What do you think?
Rate this book
Vampire Babylon #4
A Drop of Red
Follow the trail into Vampire Babylon...
When a new Vampire Underground is found in England, Hollywood stuntwoman-turned-vampire hunter Dawn Madison and her crack team are dispatched to carry the fight from the flash and dash of Los Angeles to the seemingly staid and stolid streets of London. Dawn knows by now how deceiving appearances can be-and she's about to find out that it's not only the beautiful people of Hollywood who are willing to bargain with evil.
When a new Vampire Underground is found in England, Hollywood stuntwoman-turned-vampire hunter Dawn Madison and her crack team are dispatched to carry the fight from the flash and dash of Los Angeles to the seemingly staid and stolid streets of London. Dawn knows by now how deceiving appearances can be-and she's about to find out that it's not only the beautiful people of Hollywood who are willing to bargain with evil.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 11, 2009
4 people are currently reading
698 people want to read
About the author
Chris Marie Green
44 books250 followersChris Marie Green, former school teacher turned full-time writer, gets out of the office by taking long trips to places such as Japan, Italy, and New Orleans. When she’s not causing international incidents, she enjoys yoga, movie-going and dabbling in firsthand research such as fencing, Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She also writes under the name Crystal Green and Christine Cody
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 22, 2015
I did it again, started a book on the weekend when my husband is home so it did not get finished quickly. Plus to be honest now that we have changed venues for the new story arc it was somewhat less appealing than the previous 3 books.
I am astounded by the fanciful imagination though that it took to create and flesh out the characters that inhabit these pages, it keeps me reading just to see what road the author chooses to have them walk down next.
I am astounded by the fanciful imagination though that it took to create and flesh out the characters that inhabit these pages, it keeps me reading just to see what road the author chooses to have them walk down next.
December 17, 2015
Firstly I am actually offended by the combination of the narrators bad British accent and the authors attempts to write from a British perspective!
But the storyline was better than the last 2 if longwinded! So it gets 3*'s from me!
But the storyline was better than the last 2 if longwinded! So it gets 3*'s from me!
October 9, 2018
To read more reviews in this series and others, check out keikii eats books!
69 points/100 (3 ½ stars/5)
Now in London, there is a new Underground to find and destroy. A new coworker. A busted relationship. A dead kid.
Now that we're out of Los Angeles, I'm starting to like this a bit more. Probably because everyone we run into isn't an aspiring actor. And I hate the "Acting!" bit that came with it, when they were acting while detecting.
With a new venue, we get a new Underground. I already like it so much more than the last. Instead of starlets, we have young teenage girls. They've been basically abandoned by their parents and dropped off in an expensive boarding school. A pack of female teenage vampires is just about my worst nightmare, and add on top the parental issues and money? Yeah, they're pretty terrifying.
We also get a new detective, Natalia. Natalia is a medium as well as a precog like Kiko. It was about time we got someone who could speak with ghosts, there are enough bodies on the ground. Though, it does feel like she makes things a bit too easy. With Natalia, it is like Green realised all the mistakes she made with Dawn in the beginning and sought to correct them. They train Natalia on what to expect, they protect her, they help her. (Well, Kiko doesn't, but he views her as an usupur to his spot on the team). We basically started from the beginning, instead of dropping in the middle of an investigation. It is written much, much better this time.
Kiko... I'm not upset at him. I just wish they would do the right thing and find a way to send him off. I find that while I like reading about drug addicts that are trying to change their lives around, I dislike reading about drug addicts not doing anything about it. Kiko is just wallowing around in self pity. They've tried so many times to help him now. They're using Natalia to boost him back into productivity. Yet, we've reached this stage before with him. I just hope they get him the help he needs, and get him away from the situations that are so clearly hurting him.
The series has shifted very heavily into the relationship between Dawn and her boss. Only, it isn't just her boss, is it? After we learned in Break of Dawn that her boss was really named Costin, and that he was borrowing the body of another, Jonah...I thought that weird. It somehow just got even more weird. Since Dawn managed to change him into a vampire before killing Benedikte, releasing herself from being a vampire but keeping Jonah/Costin a vampire, things have gotten weird. Costin hates that Dawn is dominant to him, is kind of his master. He looks for any excuse to stop trusting her all the time. Honestly, this whole situation is pretty depressing.
Their relationship with Jonah is also weird. Jonah is pushing at the bounds of Costin, trying to take control. It is like the world's weirdest love triangle. Jonah wants everything Costin has and loves. Costin is incredibly possessive of Dawn in a not so great way. Dawn is looking for everything she never really had, love-wise, with Costin. Fucked up situation.
I'll admit that I like the direction the series is headed, though. We'll see if it gets there.
69 points/100 (3 ½ stars/5)
Now in London, there is a new Underground to find and destroy. A new coworker. A busted relationship. A dead kid.
Now that we're out of Los Angeles, I'm starting to like this a bit more. Probably because everyone we run into isn't an aspiring actor. And I hate the "Acting!" bit that came with it, when they were acting while detecting.
With a new venue, we get a new Underground. I already like it so much more than the last. Instead of starlets, we have young teenage girls. They've been basically abandoned by their parents and dropped off in an expensive boarding school. A pack of female teenage vampires is just about my worst nightmare, and add on top the parental issues and money? Yeah, they're pretty terrifying.
We also get a new detective, Natalia. Natalia is a medium as well as a precog like Kiko. It was about time we got someone who could speak with ghosts, there are enough bodies on the ground. Though, it does feel like she makes things a bit too easy. With Natalia, it is like Green realised all the mistakes she made with Dawn in the beginning and sought to correct them. They train Natalia on what to expect, they protect her, they help her. (Well, Kiko doesn't, but he views her as an usupur to his spot on the team). We basically started from the beginning, instead of dropping in the middle of an investigation. It is written much, much better this time.
Kiko... I'm not upset at him. I just wish they would do the right thing and find a way to send him off. I find that while I like reading about drug addicts that are trying to change their lives around, I dislike reading about drug addicts not doing anything about it. Kiko is just wallowing around in self pity. They've tried so many times to help him now. They're using Natalia to boost him back into productivity. Yet, we've reached this stage before with him. I just hope they get him the help he needs, and get him away from the situations that are so clearly hurting him.
The series has shifted very heavily into the relationship between Dawn and her boss. Only, it isn't just her boss, is it? After we learned in Break of Dawn that her boss was really named Costin, and that he was borrowing the body of another, Jonah...I thought that weird. It somehow just got even more weird. Since Dawn managed to change him into a vampire before killing Benedikte, releasing herself from being a vampire but keeping Jonah/Costin a vampire, things have gotten weird. Costin hates that Dawn is dominant to him, is kind of his master. He looks for any excuse to stop trusting her all the time. Honestly, this whole situation is pretty depressing.
Their relationship with Jonah is also weird. Jonah is pushing at the bounds of Costin, trying to take control. It is like the world's weirdest love triangle. Jonah wants everything Costin has and loves. Costin is incredibly possessive of Dawn in a not so great way. Dawn is looking for everything she never really had, love-wise, with Costin. Fucked up situation.
I'll admit that I like the direction the series is headed, though. We'll see if it gets there.
March 25, 2024
It was a good continuation to the series, it took a much darker turn than I was expecting and had to put the book down and read it much slower because of the breaks I needed. For me I’m able to imagine in my head everything in a book as if it is a movie happening in front of me and can almost smell the smells too. So to save my stomach I needed breaks. It’s not nearly as bad as some of the stuff currently being written and stuff when it comes to gore but it was more than I was expecting after the 1st 3 books. It did take some getting used to with the sudden change and being forced to try to understand British slang that didn’t feel authentic to someone who had been in the country for such a short amount of time. But I’m committed to finishing this series lol.
April 29, 2018
In this installment, Dawn and company, along with new psychic, Natalia, are in England scoping out an elite girls school in hopes of finding a new Underground. Excellent writing, character development and plenty of action. Love this series. Highly recommended.
March 16, 2022
Check out my full review on my BookTube channel Ginger Bibliophile https://youtu.be/59WJR3EIMDQ
This was kinda fun, but felt unfinished. By the end, I actually kind of liked one of the “bad guys”. There were serious Mean Girl vibes among our vampires, and Twilight level teenage angst between our 28 year old vampire hunter and her 700 year old vampire minion/boyfriend/boss/thing. It was definitely original, and intriguing, but the angst and jealousy got worse as the book continued and the whole premise of the novel was left in the planning stage by the end.
This was kinda fun, but felt unfinished. By the end, I actually kind of liked one of the “bad guys”. There were serious Mean Girl vibes among our vampires, and Twilight level teenage angst between our 28 year old vampire hunter and her 700 year old vampire minion/boyfriend/boss/thing. It was definitely original, and intriguing, but the angst and jealousy got worse as the book continued and the whole premise of the novel was left in the planning stage by the end.
January 27, 2012
************Spoilers for 1st three books**********************
This book starts the next trilogy story arc in the Vampire Bayblon series and it picks up one year after the end of the third book. Dawn and crew, having destroyed the vampire Underground in Hollywood (the story arc for the first trilogy), have moved on to London where Costin has sensed the presence of another Master. This series still remains a two star product to me, though I can't quite pinpoint why. Maybe because it's because I just haven't wholeheartedly attached to any of the characters yet, which you'd think would've happened by the fourth book in. But the pacing seems woefully slow at times too, so that's a factor.
