Bloodlist

Vampire Files #1

by P.N. Elrod

Jack Fleming, ace reporter, always had a weak spot for strange ladies. And he certainly should have listened to the one who said she was a vampire! Because when a thug blasts several bullets through Jack's back, he does not die--and discovers that he is a vampire as well!

First in an exciting new vampire adventure series.

Genres: Vampires, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Horror, Fiction

200 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1990

About the author

Patricia Nead Elrod is an American fantasy writer specializing in novels about vampires. Her work falls into areas of fantasy and (in some cases) mystery or historical fiction, but normally not horror, since her vampires are the heroes. -Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun adventure with Jack, newspaperman turned vampire in 1930's Chicago. It was well read by the same guy who still seems to think a Boston accent is the same as an English one, but that was the only rough part.

The story has plenty of twists, turns, & action in it. The characters are likeable or not, as the case may be, but are pretty well drawn & interesting. The world seems quite authentic, although I'm no expert. It's fun reading about the old cars & such.

I'd listen to the 3d one, but my library doesn't have any more, unfortunately. The only other stuff by Elrod are urban/PNR short story books she's edited & I can't handle any more PNR right now. I'm burned out on the run of the mill vampires, so I'll let that be my recommendation for this series. It's not.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of my 2020 Social Distancing Read-a-thon

3.5 stars

An interesting mix of the hard-boiled detective genre and the vampire novel. Think Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and the Saint Germain Chronicles, that kind of vampire. Jack Fleming is basically a good guy and retains this MO even after his transformation.

Elrod has some interesting ideas for using the vampire mythos, plus she has set it in an interesting time period. Vampire vs. gangsters. Its difficult to avoid cliches when using either of these story lines, but Elrod doesn't go overboard.

I have the next 2 books available during this time of physical isolation, so I'll be seeing what other adventures Jack gets up to soon.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bloodlist is the first book in fantasy author P.N. Elrod Vampire Files series. I've enjoyed other books in the series and was glad to finally see how it all began. I was a bit disappointed actually. I mean it was an entertaining, action-filled series but I think there was a bit too much thrown into the mix and it left me feeling somewhat more confused.

I hoped the story might show how night club owner Jack Fleming became a vampire. Now it's very possible I missed it in this short novel, but I don't think so. There are intimations that he was made a vampire by a woman, Maureen, but that's about as far as it goes.

In this story, Jack is an ex-NY reporter who has moved to Chicago to start a new life. Maureen has disappeared, may be dead. The story starts sort of in the middle. Someone has tried to kill Jack and he wakes up on the shore of Lake Michigan. His memory of the events are very hazy but over the course of the novel, he begins to have visions of the events. Jack goes back to the town where his family are buried to get some soil that he can use as his hidey hole??? (vampire stuff). Staying in a hotel room, sleeping through the day in a steamer trunk with bags of soil, Jack wakes up one night and has a note from someone. This turns out to be PI Charles Escott (who turns up in all of the later novels). Escott knows he's a vampire. He offers to help Jack find out what happened to him.

As this series is set in the Capone - run Chicago (or just after), Jack begins to investigate mobsters who own night clubs. He's discovering his vampire powers; ability to fade out, ease through walls, over power with his mental strength, etc. As I say, there is a lot thrown out in this book. The investigation leads to more violence, murder attempts on Escott and Jack. We meet other characters from later books, African-American gangster and Escott's friend, Shoe Coldfield, and night club singer, Bobbi, who will become a love interest in later books.

The story is entertaining, somewhat frustrating, filled with action, murder / mayhem and vampirish activity, but also kind of confusing and leaves with more questions than answers. Now to find the 2nd book!! (3 stars)

[Ethan’s Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise and time period are genuinely intriguing, and that’s what kept me reading far longer than I probably would have otherwise. Unfortunately, the characters never fully clicked for me, which made it hard to stay emotionally invested. I couldn’t help feeling that if the book had been significantly shorter, the story might have landed much better. As it stands, the writing felt overly wordy and drawn out, padding moments that should have carried more impact. The ideas are solid, but the execution ultimately held it back for me.

[Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character, Jack Flemming, is a reporter in Chicago during the Depression Era. He wakes up one morning with no memory of the past week...oh, and he is also a vampire.
I think the story was suposed to be a mobster mystery with a little dash of paranormal thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me. The characters all felt flat, and I couldn't bring myself to care about what happened to them. The whole vampire angle didn't help the plot along at all, either. Toward the end, the pace picked up ever so slightly, but still not enough to make it worthwhile. In fact, the more I think about it, the angrier I am that I wasted my time on this garbage. Boo! Two thumbs down!

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read. Set in 1930s Chicago, we have a reporter who's a vampire. Reads like a noir or hard boiled story, except the main character is a vampire. It seems that in this mythology to turn into a vampire the vampire drinks your blood, then you drink theirs, but you don't turn until you die in some way. Also, not everybody can turn, I suppose there's something genetic involved. I love the setting of the story, and the characters are interesting as well.

This was a good read. I'll probably read at least a few more in the series, but not sure if I'll read all 12.

[Jason Parent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting. A vampire story, but definitely not typical. More detective/noir than anything, and the vampire is the protagonist. I didn’t realize it was a 12 book series so the real question is whether I’ll continue it. Thai was a standalone tale however.

[Dane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that does exactly what it sets out to do. It's a 1930's detective story where the main character happens to be a vampire, and... well that's what it is. It's straightforward, and it's enjoyable. You've got guns, and gangsters, and murder, and mystery, and a love interest or two, and it's all just fun. I wouldn't say it's great writing, and the characters aren't that deep, and the plot isn't really that clever, but it gets the job done, and if you go into it knowing the basic idea, you're unlikely to be disappointed.

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

For HA 2022 Halloween Season Challenge: Vampire

This book has been sitting on my Overdrive Wishlist for several years. In all that time, I have just sort of ignored it, but I was looking for a book about vampires and I was recently informed that Overdrive is being replaced by Libby 😒👎. So I am trying to weed through my 600+ wishlist. What I found is a wonderful new series.

This is noir and vampires set in 1920's Chicago. I loved the entire book including all the characters. I Can't wait to read the next book in the series. I hope my library has them all!!!!

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bloodlist is the first book on the Vampire Files series by P.N. Elrod. They all feature newly turned vampire Jack Flemming. This book was okay. A bit different from what I was expecting based on the few short stories I've read featuring Jack Flemming. I listened to this on audio book; and the audio book was very well done.

Jack Flemming wakes up dead on a beach, or should I say undead. Someone has murdered him and, because of his association with a female vampire in his past, instead of dying Jack has turned into a vampire. With the help of the ever-curious private investigator Charles Escott; Jack and Charles try to track down Jack's history to find out who murdered Jack and why. This whole book takes place in Chicago in the 1930's and deals a lot with the gangs that were big during that time and with the Depression.

This book is written in a horror/mystery style. The book itself is very much a mystery/crime story. The writing is gory and fairly dark. There was a lot of action in the story; which was fun to read. Although I found Jack's vampiric powers to be pretty basic, traditional, and uninteresting. Although Jack makes good use of his powers some of the time, there are many times though where he doesn't use his powers and this lack of use doesn't really make sense. I didn't really like Jack much as a character. In the short story I read about Jack, Jack was much lighter and funnier than in this book. Charles is a hoot though and I really liked him.

I was waiting for some twists in the story or *something* to surprise me. Nothing really did though. This is a solid crime novel involving a vampire with slightly special powers. There is a lot of violence and dealing with gangsters. If that's your thing you would really like this book. Unfortunately I was looking for something a little more fantasy/sci fi and this book was surprisingly mundane in that area. The writing is fine, nothing special but nothing horrible either. I do not know if I will read any more books in this series or not. It will depend on what else I have to read.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Noir clásico mezclado con colmillos.-

Género. Narrativa Fantástica.

Lo que nos cuenta. A finales de los años treinta y cerca de las orillas del lago Míchigan, en Chicago, Jack Fleming es atropellado y disparado con una pistola del calibre 45. Pero entre dudas, problemas de memoria y algo de desorientación, descubre que parece haberse convertido en un vampiro, lo que le puede servir de ayuda para tratar de entender qué le ha sucedido y tratar de aclarar la situación, mientras va experimentando sus nuevas capacidades. Primer libro de la serie Memorias de un vampiro, también conocida como Archivos vampíricos.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloodlist
(Vampire Files #1)
by P.N. Elrod
This is a re-read for me. I read the whole series before. Each book as they came out and loved them. This year I thought I would re-read a lot of my favorites which is different for me because I normally don't re-read a lot at all!
This is one of my favorite vampire books. It's in the 1930's and it's about a guy that was dating a vampire then gets killed and comes back as a vampire but doesn't remember how he died. He meets a guy that has learned his vampire secret and is a private investigator. They become friends. There is also a hot chick too, of course!

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book by a new-to-me writer (yes, I know this book is, like, 30 years old). I'm so used to reading vampire books that are urban fantasy with some romance thrown in, that it was surprise to read a fantasy book with no romance really (the one scene really wasn't romantic at all), that was also a whodunit. I liked this book, and I'm kind of interested to see where the series goes.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been meaning to get to this for years, and I’m glad I took it for a spin. The reader, Barrett Whitener, was quite good, with the exception of the English accent he did for Escott. I didn’t have to speed it up much to get the flow I wanted.

This is a fun take on vampires, and I’m up for reading another. I love the buddy cop vibe Fleming has with Escott, the tough guy talk from the 30’s setting, and the neat powers Fleming has. For a vampire, he’s a pretty good egg.

[Emily Holton]

Just an FYI to all authors if your book doesn't pass the bechdel test I'm writing all your boy characters kissing

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

so yeah... I couldn't finish this. its possible the plot and character were utterly enrapturing but the writing was so tedious I just failed to notice redeeming qualities. the author gave crazy detailed passages to seemingly insignificant things yet barely any mention at all of the big one. I mean it was like page twenty before I even found out the main characters name. by page sixty where I quit I knew that he had been a journalist, had a vamp girlfriend who disappeared five year before, and somehow got mixed up with the mob. other references lead me to believe this was set in the thirtys but it never really says so. there just wasn't really enough going on to hold my interest he didn't even make for a terribly interesting vampire

[Sadie Forsythe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was something I listened to. I can't say I loved it, not that it was actually bad. I was just rather bored with it, having expected more. The vampire aspect was totally pointless, Jack could have just been any prohibition-era gumshoe. (And I say that as someone who loves a good vampire novel.)

I did appreciate that he wasn't an alpha-asshole. He admitted to fear, cried and cared about his friends. It humanized him.

The book does suffer from the classic lack of female characters though. There is only one female character at all and she, of course, is the sexpot hooker-with-a heart. Cliched beyond mention!

Whitener did a fine job with the narration.

[Yodamom · Rating 4 out of 5]

written for the time period after the depression, a detective novel with a vamp twist. Not you typical Vamp book. It reads like the ol' gum shoe books, interesting and cunfusing because of the different type of living/speech then. The characters draw you into the story well and carry it well.

[Dfordoom · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining moderately hardboiled detective story but with a vampire as hero. Fun.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this. One of the worst books I've ever attempted to read.

Edit: I gave it another shot and finished. Still possibly the worst book I've ever read.

[David B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ace reporter Jack Fleming wakes up from his own murder, endowed with vampiric abilities and lacking key memories of his death. He decides to solve the mystery of his own killing, which involves gangsters and a list that everyone wants but of which only Jack knew the location. Thus commences a pretty bloodless tale set in the 1930s, lacking either compelling characters or the kind of details that would create a vivid sense of place. Placing supernatural characters in an otherwise prosaic and realistic setting harkens me back to the disappointing TV programs of my youth in which Spider-Man would foil a jewel thief or the Incredible Hulk would inspire a boy to stand up to a bully. This comparison is not entirely inappropriate, since Fleming is essentially presented as a hard-boiled investigator with vampire super powers. The only other supernatural element in the story is several allusions to the woman who made him a vampire, but she is unfortunately absent from the narrative, probably relegated to a future installment of the series. Jack assembles a crew of allies who have the potential for being interesting characters with more development, so perhaps there are better things ahead. There is a nice finish, with a sequence in which Jack is tortured for information that is actually quite harrowing.

https://thericochetreviewer.blogspot.com

[Soo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:

Currently on Audible Plus

I enjoyed the first half more than the last half. It was a different take on vampires and becoming one. While the last half had more action, I wasn't a fan of Jack being a passive & reactive character.

