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Josephine Nicolson never meant to have a vampire living in her basement.
But then a journey to spread her grandfather’s ashes in Romania goes spectacularly wrong. Finding herself inexorably bound to Baron Dragomir Blasko, she’s faced with the choice of living out her days in his crumbling fortress or bringing him home with her to Alabama. It doesn’t take her long to make up her mind.
With the assistance of Josephine’s suspicious maid, the pair settle into an uneasy cohabitation… until a murder just across the street causes Josephine to wonder if Blasko is to blame. As the body count rises, Josephine and Blasko must work together to prove his innocence and to find the real killer before they become his next victims.
But then a journey to spread her grandfather’s ashes in Romania goes spectacularly wrong. Finding herself inexorably bound to Baron Dragomir Blasko, she’s faced with the choice of living out her days in his crumbling fortress or bringing him home with her to Alabama. It doesn’t take her long to make up her mind.
With the assistance of Josephine’s suspicious maid, the pair settle into an uneasy cohabitation… until a murder just across the street causes Josephine to wonder if Blasko is to blame. As the body count rises, Josephine and Blasko must work together to prove his innocence and to find the real killer before they become his next victims.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2018
424 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
A.E. Howe
40 books160 followersA. E. Howe lives and writes on a farm in the wilds of north Florida with his wife, horses and more cats than he can count. He received a degree in English Education from the University of Georgia and is a produced screenwriter and playwright. His first published book was Broken State; the Larry Macklin Mysteries is his first series and he has plans for more. Howe is also the co-host of the "Guns of Hollywood" podcast, part of the Firearms Radio Network. When not writing or podcasting, Howe enjoys riding, competitive shooting and working on the farm.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
December 11, 2023
A Satisfactory Ending.
Josephine Nicolson have to honor her father’s death bed wishes and deliver her grandfather’s ashes to the old country in Europe. Romania.
Once she makes it there she meets Baron Dragomir Blasko. Whom she unwittingly creates a bond with (he’s a vampire).
She takes him back to the United States. Alabama.
A murder occurs. Who did it?
This is the first book in the series and it is definitely not going to be the last. The book is filled with twists and turns that come up nicely.
Blasko and Josephine work very well together when they aren’t fighting. You really enjoy the outcome of the story.
This book is highly recommended.
Five fantastic stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Josephine Nicolson have to honor her father’s death bed wishes and deliver her grandfather’s ashes to the old country in Europe. Romania.
Once she makes it there she meets Baron Dragomir Blasko. Whom she unwittingly creates a bond with (he’s a vampire).
She takes him back to the United States. Alabama.
A murder occurs. Who did it?
This is the first book in the series and it is definitely not going to be the last. The book is filled with twists and turns that come up nicely.
Blasko and Josephine work very well together when they aren’t fighting. You really enjoy the outcome of the story.
This book is highly recommended.
Five fantastic stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 30, 2018
I've read and enjoyed A.E. Howe's Larry Macklin series and so was very interested to see the first book in what is to be a new series. While the Macklin stories are contemporary, this book is set during the Great Depression, and features Josephine Nicolson, the owner of the only bank in the small town of Sumpter, AL, to have survived the crash. Perilously close to being declared an old maid, strong-willed Josephine honors a promise made to her late father to scatter her grandfather's ashes in Romania. While there, she is attacked by Baron Dragomir Blasko, and, in defending herself, Josephine bites the vampire back. Now irrevocably bonded, Josephine talked the Baron into returning to her small hometown with her, where Blasko devours Sherlock Holmes stories. When the man across the street is murdered, Blasko imperiously inserts himself into the investigation, ostensibly to prevent suspicion from falling on himself as a rather odd "stranger" in town, and dragging Josephine and reluctant and very suspicious made Grace along for the ride.
I think you could characterize this book as a cosy mystery; graphic details are at a minimum. The character development is great, dialogue is very good and feels very natural, not easy when one character is a centuries-old eastern european! The sense of place and time is not as strong as in the Macklin books and there are a few typographical issues, but it is an intriguing series and I'll definitely look forward to further books in the series
Thank you to the author who provided a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I think you could characterize this book as a cosy mystery; graphic details are at a minimum. The character development is great, dialogue is very good and feels very natural, not easy when one character is a centuries-old eastern european! The sense of place and time is not as strong as in the Macklin books and there are a few typographical issues, but it is an intriguing series and I'll definitely look forward to further books in the series
Thank you to the author who provided a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
July 13, 2020
2 1/2 stars. A middle of the road reading experience.