The whole Costin/Jonah thing is weird, and made even weirder since Costin and Dawn are involved. I should find it more interesting since it's a "triangle" (though not really) that I've not seen before, but I don't. At this point I think I'm just hanging in there with this series to see how and if Costin completes his quest to win final peace for his soul.
This book starts the next trilogy story arc in the Vampire Bayblon series and it picks up one year after the end of the third book. Dawn and crew, having destroyed the vampire Underground in Hollywood (the story arc for the first trilogy), have moved on to London where Costin has sensed the presence of another Master. This series still remains a two star product to me, though I can't quite pinpoint why. Maybe because it's because I just haven't wholeheartedly attached to any of the characters yet, which you'd think would've happened by the fourth book in. But the pacing seems woefully slow at times too, so that's a factor.
The whole Costin/Jonah thing is weird, and made even weirder since Costin and Dawn are involved. I should find it more interesting since it's a "triangle" (though not really) that I've not seen before, but I don't. At this point I think I'm just hanging in there with this series to see how and if Costin completes his quest to win final peace for his soul.
June 13, 2016
First book in the new story arc. Everyone’s in London searching for an Underground there. Costin’s decided they need the help of a new member: Natalia. She’s also a psychic who hears dead people and she recently heard something strange in a Highgate cemetery.
Of course, everybody has problems with the new girl, especially Kiko.
I love them being in England, but this Underground is horrible. Like a cake with a moldy core. And the cat is sick. I feel sorry for all those girls (but not Violet, she kind of deserves it.). The story reminds me of the queen in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman.
I really feel sorry for Eva, even after what she did. She’s stuck in an awkward position now. And the Friends are really cool in this. Go, Friends!
Quick Thoughts: 1) I know authors’ sometimes have a hard time with and often don’t have any say in the title of books, but I just can’t’ figure out what this title has to do with the story other than referring to blood.
Fave Scenes: dinner with Eva, finger-wrestling, Dawn running up the walls and Della fighting Violet.
Of course, everybody has problems with the new girl, especially Kiko.
I love them being in England, but this Underground is horrible. Like a cake with a moldy core. And the cat is sick. I feel sorry for all those girls (but not Violet, she kind of deserves it.). The story reminds me of the queen in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman.
I really feel sorry for Eva, even after what she did. She’s stuck in an awkward position now. And the Friends are really cool in this. Go, Friends!
Quick Thoughts: 1) I know authors’ sometimes have a hard time with and often don’t have any say in the title of books, but I just can’t’ figure out what this title has to do with the story other than referring to blood.
Fave Scenes: dinner with Eva, finger-wrestling, Dawn running up the walls and Della fighting Violet.
December 22, 2010
Still like this series, although as the team starts a new hunt for a new Underground they lose some of the momentum that had built up in the last book with the destruction of the Hollywood Underground. Green definitely did a good job of keeping this Underground unique from the previous one, it reminded me somewhat of the movie "The Craft" (which you would know is a compliment if you had any teenage angst in the 90's). Dawn and Costin did get a bit whiney for me. Boo-hoo I'm a vampire, boo-hoo I have commitment issues, get over it. I had a feeling Jonah would come out to play more in this book and was not disappointed, I think this is an interesting obstacle since they really do kinda treat him as a second-class citizen. Overall this book introduced the new Underground and the new team dynamics. Although I didn't feel it was terribly eventful, I'm sure things will develop more in the next book as the hunt goes on.
August 17, 2016
Getting back to a well liked author ...
This one, sits between maybe like 3.5 and 4 stars.
One of the main problems. Needed to get into this. Right after the previous book.
It is a stand alone setting, with new characters, and villains coming into play.
Yet it does start out, hinging on ending of the first cycle.
So can be a bit of a smack up, trying to recall given events.
A definate read the first story arc, then get into this one.
That said .. onto once more.
Chris does a wonderful job, of leading you along.
She gives you teases, and bits of things to come.
As she keeps you following, trying to guess where she is going.
Very good at giving mystery twists and turns.
She keeps your interest all along the way. With wanting to see, what will be revealed.
Around the next corner, roof top or cemetery.
After the start, a good read. That keeps you turning pages.
This one, sits between maybe like 3.5 and 4 stars.
One of the main problems. Needed to get into this. Right after the previous book.
It is a stand alone setting, with new characters, and villains coming into play.
Yet it does start out, hinging on ending of the first cycle.
So can be a bit of a smack up, trying to recall given events.
A definate read the first story arc, then get into this one.
