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Vampire Files #5
Fire in the Blood
Librarian's note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN 0441859461.
When vampire detective Jack Fleming is hired by the wealthy Sebastian Pierce to recover a priceless heirloom bracelet, he eyes his reward in Pierce's daughter, an enticing girl with a hot-headed boyfriend.
When vampire detective Jack Fleming is hired by the wealthy Sebastian Pierce to recover a priceless heirloom bracelet, he eyes his reward in Pierce's daughter, an enticing girl with a hot-headed boyfriend.
198 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1991
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422 people want to read
About the author
P.N. Elrod
88 books592 followersPatricia 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
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 5, 2022
3.5 stars
This is 5th in a series but the first one I've read...and I liked it overall.
It follows Jack Fleming (who is a vampire & former reporter) teamed with Charles Escott (who is a private detective...sorry no... agent) investigating crime hard-boiled style in 1930's Chicago.
I loved Jack's vampire powers and how he brought them to aid Escott...or not as was sometimes the case. The historic feel of the book and the violence was pretty good.
The story was a bit drawn out and not really a substantial mystery worthy of all the shenanigans that ensues!
Having read a few reviews the general consensus is that the earlier books in the series are better so I think I'll check those out as the vampire powers/violence/ambience were right up my street.
This is 5th in a series but the first one I've read...and I liked it overall.
It follows Jack Fleming (who is a vampire & former reporter) teamed with Charles Escott (who is a private detective...sorry no... agent) investigating crime hard-boiled style in 1930's Chicago.
I loved Jack's vampire powers and how he brought them to aid Escott...or not as was sometimes the case. The historic feel of the book and the violence was pretty good.
The story was a bit drawn out and not really a substantial mystery worthy of all the shenanigans that ensues!
Having read a few reviews the general consensus is that the earlier books in the series are better so I think I'll check those out as the vampire powers/violence/ambience were right up my street.
November 3, 2019
The same flaws of the last one showed themselves in this one. Who did the crime became apparent about halfway in the novel. There seemed to be a lot of filler and dragging scenes that could've easily been removed.
A carnal sin reared its ugly head in this one as well: Telling not Showing. There were paragraphs of exposition and narrative that the editor inside me winced and whined over.
By this installment, it appeared as though the author experienced some manner of burnout.
A carnal sin reared its ugly head in this one as well: Telling not Showing. There were paragraphs of exposition and narrative that the editor inside me winced and whined over.
By this installment, it appeared as though the author experienced some manner of burnout.
June 9, 2015
The worst book in the series yet. Not only was the plot kinda boring, Jack's sudden bad reaction to hypnosis, his woe is me whining, his reluctance to come clean to Escott and the way everybody and their uncle suddenly managed to get the drop on him made me actually dislike him a bit and that has never happened before. Jack is quite a likable, sweet guy so this... this was a real shock. The most interesting part was the introduction of Kyler. I'm curious where that storyline's headed.
Overall, quite a disappointment.
Overall, quite a disappointment.
September 11, 2021
I've never actually read anything in the Vampire Files series before, but my wife was weeding the fiction section in the library where she works, and this was the only entry she had on the shelf. So, it was no wonder that it had never circulated. As she was putting it on the pile of books to possibly sell, I found myself feeling a bit of sympathy for this random volume: Maybe the series as a whole was actually good, and it just never got a chance, because it was book #5. And if not, maybe it would be novel-equivalent of a Mystery Science Theater movie--overwrought, ridiculous, and fun for all the wrong reasons. I was seized with the desire to find out, and to keep this book from potentially spending its entire existence unread. So she let me take it home. (I love you, hon!)
The end result was kind of a mix of the extremes. Part-engaging film noir drama, part-silly pulp nonsense, I actually found myself enjoying this one for the most part. Despite being a good way into the series, Fire in the Blood did a good job of establishing key characters, hinting at past events, and telling a self-contained story. It does feel like a little bit of a letdown, that the events of this story really do all hinge on a stolen bracelet, and nothing more momentous, but there's enough hard-boiled detective work, murder mysteries, femme fatales, and vampire angst to liven things up significantly. It's nothing astounding, but it knows what it wants to be, and plays its role to the hilt--to the extent that I'm even a bit curious about the Vampire Files series as a whole. Fire in the Blood is a fun romp that can be surprisingly introspective at times, and it might scratch your itch, if you're in the mood for something like The Maltese Falcon, with a dash of Forever Knight.
The end result was kind of a mix of the extremes. Part-engaging film noir drama, part-silly pulp nonsense, I actually found myself enjoying this one for the most part. Despite being a good way into the series, Fire in the Blood did a good job of establishing key characters, hinting at past events, and telling a self-contained story. It does feel like a little bit of a letdown, that the events of this story really do all hinge on a stolen bracelet, and nothing more momentous, but there's enough hard-boiled detective work, murder mysteries, femme fatales, and vampire angst to liven things up significantly. It's nothing astounding, but it knows what it wants to be, and plays its role to the hilt--to the extent that I'm even a bit curious about the Vampire Files series as a whole. Fire in the Blood is a fun romp that can be surprisingly introspective at times, and it might scratch your itch, if you're in the mood for something like The Maltese Falcon, with a dash of Forever Knight.
