The Sun Also Bites

by Isabel Campbell, Michael Anderle

A vampire walks into a retirement community. Someone's already dead.

The dead man had a clean bill of health. Three weeks earlier, he'd had a pool bar confrontation in front of the whole community. That was all it took.

Penelope Covens has one never stay long enough to be remembered. Eighty years of packed suitcases, scrubbed apartments, carefully unremarkable cars. The next city was already mapped when Frankie called—family, the way his mother was family—asking her to come to Palm Springs. Now.

By the time Penny arrived at Crimson Canyon Estates, the community had already decided. No police. No charges. Just cancelled card nights and an HOA review with Frankie's name written between every line.

Penny has walked into harder rooms than a Palm Springs retirement community. She's cleared people before, in places where the stakes were measured in wars. But she's never investigated a gated community where every resident is armed with a casserole dish and an opinion.

Can Penny clear her oldest friend before the community turns its quiet, polite attention on her? Or has she finally walked into the one place she can't afford to leave?

Pick up THE SUN ALSO BITES and step inside the gates.

Genres: Vampires

186 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the Goodreads database. This profile may contain works from multiple authors.

Reviews

[Deborah Fuelds · Rating 5 out of 5]

cozy mystery in a desert retirement community

It’s official. I’m an Isabel Campbell fan. I just like all the series I’ve read, especially The Chimera Agent and House of Grey. The connected characters are great. Here you get a sense of home and appreciation for quirky elderly folk, all with different histories, personalities, pittfalls. I can’t wait for this series to continue. Frankie and Martin as supporting characters are amazing. Penelope has an air of mystery and perplexes people.

Growing up in the desert I so appreciate the approach to shade and sunlight- where it shines at what times of day, sticking to the shade, etc.

Definitely looking forward to the next book.

[Alex Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good!

This is set in a retirement community that would be my worst nightmare. However, the author makes it interesting and fun. Great characters, a fascinating take on the problems of being a vampire, humor and - again - great characters. I tore through this in a day, and the second book is just as good.

[Vickie Turrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

I don't normally write reviews, I give whatever stars grab me. This book is very well written and I really enjoyed the characters and the leads delight in them. Highly recommend

[Gill Charlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

i always love everything that Isabel writes, it's always perfect, the characters are wonderful.
Penelope is absolutely brilliant, can't wait to read the next book in the series. I want to read more about her history and how things will develop next...

Thank you so much Isabel

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite sweet actually. Not at all what I was expecting. The Vampire portion of the story was pretty much third string in importance. It was barely referenced besides sun avoidance and 2 notations about drinking some blood from a bag.
Penny/Penelope arrives at a 55+ community after a call from an old (dead) friend's son (Frankie) - who lives in the community. She has been living as a vampire for 80 years and basically moving from town to town with one suitcase about every 3 years. A very sad life. Frankie knows what she is. He asks her to come and investigate a death in the community to prove Frankie was not involved.
She comes to enjoy the people in the community and the slower pace with people who are trying to live their lives their way, despite previous tragedies or loss. Very little is provided about her previous life. A past relationship is mentioned that has the potential for being more at a later day. It was hard to tell if the person who turned her was a friend, lover, or stranger based on the information provided. I'll read book 2.

[Dallass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I got. The main character originally comes across as a bland, almost emotionless sort of woman. Moving, yet again, when a phone call changes everything. Now she's off to help the son of an old friend, and dodging the California sun as she uses her ability to read people and situations to help get Frankie out a jam. Loved the characters, especially the sunlight adverse Penny, Frankie and his partner Martin, then there is Sal and Dom (BFFs) and all the other quirky people that we meet at the Retirement Village. Can't wait to see what happens in the next instalment. I mean, a vampire in the Coachella Valley... what could go wrong?

4 stars

[Megan Cutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept hoping to the end that this would get more interesting. It's a short book that didn't go anywhere with a very anticlimactic ending.

There were parts I liked. I liked that Penelope is very good at looking at the bright side and giving people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe that is because she is an 80+ year old vampire who looks 27.

I honestly thought I was enjoying the slower pace after reading a ton of action-packed books recently, but then the book just ended in the most boring way possible.

As far as I could tell, being a vampire is totally secondary to the story. I don't know that I would even count this after urban fantasy because the fantasy element was completely unnecessary.

There were a bunch of editing mistakes, too, and that gets distracting after a while.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neat concept

Frankie needs help with a mystery at his HOA and calls his aunt Penny to come straighten it out, however Penny is not your usual aunt. When she arrives, the community realizes there is something off about her, but can't put their finger on it as she slowly starts to unravel the mystery. I really like the concept of this series, the characters and the way they interact, and a storyline that makes it definitely worth reading. I am looking forward to the next book for another mystery and to learn more about Penny, her friends, and the new community she is starting to be a part of.

[Starr Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penelope Covens is a vampire and hiding in plain sight- has spent her life erasing her presence and moving repeatedly. When Frankie calls her begging for her, she heads to California to help her adopted nephew, to clear his name.

Penny arrives and immediately sets to work to help him clear his name from murder in his retirement community. His partner offers support and love, while Penny uses her decades of espionage work back in World War II to find the villain.

Through an elaborate process of elimination of potential community suspects, Penny does find the villain and it is a shocker when revealed and the novel’s conclusion is a substantial surprise and an absolutely worthwhile read

[Sandy Schleich · Rating 3 out of 5]

good

This book was kind of fun and a little goofy. I felt bad for Penelope because being a vampire she doesn’t stay in one place very often because she doesn’t like making friends. Penny did make a friend with a child and she is known as aunt Penny. Now she is going to a retirement community in Palm Springs to help out Frankie.

[Marc Hilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent short story for the summer.

[Elizabeth Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely interesting take on a vampire story. Well worth a read.

[Stephen Levesque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally enjoyed it! This is a well written and has well developed characters. The story is catching and with the strong characters makes for a very enjoyable read. Great Reading Everyone!