This is not your average paranormal mystery. The culprit is not a ghost or a monster; magic isn't used to find clues. In fact the only paranormal thing about it is there is a vampire, which is of minor importance and a mystical bond that is only important to get these two unlikely characters in the same geographical area. It is also the source of some humor because Blasko mind set is Victorian Eastern European aristocrat obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and he suddenly is living in Alabama in the 1930s. Talk about cultural shock.
The premise is intriguing but the execution is a bit flat in places. The first part--Josephine's trip to Eastern Europe to spread her grandfather's ashes with her black maid, Grace, and resulting encounter with Blasko--comes off fine. Blasko's adjustment to America and Grace and Josephine's adjustment to him is funny in places. A death occurs and mystery follows.
The mystery is average. It was fairly easy to guess who the culprit was sometime after the half way mark but there were still enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and not everyone may guess who it is.
So where does it go a bit flat? Relationships and characters. Blasko and Josephine: There isn't too much interaction in the US until the mystery and what interaction there is seems to be arguing (and not the sexual tension type though it is eventually presented as that). They just didn't seem to rub together well. They worked pretty well together for the mystery, except for a few issues. I just didn't buy the kiss at the end. Josephine: Her suddenly awareness of race seemed an anachronism. Grace: she had presence during the trip to Romania but that faded once they returned to the US. Then she became a stereotype. She only appeared to nag about how unnatural Blasko was and do maid things. But these weren't major turn offs.
Some good points and some drawbacks. But overall an average read.
This is not your average paranormal mystery. The culprit is not a ghost or a monster; magic isn't used to find clues. In fact the only paranormal thing about it is there is a vampire, which is of minor importance and a mystical bond that is only important to get these two unlikely characters in the same geographical area. It is also the source of some humor because Blasko mind set is Victorian Eastern European aristocrat obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and he suddenly is living in Alabama in the 1930s. Talk about cultural shock.
The premise is intriguing but the execution is a bit flat in places. The first part--Josephine's trip to Eastern Europe to spread her grandfather's ashes with her black maid, Grace, and resulting encounter with Blasko--comes off fine. Blasko's adjustment to America and Grace and Josephine's adjustment to him is funny in places. A death occurs and mystery follows.
The mystery is average. It was fairly easy to guess who the culprit was sometime after the half way mark but there were still enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and not everyone may guess who it is.
So where does it go a bit flat? Relationships and characters. Blasko and Josephine: There isn't too much interaction in the US until the mystery and what interaction there is seems to be arguing (and not the sexual tension type though it is eventually presented as that). They just didn't seem to rub together well. They worked pretty well together for the mystery, except for a few issues. I just didn't buy the kiss at the end. Josephine: Her suddenly awareness of race seemed an anachronism. Grace: she had presence during the trip to Romania but that faded once they returned to the US. Then she became a stereotype. She only appeared to nag about how unnatural Blasko was and do maid things. But these weren't major turn offs.
Some good points and some drawbacks. But overall an average read.
September 8, 2021
2021 bk 277. Not sure when or how I came to purchase this title, but I was pleasantly surprised, not by the beginning (girl goes to Romania to spread ashes, ends up bonded to a vampire, blah, blah, blah) but by that the beginning was a device to get a centuries old vampire to move into the basement of a house in Alabama. The Baron, 'allergic to the sun', is stalked by gossip seeking men and women, finds an American bat will suffice as a pet, and slowly comes to grips with changes in society, times, and attitudes. Josephine (the American) is a typical southern young woman, alone after the death of her father, owner of the town's bank, and interested in fending off the attentions of the local sheriff. When a neighbor is bludgeoned to death in the house immediately across the street from our pair, they immediately start their own investigation as the police officer in charge of the case is, well, convinced of his own superiority. Howe managed to pull off a mystery in which I did not figure out the ending first and was able to show multiple redeeming characteristics of an immigrant vampire.
April 4, 2022
GOOD OLD FASHION NOIR, TAKES PLACE IN THE 1930's DURING THE DEPRESSION. WHEN $40.00 WOULD BE EQUAL TO $ 674.36 TODAY WOW, INFLATION CAN REALLY COST YA'. I LIKED THE H/h THIS ENDED PERFECTLY. SIGH! ;D
September 3, 2018
This is a good book, probably one of the best vampire books I have read. The actual vampire action is very low key, making for an extremely interesting mystery as a murder in a small Alabama town is investigated by a less than competent sheriff. the first portion of the book reveals how Josephine met Baron Blasko and brought him back to Sumter, Alabama. They decide to solve the murder case before the sheriff decides to investigate the stranger living in Josephine's basement. The style of writing makes for easy reading, and the story includes many elements of humor in addition to the serious drama. Many red herrings cross the trail before the murderer is unmasked. Most of the characters are stereotypes of small town people in the 1920s, which adds to the humor and mystery.
September 16, 2019
Set in 1930's Alabama, Josephine Nicholson is one of the lucky few who came away from WWI and the stock market crash relatively unscathed, but when her father asks her for a favor on his deathbed, her life goes in a very unexpected direction.
Grace is the Nicholson's devout, down-to-earth, "colored" maid. Growing up in the South, she understands life for a poor black family and just how crazy white folks can be, and so she is torn when she has to choose between staying home and playing it safe, or accompanying her employer Josephine to Europe and earning a large sum of money. What she doesn't realize is that she'll have to throw keeping the secret of the unnatural thing Josephine brings back with them into the bargain.
Baron Dragomir Blasko...well, he just wants to have some fun when his new hometown is rocked by a murder.
If you looked at the cover of this book and thought "typical adult paranormal romance," you would be completely off; However, if you looked at it and thought "masterpiece theater/ Agatha Christie style mystery with a paranormal aspect," then you'd be in the right wheelhouse.
In a world where glittery vampires, abusive/possessive vampires, and playboy vampires are the fad, here's an "average Joe" vampire who just wants to be a private eye.
A huge part of the charm of this book is imagining a vampire in very unvampirey situations: trying to learn to drive, imitating Sherlock Holmes, trying to sit his stiff postured self on a cushy couch. The humor of this book is subtle and well weaved into the characters. Much like Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle, it's the witticisms, peculiarities, and character quirks that make the books.
The murder mystery is good. I would say it's an average mystery, not super obvious but also not impossible to figure out (the culprit(s) become pretty obvious around 60% through the book). There was the right amount of searching, the author is fair and gives you the clues that the characters have, and while you may guess correctly at that 60% mark, it's still interesting to see how the characters' figure it out (think Columbo).
I've read a lot of vampire books, and there are a lot of explanations behind why they don't cast a reflection including mirrors are backed with silver, which burns up the reflected image, mirrors reflect the soul and vampires don't have souls, and vampires have a weird immunity to reflection (which is why the reflected sunlight on the moon doesn't hurt them).
I thought that A.E. Howe's explanation was particularly creative. There's a Portrait of Dorian Gray feel to it:
"When I look in a mirror I see myself as if I have been dead and buried for hundreds of years. At first I worried that others could see me like this, but in time I realized only I could see the face of my true destiny."
There were just three things I think could have been done better; I'm going to try to be vague to avoid spoilers:
-There is a death early on in the book of a person that I definitely felt deserved more of a reaction to their passing. There was no ceremony, no follow up, no emotion connected to it. I really felt bad for this person who Josephine just seemed to shrug off. I can understand that she may have been in shock or too focused on her own survival to react much to the death, but it would have had to hit her sometime and I don't think people just get over things like that without a thought.
-I think in the hurry to establish everything (this is the first book and it's laying a foundation)there were some prime opportunities for comedy as well as relationship development missed. For example, telling us that Blasko's initial attempts at Holmsian deductions about people failed miserably rather than showing us. There is some bickerishness between the two characters who will probably end up with a romance. It wasn't enough to be obnoxious (there is nothing worse than being told that two character's who do nothing but fight and hate each other are in "love" ) but it was skirting the line. The saving grace to the fighting was that it does feel as if it starts out justified and that through common interests will improve over time.
-Male style writing. That's probably an unfair generality or stereotype, but I've noticed that male authors tend to focus more on what's happening and female authors tend to focus on what everyone is feeling while things are happening. Obviously there are authors who transcend this. While this did lean towards the male style, which is not typically the style I choose to read, it was very well written and kept my attention. Sometimes not having more of that emotional dialogue will make it difficult for me to get drawn into the book, but I didn't have a problem getting into this one.