April 19, 2015
Honestly, I just skimmed through after the first third of the book. I almost never do this, and if this had been my introduction to the series, I probably would have stopped entirely. Luckily, I enjoyed the first arc (Books #1-3) quite a bit, and there's enough of a nostalgic vibe to give the series another shot.
Skip this one though—It's recapped well enough in the next book.
Skip this one though—It's recapped well enough in the next book.
February 17, 2010
Starting to lose interest in this series, I have the next one on hold at the library so I'll probably read it, but unless it's great I don't know if I'll read any more.
Read
November 26, 2020Jack and Charles have gained some small fame for their skill in tricky investigations, so it's no surprise when they are hired by a wealthy man, Sebastian Pierce, to try to find out what has become of an heirloom ruby and diamond bracelet stolen by one of his daughter, Marian's fast crowd of friends. Marian is a little faster than her daddy expects, and Jack finds this out on the first night of their hunt when she makes a daring play for him, just before her very jealous boyfriend walks in on them. With his vampire strength, Jack has no problem dealing with a jealous lover, especially paired with his nosferatu persuasive skills.
One little passage that readers who are not of a certain age will not understand:
"I hit the period and debated whether to turn it into an exclamation point...I backspaced, tapped the apostrophe key, and rolled out the sheet, adding it to the stack of deathless prose next to my portable."
You had to have been there to get it.
But the thief, McAlister, turns out to be more than just a thief. He and his accomplice have set up a basic blackmail racket - he seduces women of means, while his partner takes pictures, which are then used to extort money from the women. When he leads Jack and Charles on a hot chase through town, then turns up messily dead, the trail rapidly leads away from the usual suspects of family and close friends, deeper into Chicago's underworld - the mundane sort.
Escott and Fleming have some messy misadventures as they confront a seemingly endless host of gangsters who either want the pictures or the stolen bracelet, which is worth about $15,000 (in the 1930s). I think this novel led Elrod down some alleys, herself, and ended up spanning two volumes, rather than fitting into the usual page count - the story in the next volume continues moments after this one ends. Things get darker before the dawn, here.
One little passage that readers who are not of a certain age will not understand:
"I hit the period and debated whether to turn it into an exclamation point...I backspaced, tapped the apostrophe key, and rolled out the sheet, adding it to the stack of deathless prose next to my portable."
You had to have been there to get it.
But the thief, McAlister, turns out to be more than just a thief. He and his accomplice have set up a basic blackmail racket - he seduces women of means, while his partner takes pictures, which are then used to extort money from the women. When he leads Jack and Charles on a hot chase through town, then turns up messily dead, the trail rapidly leads away from the usual suspects of family and close friends, deeper into Chicago's underworld - the mundane sort.
Escott and Fleming have some messy misadventures as they confront a seemingly endless host of gangsters who either want the pictures or the stolen bracelet, which is worth about $15,000 (in the 1930s). I think this novel led Elrod down some alleys, herself, and ended up spanning two volumes, rather than fitting into the usual page count - the story in the next volume continues moments after this one ends. Things get darker before the dawn, here.
September 5, 2025
Exciting and with an intriguing new vampire-related twist
March 9, 2024
Good grief, am I glad that's over.
I'm a fan of this series. I love Jack and Escott. But this book is chock-full of convoluted plot points, annoying characters, people getting away to conveniently draw things out, and Jack's conscience over almost killing, and it's a real slog. I get why Elrod had to give Jack a hang-up over hypnosis-- it was making things far too easy. But I don't read vampire books for characters who can't do hard things. (Hence my abhorrence of Twilight.) I'll read the rest of the series, that's a forgone conclusion. But hopefully the next book is less chaotic.
I'm a fan of this series. I love Jack and Escott. But this book is chock-full of convoluted plot points, annoying characters, people getting away to conveniently draw things out, and Jack's conscience over almost killing, and it's a real slog. I get why Elrod had to give Jack a hang-up over hypnosis-- it was making things far too easy. But I don't read vampire books for characters who can't do hard things. (Hence my abhorrence of Twilight.) I'll read the rest of the series, that's a forgone conclusion. But hopefully the next book is less chaotic.
October 28, 2016
Startlingly disappointing book; fifth in a series starring Jack Fleming, a writer recently turned into a vampire who helps his friend Escott with cases. Enjoyed the first four in the series but struggled through this one. Escott (and Jack) are hired by a rich man (Pierce) to find a valuable bracelet stolen from his daughter, probably by her friend's boyfriend. Their investigation brings some bad people into their world. Jack seemed much whinier this go around and the writing just did not draw me in to the storyline. First four in the series though were worth reading.
January 22, 2015
The book was easy to read and I did like how it seemed that Jack had grown toward a little more maturity, but that quickly diminishes. He ends up getting hurt way too easy and ends up being kind of whiny. It also seemed that the case really had nothing to do with the bracelet, it was just a regular murder investigation through most of the book and seemed kind of hellbent on more revenge than anything.
August 14, 2012
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.
March 3, 2009
extra 1/2 star.
February 10, 2010
Not as much a serial this time, though it does end leaving the plot open.
August 30, 2010
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.
P. N. Elrod is amazing in her depiction of the time period. You can see, smell, feel, and hear it as you read.
October 6, 2012
If I can get one person, who reads urban fantasy, to go back and read this series, I'll have done my job as a reader, reviewer and librarian.
March 31, 2011
another good series novel
August 29, 2011
Introducing some interesting characters. Curious about how they'll tie in later.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews