artists. Lisa's character was a bit annoying in a manic way and her "art" is not something that I can relate to.

But, there is quite a bit of gore toward the end of the book that satisfied my horror leanings. And, there was enough ambiguity to make me wonder if the vampire threat was real or all in the characters' imaginations.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story starts as we are introduced to Lisa and her dog Koko. She has been an artist for 30 years, and it seems life has gone stale with her not even doing any paintings lately. What is she doing with her life.

There's horrific events happening in the evening's by teenagers like they've gone mad, inflicting injuries, to anyone who is out late at night and gets in their way. It's safer to be inside your home behind closed doors at night.

Are there supernatural happenings in the current climate, but is Lisa and her friends at their local pub just starting to open their eyes and really see what is happening. They decide to take their own action. Maybe they are not at the top of the food chain!!!

Loved this read, most definitely won't be the last I'll read by this author!!! I am looking forward to reading more by the author!

[Brian Mcclain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, told from the perspective of an abstract artist turned ride share driver is a tale about community strength and sticking together. There's a progression from "Are there vampires?" to "What are we going to do about the vampires because no one else will." and that's a strong statement to make. The characters are great, there's the main dis-affected artist and her dog, a bar owner, some bar patrons. Not the people you'd pick to save the world, but the people who feel responsibility to protect their neighborhoods.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Breanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an entertaining vampire story! The growth of an artist to show her true potential and allow her art to actually help and mean something. To fight or flee in the presence of danger, and to believe what everyone seems to think is only a hoax. As her small town is slowly invaded and blood covers the streets she must find like minded people to help defeat vampire infiltration and chase them back into hiding!

[Dion Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting a vampire book, but it’s more about paranoia and mob mentality.

I can see what the author was trying to achieve, and I think it will work for a lot of people, but just could get into this one, I couldn’t connect or relate with the characters, and they’re way of thinking.

It was well done, just not for me.

[Micki-D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored the whole time no real excitement, action suspense or really anything happened but some new reports and people’s chatting at a bar with mob mentality. I was expecting a vampire book but it really wasn’t much of anything. At least there was a good amount of gore near the end.

[Ericka Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great new take on vampires! If you are looking for a vampire read with a different vision, here it is!.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lucille Bransfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a vampire/mob mentality type book. I enjoyed Lisa and her dog Koko. They were the stars of trying to clean up the neighborhood of vampires. Quick read.

[Petri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Best thing about this book was the cover art.