[Whitney M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this for the cover and it was better than I thought it would be. I might read on just to see how the MCs story progresses.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampires and a hard-boiled detective story set in gangster times? Yes please.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man...this is the worst vampire book ever. And it had such promise. Newly minted vamp, 1930s setting in Chicago, charming gangsters, potential for romance... I gave it two stars because Elrod did do a good job of capturing the atmosphere of the time, and I found that kind of interesting. But the rest? Meh. The writing is pretty flat and we're given copious amounts of tedious detail on everything but the things we're interested in. Like what kind of entertaining mischief could you get into if you were a vampire in Chicago in the 1930s?! No idea.

Journalist Jack Flemming wakes up dead (or, undead) and doesn't remember who killed him or why. He has a hunch, though, why he's a vampire. But that story line goes nowhere. As does the story line about why he's even in Chicago. Ditto for the plot potential for his new vamp powers, which could be cool, but he hardly ever uses with much effect. Case in point: The same gangster tries to kill or beat him to death at least TWO MORE TIMES (spoiler alert), and Jack doesn't do ANYTHING. Seriously?! Not even mind control to, you know, convince the gangster to quit kicking the shit out of him? No, because he feels too CONFLICTED about using mind control. Against a guy who killed him. And then tries to kill him again. By beating him to death.

And Flemming never eats anyone. Not even muggers or creeps. Where's the fun in that? Instead he goes to the stockyards to suck on cows. It's like if Woody Allan became a vampire, but with less personality.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Fleming, a reporter in 1930's Chicago knew that he would become a vampire after he died, he just didn't think it would happen so quickly. Unfortunately, after awakening undead, he doesn't remember who killed him or why and he'd really like to know. He ends up becoming friends with a private agent who takes Jack on as a client. If Jack can keep them both from being killed in the process of solving Jack's murder, it will definitely be a win for the good guys. I'd read Elrod's Gentleman Vampire series which I really liked but hadn't wanted to read this series. However, it turns out to be very appealing. Jack isn't naive but he's a good man (they shouldn't have to be mutually exclusive) and it makes it easy to root for him. At the same time, although short, this isn't a quick read. I like her take on vampires - the movie Dracula had just been released - and gangland Chicago, after Capone, is also interesting. She covered segregation and poverty and gets a lot to the fore in 200 pages.

[Hester · Rating 2 out of 5]

While its protagonist is a vampire, it does not feel like part of the recent vampire trend, probably because it was written twenty years ago. Set in the 1930s, it is an interesting twist on the typical noir story in that the protagonist is an amnesiac vampire who has to investigate his own recent murder. The other male lead seems to be a British version of William Powell. I found myself mildly nauseated by the vampire sex scences, which when you think about it, is really how it ought to be. While lacking the charm of "Hecate's Eye" in "Strange Brew," the short story that convinced me to read the first of the Vampire files, it is still a good mystery with plenty of Chicago gangster flavor.


I later downgraded it two stars since I realized I had the rest of the books in my living room and there was no way I was going to read them.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chicago, 1936. Jack Fleming wakes up dead and can't remember how he got that way.

A fun homage to the hardboiled novels of the era, fast-paced, fun, and gritty all at once. This is an excellent start to the series and features one of my favorite opening sentences for sheer eye-catching surprise:

The car was doing at least forty when the right front fender smashed against my left hip and sent me spinning off the road to flop bonelessly into a mass of thick, windblown grass.

[Petula Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

[audiobook:]
This book had a different take on vampires than the usual lore, which was interesting. However, overall, it didn't do much for me. The story wasn't bad, it was just kind of boring.

The part that was bad was the audiobook's narrator. His manner of speech was so robotic at times that it was almost comical.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

1930s noir and a vampire with a heart who interacts with the mob.

P. N. Elrod is amazing in her depiction of the time period. You can see, smell, feel, and hear it as you read.

Mob wars in Chicago complicate Jack's life.