Even if I didn't like a few little things, overall I loved the book. The setting is interesting, the characters and relationship are developing steadily, and as long as that continues through the series it has the potential to be a high favorite of mine!
-That ending was unfair (In the best way possible). I took the bait and grabbed the second book immediately.-
Grace is the Nicholson's devout, down-to-earth, "colored" maid. Growing up in the South, she understands life for a poor black family and just how crazy white folks can be, and so she is torn when she has to choose between staying home and playing it safe, or accompanying her employer Josephine to Europe and earning a large sum of money. What she doesn't realize is that she'll have to throw keeping the secret of the unnatural thing Josephine brings back with them into the bargain.
Baron Dragomir Blasko...well, he just wants to have some fun when his new hometown is rocked by a murder.
If you looked at the cover of this book and thought "typical adult paranormal romance," you would be completely off; However, if you looked at it and thought "masterpiece theater/ Agatha Christie style mystery with a paranormal aspect," then you'd be in the right wheelhouse.
In a world where glittery vampires, abusive/possessive vampires, and playboy vampires are the fad, here's an "average Joe" vampire who just wants to be a private eye.
A huge part of the charm of this book is imagining a vampire in very unvampirey situations: trying to learn to drive, imitating Sherlock Holmes, trying to sit his stiff postured self on a cushy couch. The humor of this book is subtle and well weaved into the characters. Much like Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle, it's the witticisms, peculiarities, and character quirks that make the books.
The murder mystery is good. I would say it's an average mystery, not super obvious but also not impossible to figure out (the culprit(s) become pretty obvious around 60% through the book). There was the right amount of searching, the author is fair and gives you the clues that the characters have, and while you may guess correctly at that 60% mark, it's still interesting to see how the characters' figure it out (think Columbo).
I've read a lot of vampire books, and there are a lot of explanations behind why they don't cast a reflection including mirrors are backed with silver, which burns up the reflected image, mirrors reflect the soul and vampires don't have souls, and vampires have a weird immunity to reflection (which is why the reflected sunlight on the moon doesn't hurt them).
I thought that A.E. Howe's explanation was particularly creative. There's a Portrait of Dorian Gray feel to it:
"When I look in a mirror I see myself as if I have been dead and buried for hundreds of years. At first I worried that others could see me like this, but in time I realized only I could see the face of my true destiny."
There were just three things I think could have been done better; I'm going to try to be vague to avoid spoilers:
-There is a death early on in the book of a person that I definitely felt deserved more of a reaction to their passing. There was no ceremony, no follow up, no emotion connected to it. I really felt bad for this person who Josephine just seemed to shrug off. I can understand that she may have been in shock or too focused on her own survival to react much to the death, but it would have had to hit her sometime and I don't think people just get over things like that without a thought.
-I think in the hurry to establish everything (this is the first book and it's laying a foundation)there were some prime opportunities for comedy as well as relationship development missed. For example, telling us that Blasko's initial attempts at Holmsian deductions about people failed miserably rather than showing us. There is some bickerishness between the two characters who will probably end up with a romance. It wasn't enough to be obnoxious (there is nothing worse than being told that two character's who do nothing but fight and hate each other are in "love" ) but it was skirting the line. The saving grace to the fighting was that it does feel as if it starts out justified and that through common interests will improve over time.
-Male style writing. That's probably an unfair generality or stereotype, but I've noticed that male authors tend to focus more on what's happening and female authors tend to focus on what everyone is feeling while things are happening. Obviously there are authors who transcend this. While this did lean towards the male style, which is not typically the style I choose to read, it was very well written and kept my attention. Sometimes not having more of that emotional dialogue will make it difficult for me to get drawn into the book, but I didn't have a problem getting into this one.
Even if I didn't like a few little things, overall I loved the book. The setting is interesting, the characters and relationship are developing steadily, and as long as that continues through the series it has the potential to be a high favorite of mine!
-That ending was unfair (In the best way possible). I took the bait and grabbed the second book immediately.-
August 3, 2020
Try not to think so much while reading this otherwise you won't get far.
May 30, 2025
Great Premise, but--
I thought the idea--an old-world vampire coming to a small Alabama town in the 1930s--was interesting but the execution of the story didn't live up to my expectations. I suppose it's because the author didn't really make a clear decision on what he was writing. It started as a possible comedy of errors, then shifted to a travel adventure before settling down into a cozy murder mystery with a completely unexpected shift to romance in the last sentence.
Yes I realize a lot of genres overlap, but I feel the author was so impatient to get to the mystery that the first half of the book felt rushed and then slowed down to a crawl by the middle. It didn't help that far too many of the characters weren't fleshed out well enough to find the motive for the mystery.
I don't mean the book was terrible--it wasn't--but I wish we'd gotten more. More of the town and the folks there; more about the vampire's background, more of the details of how this particular set-up works. The author clearly knows small towns, and is well-versed in the history of the Thirties, but the whole blood supply issue isn't really addressed, not to mention the casual acceptance of an unmarried lady with a stranger living in her house at a time when such a thing would have been deeply scandalous.
Still, the author has an ear for dialog, and an eye for detail when he chooses to use it.
I thought the idea--an old-world vampire coming to a small Alabama town in the 1930s--was interesting but the execution of the story didn't live up to my expectations. I suppose it's because the author didn't really make a clear decision on what he was writing. It started as a possible comedy of errors, then shifted to a travel adventure before settling down into a cozy murder mystery with a completely unexpected shift to romance in the last sentence.
Yes I realize a lot of genres overlap, but I feel the author was so impatient to get to the mystery that the first half of the book felt rushed and then slowed down to a crawl by the middle. It didn't help that far too many of the characters weren't fleshed out well enough to find the motive for the mystery.
I don't mean the book was terrible--it wasn't--but I wish we'd gotten more. More of the town and the folks there; more about the vampire's background, more of the details of how this particular set-up works. The author clearly knows small towns, and is well-versed in the history of the Thirties, but the whole blood supply issue isn't really addressed, not to mention the casual acceptance of an unmarried lady with a stranger living in her house at a time when such a thing would have been deeply scandalous.
Still, the author has an ear for dialog, and an eye for detail when he chooses to use it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2018
Fangs" had an intriguing premise: a Romanian vampire transported to Depression-era Alabama and then involving himself in investigating homicides in the small town he now lives in.
The start was promising: a strong-minded, single woman in the thirties who has just inherited the town's only surviving bank sets off to Romania to spread her grandfather's ashes in "the old country", taking with her only her black maid for a chaperone. This gave us the opportunity to see how lone women (even lone white wealthy women) were patronised and threatened when they travelled and how black women were treated as not quite human, at least until the pair reached France.
The adventures in Romania were quite fun, avoiding clichés and creating an interesting set of reasons for our heroine to take our Baron-turned-vampire back the US with her.
After that, it seemed to me that the novel ran out of steam. The relationship between the Baron and our heroine didn't really go anywhere. The maid receded into the background when I had expected her to be a major character. The murder mystery and investigation were complicated without really being either exciting or credible.
It was an entertaining read that became less so as it went along. I won't be joining the Baron on his next adventure.
The start was promising: a strong-minded, single woman in the thirties who has just inherited the town's only surviving bank sets off to Romania to spread her grandfather's ashes in "the old country", taking with her only her black maid for a chaperone. This gave us the opportunity to see how lone women (even lone white wealthy women) were patronised and threatened when they travelled and how black women were treated as not quite human, at least until the pair reached France.
The adventures in Romania were quite fun, avoiding clichés and creating an interesting set of reasons for our heroine to take our Baron-turned-vampire back the US with her.
After that, it seemed to me that the novel ran out of steam. The relationship between the Baron and our heroine didn't really go anywhere. The maid receded into the background when I had expected her to be a major character. The murder mystery and investigation were complicated without really being either exciting or credible.
It was an entertaining read that became less so as it went along. I won't be joining the Baron on his next adventure.
November 19, 2019
There are minor spoilers in this review.
This book is OK for a first novel, but it isn't that creative.
The way in which the female lead and the vampire become entangled is, quite honestly, stupid. He'd be forming blood pacts with half the people he tried to feed on, if things always worked the way they do with Josephine. I thought spreading her grandfather's ashes was going to complete some sort of arcane ritual. I would have found that more satisfying.
The person who realizes the killer had cotton in his ear was n0t, to my knowledge, familiar enough with firearms to make the revelation feel earned, and the kiss at the end of the book was not believably earned either.
Having said all that, this book had enough potential that I will read the 2nd book in the series and hope it shows improvement. If not, I probably will not bother with the third.
This book is OK for a first novel, but it isn't that creative.
The way in which the female lead and the vampire become entangled is, quite honestly, stupid. He'd be forming blood pacts with half the people he tried to feed on, if things always worked the way they do with Josephine. I thought spreading her grandfather's ashes was going to complete some sort of arcane ritual. I would have found that more satisfying.
The person who realizes the killer had cotton in his ear was n0t, to my knowledge, familiar enough with firearms to make the revelation feel earned, and the kiss at the end of the book was not believably earned either.
Having said all that, this book had enough potential that I will read the 2nd book in the series and hope it shows improvement. If not, I probably will not bother with the third.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2018
Great start to a new series. Absolutely brilliant. Starts off well with the background of how the 2 main characters met and bonded (as it were) continuing into "present day" (1930s small town in Alabama). Very well written, great storyline and plot and characters well constructed and dialogue natural. Humour very much present, providing a fun easy read. Enough red herrings and a very clever twist when the murdered is unmasked. Thoroughly enjoyed this ARC. This is my honest opinion. Cannot wait to get stuck into the next one!
August 1, 2018
A refreshing kind of vampire
I have read all of the Larry Macklin books and wondered if this new direction would disappoint. It was not the case.
It's a very different vampire book and that's a good thing in my opinion. We have a cast of interesting and well drawn characters that help hold interest. The best thing is this book sets the table for an interesting series. I look forward to the next installment.
I have read all of the Larry Macklin books and wondered if this new direction would disappoint. It was not the case.
It's a very different vampire book and that's a good thing in my opinion. We have a cast of interesting and well drawn characters that help hold interest. The best thing is this book sets the table for an interesting series. I look forward to the next installment.
May 12, 2019
I became a fan of author A.E. Howe when I discovered his Larry Macklin murder mystery series. He branched out and has written a new series that combines a murder mystery with two very likable main characters, vampire Baron Blasko and Josephine. As with his Macklin series, he does a great job in keeping you guessing as the story moves on. If you like murder mysteries and the paranormal I think you'll find this book a refreshing, fun read. I'll be reading the other 2 in this series.
September 16, 2018
An unusual and good mystery.
I like it takes place in the Prohibition Era. I like the characters. Josephine stands up for herself, but she is unreasonable with Blasko, at times. Blasko tries to adjust to Alabama and the 20th century. I like he is a vampire. I like how the story does not ignore the racism of that time. The mystery is good with many suspects.
I like it takes place in the Prohibition Era. I like the characters. Josephine stands up for herself, but she is unreasonable with Blasko, at times. Blasko tries to adjust to Alabama and the 20th century. I like he is a vampire. I like how the story does not ignore the racism of that time. The mystery is good with many suspects.
January 2, 2020
Entertaining Vampire-Solves-Murder-Mystery Series
The intrepid and plucky heroine, Josephine, ends up running afoul of a vampire while on a quest to return her grandfather’s remains to his birthplace, a deathbed request from her late father.
She becomes inextricably linked to the vampire and adventures ensue.
The intrepid and plucky heroine, Josephine, ends up running afoul of a vampire while on a quest to return her grandfather’s remains to his birthplace, a deathbed request from her late father.
She becomes inextricably linked to the vampire and adventures ensue.
January 12, 2020
Not expecting much
I downloaded this book thinking it looked interesting but I probably wouldn't finish it. I loved it. Not only did I finished it I have already gotten the next book in the series. Very well written and the mystery kept me guessing. I was sure on one part of who done it and was right but the second part so very wrong.
I downloaded this book thinking it looked interesting but I probably wouldn't finish it. I loved it. Not only did I finished it I have already gotten the next book in the series. Very well written and the mystery kept me guessing. I was sure on one part of who done it and was right but the second part so very wrong.
March 23, 2020
Well written and suspenseful, but you have to suspend your disbelief in vampires. The story takes place in the 1930s in the Southern United States. A long stretch for the author to get the "Count" from Romania to the U.S. as well. The story could have been just as entertaining with a detective who is not hundreds of years old and sleeps in a coffin all day and who has a bat for a pet.
August 10, 2020
Good times.
This book might just be the best vampire story I've read since Dracula. Think Dracula meets Sherlock Holmes in a cozy with humor. The story and characters were intriguing and engaging. The plot keeps you guessing until the very end. This book is definitely worth reading.
This book might just be the best vampire story I've read since Dracula. Think Dracula meets Sherlock Holmes in a cozy with humor. The story and characters were intriguing and engaging. The plot keeps you guessing until the very end. This book is definitely worth reading.
October 14, 2025
The mystery was a little clunky, which was to be expected since it's their first investigation, and the ending felt a bit rushed. That being said, I really did enjoy the characters and the plot. I liked their irritated bantering and subtle humor. Except for the ending, it was paced well. I look forward to continuing the series.
October 8, 2018
Wow, what a difference from the Maclin series
Set in a completely era, story line and the characters are very different. The strange plot couldn't t be more different but is equally spell binding.
Set in a completely era, story line and the characters are very different. The strange plot couldn't t be more different but is equally spell binding.
December 25, 2018
Yes
This book was top shelf. Try it yourself and you will be thrilled that you did. It gives a slightly different perspective of vampires. The way the Baron gets accidentally attached to the 30's banking heiress is so funny.
This book was top shelf. Try it yourself and you will be thrilled that you did. It gives a slightly different perspective of vampires. The way the Baron gets accidentally attached to the 30's banking heiress is so funny.
May 1, 2019
Great read! Clever mystery with a very unusual detective.
Baron Blasko is not your typical vampire. His reluctant hostess Josephine Nicolson is the perfect foil for him. So glad to know that this is a series so that I can enjoy visiting with them again.
Baron Blasko is not your typical vampire. His reluctant hostess Josephine Nicolson is the perfect foil for him. So glad to know that this is a series so that I can enjoy visiting with them again.
August 7, 2020
I DO RECOMMEND THIS AUTHOR AND THIS BOOK!😍
THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT 👍ADVENTURE OF PEOPLE , WHO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF ANY SUPERNATURAL BEINGS😍THIS👌HAS SURPRISED ME BY HOW THE STORY OF THE ❤CHARACTERS WAS WELL WORTH READING 📚 IT! SO TRULY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK, BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍😊😀😃😍
THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT 👍ADVENTURE OF PEOPLE , WHO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF ANY SUPERNATURAL BEINGS😍THIS👌HAS SURPRISED ME BY HOW THE STORY OF THE ❤CHARACTERS WAS WELL WORTH READING 📚 IT! SO TRULY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK, BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍😊😀😃😍
April 19, 2021
Satisfying
I like the combination of depression era southern setting with the familiar vampire tale; I like that Blasko doesn't seem to have the outrageous powers many fictional vampires have. The series has great potential.
I like the combination of depression era southern setting with the familiar vampire tale; I like that Blasko doesn't seem to have the outrageous powers many fictional vampires have. The series has great potential.
June 29, 2021
I was hooked instantly. I ended up stopping in the middle because I didn't have time to read. When I started again it was hard to get back into. Then once again I became hooked. I may purchase book #2!
January 19, 2025
I didn't realize that this was a Vampire book when I started reading it. Had I known, I probably would have moved on to something else.
That being said, I really enjoyed the characters and the story.
I'm glad I stumbled onto this book.
That being said, I really enjoyed the characters and the story.
I'm glad I stumbled onto this book.
February 11, 2025
Cute but hard to read
This should have been an easy read. However that is not the case. Hard to follow. Kept falling asleep. Going to read the 2nd book in the series to see if there is an actual difference.
This should have been an easy read. However that is not the case. Hard to follow. Kept falling asleep. Going to read the 2nd book in the series to see if there is an actual difference.
April 23, 2025
A new twist on ancient lore
Loved reading this novel although it did have a slow beginning the buildup was worth the wait. The Baron and Josephine were both in need of...something different. I recommend this book to all who enjoy supernatural mysteries.
Loved reading this novel although it did have a slow beginning the buildup was worth the wait. The Baron and Josephine were both in need of...something different. I recommend this book to all who enjoy supernatural mysteries.
June 20, 2025
I'm a big fan of Howe's Larry Macklin series and enjoyed his Mortician Murder series and thought I'd give Baron Blasko a try. I was surprised that it is set in the 1930s -- a pleasant surprise that made for interesting reading. I've already borrowed book 2 from Kindle Unlimited.
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