That said .. onto once more.
Chris does a wonderful job, of leading you along.
She gives you teases, and bits of things to come.
As she keeps you following, trying to guess where she is going.
Very good at giving mystery twists and turns.
She keeps your interest all along the way. With wanting to see, what will be revealed.
Around the next corner, roof top or cemetery.
After the start, a good read. That keeps you turning pages.
April 19, 2013
Am I the only one starting to feel a little sorry for Jonah here? Oh, sure, Dawn will use his body to be with Costin but it still is, you know, JONAH'S body. So when she gets all irritated with him not wanting to be a passive viewer of HIS OWN BODY, well..I actually think she's kind of bitchy.
Oh but he COVETS. Whatever that means. Apparently it means Dawn has a pass to treat him like crap, even though she's using his body to get it on with her lover.
I was fascinated by this series in the beginning and enjoyed the first three books well enough. But this one was so meh for me that I haven't continued reading. It might be that I read the next one when I'm out of anything else to read just to see if it goes back to being interesting. But right now I can't be bothered.
Oh but he COVETS. Whatever that means. Apparently it means Dawn has a pass to treat him like crap, even though she's using his body to get it on with her lover.
I was fascinated by this series in the beginning and enjoyed the first three books well enough. But this one was so meh for me that I haven't continued reading. It might be that I read the next one when I'm out of anything else to read just to see if it goes back to being interesting. But right now I can't be bothered.
December 8, 2023
**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** Reread of an old favourite. I probably like the second trilogy better than the first trilogy, and this is a great start to it despite containing relatively little of my favourite character (CLAUDIUS FOREVER). Fast moving, very fun and with the excellent worldbuilding that runs throughout this series. And I love the extra feminist elements in this, the sheer budding rage at how some men treat women that is expressed through what happens with the schoolgirl vampires.
I really love this book. Not my favourite of the series, but an incredibly solid entry.
Reread #Billions at this point - I love this book SO MUCH. The first trilogy is good, the second trilogy is still my favourite thing ever. <333
I really love this book. Not my favourite of the series, but an incredibly solid entry.
Reread #Billions at this point - I love this book SO MUCH. The first trilogy is good, the second trilogy is still my favourite thing ever. <333
February 27, 2010
Chris Marie Green's Vampire Babylon Series is gutsy! Dilemmas faced by the characters are an interesting mix of the supernatural and reality, keeping the story line grounded despite some very odd situations and/or encounters. Readers will be able to relate to seeing a friend struggling with addiction, or a family coping with the emotions and fallout resulting from a failed marriage. Chris Marie Green does a phenomenal job at incorporating such real world issues into the context of a world where vampires and other supernatural phenomenon can and do exist.
Please visit my blog for the rest of the review!
http://yzhabellasbookshelf.blogspot.com/...
I'd love for you to stop by!
Please visit my blog for the rest of the review!
http://yzhabellasbookshelf.blogspot.com/...
I'd love for you to stop by!
November 23, 2012
I have given up on this series. I loved the premise, and for the first trilogy I could understand the secrecy with Dawn and the others versus "the voice". Now that the cat is out of the bag, the Limpet agency has moved to the uk and the story is dragging.
There doesn't seem to be any character development, and the vampire schoolgirls and "wolfie" were boring me to tears.
There doesn't seem to be any character development, and the vampire schoolgirls and "wolfie" were boring me to tears.
October 1, 2009
Had a little trouble getting into this one, but loved the new setting in London and the prep-school vamps that bewilder Dawn and the gang. Toward the middle it picked up and became a better read and hopefully, book 5 will improve.
July 7, 2010
The protagonist in this series seems to be fading. The first set of books was well developed and there was some growth with the characters. This set of books (trilogy) seems to be just falling flat. I find myself speed reading and not taking the time to enjoy each page.
June 3, 2009
it is not out yet but soon!!
September 23, 2009
This series has come a long way since the first book. I am enjoying this second trilogy from the start.
Read
September 8, 2009Book # 160, for 2009
January 31, 2011
I like a little humor even if it's sarcasm with my grim plots and this has no humor whatsoever.
December 29, 2011
The perfect vampire tale.A book perfect with a bowl of hot and buttery popcorn. Suspenseful and oh so sexy. It kept me at the edge of my seat the whole damn time.
October 17, 2012
The serious is very entertaining and leaves the reader torn between the multitude of heroes to pick from with the added bonus that whoever you pick will not die and be gone from the series for good.
November 23, 2013
Surprising how the series has shifted since book 1.
January 22, 2015
I love this series I love how each character is always trying to prove themselves to them self and each other while still trying to win the war.
November 14, 2009
Vampire,Vampire Babylon Series
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews