Lifeblood

Vampire Files #2

by P.N. Elrod

Jack Fleming was an investigative journalist in Prohibition-era Chicago until he got shot by an unknown assassin, bitten by his vampire girlfriend, and became one of the undead. Now, this nice-guy nosferatu has a bunch of crazy vampire hunters on his trail armed with crosses, silver bullets, and sharp wooden stakes. He doesn't know how they found out about him or why they are "out for his blood," but it's not a problem for this street-wise gumshoe, until someone starts shooting. Jack himself may be bulletproof, but his friends are not. And Jack is determined to get some answers, even if it kills him-again. It's a case of the living versus the undead. But who's hunting whom?

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

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 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

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lifeblood
(Vampire Files #2)
by P.N. Elrod
This is another re-read for me. I love this series and forgot just how good it was until diving into it again! It's a 1930's vampire story with show girls, mobs, and the vampire's best friend that's a PI. It's A short for a novel but contains everything a longer novel has!

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume a little more than volume one. In this one the characters are established, so you can get into the story right away. There's some twists and turns I didn't see coming, and we find out a little more about Jack Fleming's past.

This series has been really good so far.

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 4 out of 5]

all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu

About the Book: Jack’s being stalked by an amateur vampire hunter. Worse than their poor, misinformed attempts to dispatch of him is the ever increasing violence of said attempts, disregarding safety of others, innocent people. And still, somehow, that’s not the biggest of his problems, as soon Jack finds himself eye-to-eye with his past. Past that feels cheated, and is here to take the debt back…

My Opinion: There’s nothing mind blowing about these books, but they’re good in their simplicity. Plot is well put together, nothing to strain over. Mediocre characters get boosted with a more noir-like Poirot vibe to them. Basically, a book you can chill with in the afternoon, and be done by the supper.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

My husband and I started this on audio on a road trip and ended up finishing it together once we got back. I don’t usually do audiobooks in the house, and I dozed off a few times while listening. That might have been because I was in my dozing off chair and not out of boredom, though.

I still enjoyed Jack and Charles together and the tough guy talk (calling people “mugs” and “popping” them, etc.), but I got bored with the story (especially the romance with Bobbi—yawn), and the way the narrator did the baddies’ voices grated on me.

I don’t think I’ll continue the series, but the buddy stuff may pull me back.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one quite a bit more than the first in the series. Good hard-boiled mystery reminiscent of a old fahioned PI novel by Raymond Chandler mixed with vampire shenanigans. Will definitely read more in the series.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fleming and Escott return in the second of the Vampire Files. Fleming has been trying to find his lost love vampire, Maureen, for 5 years but his new romance with Bobbi has led him to give up the search so he pulls his personals ads from the newspapers. The absence of the ads draws unwanted attention and heck breaks loose when a couple of vampire hunters appear on the scene as well as Maureen's elderly sister.

I really like these books. The characters are very well drawn and the plots are interesting. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than the first book in the series. This was more fun. It had a serious element to it but it had its fun bits too. I was either gripped to the book, wanting to know what will happen next or having a laugh. The vampire hunters were quite fun. Loved learning more about Maureen too. I really hope she turns up at some point. I really wanna meet this mystery woman of Jacks :) roll on book 3

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Genre crossovers very rarely work--Twilight, anyone?--and although kind of enjoyable pulp fiction, this one leaves you wondering what the plot was and what, ultimately, the vampirism of the main character brings to the story. Too bad I already bought the third one...

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best vampire stories I've read. There's a little romance (it's really hard to find a vampire story that doesn't), but it is 90% very entertaining story line. If you like this genre, I would not pass these novels up.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elrod does it again. She takes this great world of the 1930’s with gangsters and mobsters and creates an amazingly fun and intriguing crime story. Which happens to feature a vampire. It isn’t overly heavy handed on the idea of vampirism and Fleming’s new life, but it does make it all about it in its own, unique way. Honestly, I loved this story from beginning to end. It romanticises a time that I’m sure wasn’t’ even remotely romantic, and makes me think of club singers and back door deals and a time before really good security systems (because, let’s face it, none of this storyline is plausible in our current day and age of technology).

Bloodlist explained Fleming’s death and helped him come to terms with his new vampirism. But there is the mystery of Maureen, the woman who turned him. And, although Lifeblood doesn’t answer all the mysteries related to this past love, it does help to explain her disappearance. And honestly, it was a cause and creation which I really wasn’t expecting. And definitely enjoyed.

So far, the Vampire Files stories aren’t insanely fast paced. I tend to pick them up and put them down again. It is really only in the last quarter that it becomes very difficult to put the tales down. This is because of the way in which Elrod uses the majority of the storyline to set up the big finale. It’s a well-paced, fun book and one I can justify picking up when I have a lot of other, more responsible things to do…

[Jon]

In this book, we take time off from our regularly scheduled gangster programming to bring you some blasts from Jack's past that have returned to haunt him once more. While Jack is on an expedition to the old family homestead to bring back some more sacks of his native earth (to sleep on), he notices that he is being followed. When he confronts his pursuers, he finds out that they are a couple of fellows from New York City who know that he is a vampire, and are determined (a la Van Helsing) to slay the foul beast (Jack).

Unable to convince them of his general good will and honorable intentions, he tries several times to dissuade them non-violently, but they continue to pop up at the least convenient moments throughout the story.

Upon his return to Chicago, Fleming receives a message from an old woman, Gaylen, who turns out to be the sister of the vampiress who changed him (Maureen). The old lady fills in the blanks for him - and us - on how Maureen lived, died and became a vampire, but can shed no further light on Maureen's fate after her sudden disappearance.

Eventually, these two apparently disparate plot threads come violently together when Bobbi is kidnapped and one of the vampire hunters killed by Gaylen's allies, who demand that Jack turn them into vampires so that they, too, may live forever.

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this one better than the first in series. Maybe I felt more comfortable with the premise and era or the characters are even more developed. Whatever is the reason, I enjoyed listening to this. The setting makes it noir in feel since it's in the 40s and the main characters are a private investigator and newspaper reporter and the girlfriend works in radio. There are gangsters and talk of Prohibition. There are several mysteries going on and each one is addressed. Vampire lore gets tweaked a bit, but that's fine with me. I don't follow hard and fast rules and enjoy seeing what others do for their creatures.
I am looking forward to listening to the rest of the series. I think I will continue listening. It has an old radio show feel to it.
I can definitely recommend this book, this series and author.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lifeblood continues the same line of quality as its predecessor, Bloodlist. The writing isn't the best, but the action more than makes up for it. Every moment is adventure.

I could have done with a little more worldbuilding in this one. We learn more about Jack's personal backstory, but there's next to no new information about vampires in this world, which is different enough that exploring the details would be interesting.

As usual, my reviews as I continue the series are going to get shorter and shorter because there's only so much you can say about one story, but this one upholds my expectations of the first volume and I am excited to start the next one.

[Ryan R · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is even worse than the first one. The MC is a vampire and yet refuses to use his powers....? So then why did the author bother making him a vampire in the first place? Answer: so he could get beat up and shot repeatedly without the story ending. The MC literally does nothing. He gets threatened and attacked, does nothing, and then acts surprised when people close to him get kidnapped or hurt. Honestly, I had high hopes for this series, the premise sounded great, but the author completely destroyed what could have been a great story by having a weak, ineffective and borderline idiotic MC as the staring character.

[Iona Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am devouring this series faster than any I have done in a very long time. PN Elrod delivers the perfect mix of drama in a character second only to Harry Dresden in my book. Jack Fleming struggles to cope with the new "changes" in his life which is made difficult when two bungling hunters stay on his trail.

However, as is the author's modus operandi, she throws in a truly shocking twist even I never saw coming m

[Jade Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good. I liked that it was a vampire novel that wasn’t horror and instead was a focus on character-driven realism, with an ongoing mystery in the background. I think so much vampire fiction tends to only be horror fiction, even in a post-Anne Rice world.
Would definitely read the rest in the series.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually liked the first book a little better than this one. I could have done with a little less focus on the girlfriend. It was necessary to the plot, but the parts of them just enjoying each other could have been a lot shorter. I like the friendship he has with Escott and the second half was action packed and the stakes were high (pun intended).

[Alan Villafana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to another story about Jack Fleming. This continued from the first and not only had action, it explored a little more of the vampire mythos within this universe. If you are looking for a good mystery with a super natural twist, this series so far is worth the read/listen.

[Jessica U · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5, fairly entertaining.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong continuation of the series. Nothing ground breaking, just well executed.

[Jana Eichhorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was fun. I think I like this series.

[Helene Falkinburg]

Awesome series that was a prequel in a way to Forever Knight also from the 1990s.

[EscaPe iNTo thE PaGEs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this second book to be just as good as Bloodlist. This series reminds me Samantha Moon and fans of that series should definitely read Bloodlist

[Ruth Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoying this series

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

18 Grim noire seems to be a genre that I am thoroughly enjoying. This was a short and easy read so much like an original 30s crime/detective story but with a twist. I hope there is a 3rd one!

[Nuno · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the same vein (haha) as the first book in the series, we learn a bit more on the Maureen connection but still no sign of her. Entertaining and I still enjoyed the narration

[Aleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of cool plot twists I didn’t expect!! Love the best friend duo. Charles Escott is definitely my favorite character. I love the way they pulled Gordy in and made him a friend.

[Jessica Lerbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting! A small part of the original mystery revealed...

[f00ssa]

En francais, which complicated things somewhat