The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo

Spinoza #1

by J.R. Rain

Three years ago, high school student Veronica Fortune witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. Now armed and dangerous, she sets out to hunt down the very thing that destroyed her life.

That is, until she disappears.

Spinoza is a private investigator who specializes in finding the missing. He's good at what he does. Damn good. But he's also a recovering alcoholic and a royal mess. Hired to find Veronica, Spinoza won't let his personal demons — or demons of any kind — get in the way of finding the truth about the missing girl.

Now following a bizarre set of clues that leads him into stranger and stranger territory, Spinoza is about to come face-to-face with something legendary...and something hungry for blood.



**Acclaim for the Novels of J.R. Rain**

"Gripping, adventurous, and romantic—J.R. Rain's THE LOST ARK is a breakneck thriller that traces the thread of history from Biblical stories to current-day headlines. Be prepared to lose sleep!"
—James Rollins, international bestselling author of THE DEVIL COLONY

"DARK HORSE is one of the best books I've read in a long time!"
—Gemma Halliday, award-winning author of SPYING IN HIGH HEELS

"I enjoyed this immensely. The protagonist, Samantha Moon, is a female vampire with a husband and children. Those predate her condition; six years ago she was attacked by a vampire and rendered into one. Now she's trying to carry on with family and private eye business, and she's a feisty, skilled person, so is doing mostly okay. It is not a horror story; she buys animal blood to eat and doesn't generally prey on humans. But her husband has an increasing problem with her coldness — not of spirit, but of body. 'You sicken me and scare the hell out of me,' he tells her. 'And when I touch you it's all I can do to not gag.' She replies, 'Words every wife wants to hear.' I love this! She really doesn't deserve to be frozen out of her marriage, yet his attitude is understandable. In the course of the novel she solves the mystery she is tackling for a client, and finds a new romantic interest. What makes it special are her character and nature. I sure wouldn't have kicked her out of bed. I recommend it as light reading, odd as that may sound."
—Piers Anthony, New York Times bestselling author of A SPELL FOR CHAMELEON

"MOON DANCE is absolutely brilliant!"
—Lisa Tenzin-Dolma, author of UNDERSTANDING THE PLANETARY MYTHS

"MOON DANCE is a must read. If you like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter, be prepared to love J. R. Rain's Samantha Moon, vampire private investigator."
—Eve Paludan, author of LETTERS FROM DAVID

"Impossible to put down. J.R. Rain's MOON DANCE is a fabulous urban fantasy."
—April Vine, author of THE MIDNIGHT ROSE

"I totally loved THE BODY DEPARTED. My favorite scene is the one of Jesus stepping down from the cross and then the passionate and compassionate way it was treated as he went back to the cross. I will relive that for a long time to come. Thank you for your talet."
—Julie Belmont, author of THE PATH TO PERSONAL SUCCESS AND FREEDOM

"J.R. Rain is the new modern master of vampires."
—H.T. Night, bestselling author of THE WEREWOLF WHISPERER

"I love Jim Knighthorse! Please write faster, Mr. Rain!"
—Elaine Babich, bestselling author of FALLING DOWN

"I thoroughly enjoyed THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO from one of my favorite authors. A great way to spend a few hours of the afternoon."
—Jen Ashton, bestselling author of MONSTROUS LOVE

"Powerful stuff!"
—Aiden James, bestselling author of PLAGUE OF COINS

"Jim Knighthorse is a throwback to classic detectives, which is probably why I love him so much. Funny, street-smart, and tough as nails. I love this series."
—Summer Lee, bestselling author of ANGEL HEART

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

98 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2010

About the author

J.R. Rain is the author of 110 novels and counting. He lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest, where he's hard at work on his next novel... and fighting off sparkly vampires.

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Vampire with the Dragon Tattoo is the first novel in the Spinoza series. The main character is a private investigator that specializes in finding people. He used to be a drunken burn-out, but when he blacked out while driving with his wife and child in the car, he paid the ultimate price. Haunted by the decision to get behind the wheel, he struggles to unite families, seeing as how he can not unite with his. Here, in this first book, Spinoza is tasked with finding a 17-year-old girl who believes herself to be a vampire slayer. Along the way it is discovered that the girl's parents were killed by a vampire and that the girl has gone to find the vampire. The climax takes place in a bookstore and is very symbolic, as many readers hold bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Nobles as sacred spaces. The writing is strong, the characters seem real, and the plot contains some twists. I have not read a great deal of J. R. Rain, but I'm definitely interested in reading more of his work. Also, the quick pacing of this novella-length story makes this almost something that can be read in one sitting. Really good read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, Fast, vampire short story... 1st in a series

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I spent 99 cents (Kindle version) and a couple of hours with this one so you won't have to. The protagonist is named Spinoza and I admit I was drawn to the possibility that my favorite 17th century rationalist had somehow rematerialized as a 21st century vampire-slaying gumshoe. OK, what did I expect? Well, I expected a Reuben but got a baloney sandwich. Excommunicate this!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining vampire listening 🎶🔰

Mr. Spinoza is in his office when Gladys comes in with a request that he find Veronica her missing daughter. Veronica is searching for the vampire that killed her parents. Mr. Spinoza ends up ☝ in San Francisco where a vampire author is having a book signing. Is he just an author? Or is he a vampire? I would recommend this series and various authors to readers of paranormal fantasy adventure mystery novels 👍🔰. 2023 😀👒😡😮

J. R. Rain ☔ and the various authors are favorites of mine. Happy reading and have fun 🌙

[Wanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bleh.

[Per Gunnar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really short little novella. I have stumbled on these short novellas quite a lot lately. I am actually not too keen on these really short novellas but I guess I fell for the blurb. Perhaps I should pay more attention to the page count before I click buy.

Well, it is a short book so it will be a short review. The main protagonist is quite okay. As most people, he doesn’t believe in vampires…yet. Obviously he is about to be introduced to things that go bump in the night.

This story could easily have been made longer. It’s a good story. I like the ending except that it looks like the next novella in the trilogy doesn’t pick up where this one left off which is a bit bummer to me. I would have liked to see the story of Veronica continue. A bit of a lost opportunity actually.

[Whitney · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo is the first novella in The Spinoza Trilogy and I just don’t know what to make of this story. I tried really hard to think of something positive to say but I just currently can’t think of anything. I was just extremely bored throughout the entire story and I struggled to finish the story. This story left me with no desire to read the other novellas in this series.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery/ young adults

This was good read but not my taste. It’s bit of mystery and private detective (Spinoza)is set to solve missing person(Veronica/Aka-Valerie)She think she vampire slayer after author writer with the dragon tattoo. Question is, is she delusional!!
Keep reading to find out case get solved.

[Debra Chiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Bad!

Not Great but not bad! The most intriguing part of it all was how to get the detective to believe there really were vampires among us. And how to fight this terrible war. Spinoza has his work cut out for him, more so than in any other case. You will be awarded as you wait and see.

[Christopher Armani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this author. Great writing, great characters and always interesting storylines. I love his main character, Spinoza. He's got attitude galore, he's a recovering alcoholic and he's good at his job. Best of all, he's believable.

Can't wait to start the next in the series.

[Georgia M. Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vampires for the 20th century

J.R.Rain has been one of my favorite authors for years now. I was not aware that there were so many books & that some of the characters got spin-off series! I have alot of catching up to do!

[kim caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novellette

Good story line, hunting vampires when people don't believe they exist. Very short story, though. I read this in less than an hour.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Spinosa in a Samantha Moon book and like him in book of his own. Really good 1st in a series
Liked this book.

[Myra Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again I have found a good book in this story. I found it hard to put it down until the end.

[Sue Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

Story line kept. Me turning the pages!! Spinoza is one of my favorite characters! I hope more books with him are coming soon.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too short for me.

It was interesting and I enjoyed reading it, but it seemed like I had just settled into it when it was over. I prefer longer stories.

[EscaPe iNTo thE PaGEs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I experienced the book in audio form because I love the Samantha Moon series. The story was fine but I couldn't get into the narrator very much. Maybe I read the next story😐

[mary e. peek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spinoza

The Vampire by J.R. Rain Was a good book. I really enjoyed how the Private Eye never gave up on finding Veronica.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again a fantastic read!!

J👍🏽 loved this book and everyone you write. Another book you can’t put down until you get to the exciting climax.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story

I love Spinoza's series! Even if I read it in the wrong order it still was fine! Now on to the next one,

[TSL Dame]

I read the series, but it was so long ago... I don't remember them. Need to read them all again.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up the 3 book bundle on Amazon last year or so; Rainy Nights by J.R. Rain. An author I had never heard of and so therefore had only so-so expectations for the e-books, but hey they were free, so nothing risked or wasted but a little of my time. It took me probably a year or so before I finally started to read them, and I was pleasantly surprised. Each of the 3 books are entertaining and enjoyable. All 3 books have their main protagonists working as a P.I. (private investigator) in an urban fantasy setting, but that is where the similarities end. Each is its own story and it does not feel like a repeat of the other. There are some common themes running through the stories but each novel is well written that it is did not echo the others.

If you are looking for some light reading with action, mystery, urban fantasy then these are a good choice.

[Ann Frances Geffert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another J.R. RAIN DETECTIVE SERIES!

This is the first book in a new trilogy called " The Spinoza Series", which shows Mr. Rain has yet another detective, that he can maintain a storyline for, with great aplomb.

Spinoza is a rather tragic character, having lost his wife and son in a vehicular accident, of which he was to blame, or at least, he had been drinking, and failed to get them out of the car, before they inhaled too much smoke and burned to death.

We meet him as he gets his new client, an elderly lady, who is looking for a young girl she considers her granddaughter, Veronica, whose a "vampire slayer". (Yes, just like Buffy.) She was recommended to him by the police detective she saw about her missing granddaughter, and had put together a packet of information for him, including: pictures, list of friends, etc. the detective had suggested she give him. Spinoza briefly went through the envelope, grateful to the detective for saving him time. To say he was a bit taken aback by the old lady telling him her granddaughter was a vampire slayer, was an understatement. But he agreed to take the case, and tried to assure the old lady he would bring her granddaughter back home to her.

After meeting with the police detective, who happened to be his friend, he started on the friends list. He found out from her girlfriend that yes, indeed, Veronica was a vampire slayer. She had seen her after one of her "slays"....all bloody. There was good reason for her wanting to hunt vampires, she watched one savagely murder her parents when she was only fourteen years old. He would have gotten her too, if she hadn't kept hidden and quiet, knowing there was nothing she could do to save her parents.

Spinoza was able to get some more information from a guy that was a bartender at a goth bar, he knew the whole story, and was easily convinced to tell it. Spinoza put two and two together, and figured out where Veronica might be heading next, a book signing, for an author who writes vampire fiction.

I listened to part of the book on Audible too, read by a guy, who was pretty good, but I didn't buy the full version of it. Instead I finished reading it myself.

I am not going to tell you anything more.....you'll just have to read it for yourself, buy the Audible version, or both! I know you'll enjoy it, the way I did, and now, my friend, I am opening book two in the series.

[Matt Schiariti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since being introduced to Spinoza in the Samantha Moon series I've been interested in reading more about him. Now, I've finally gotten around to it having downloaded Spinoza For Hire which contains this as well as The Vampire Who Played Dead (haven't read it yet).

Spinoza was portrayed in the Moon novels as quiet, painfully shy and painfully tortured. That's expounded on in this novel. JR Rain is good at making his main characters very flawed which makes for more interesting reading. He also reads very real. He's shy because he's suffered a great loss in life but he's a good PI who's not afraid to throw a few punches when necessary. As an aside, Spinoza is almost the polar opposite of Knighthorse--the anti Knighthorse if you will. He's older, a little out of shape and painfully shy. But they're both good at their jobs and they both seem to like their booze..a little bit too much apparently.

Spinoza's past also dictates the type of business he runs: Spinoza specializes in the disappeared, especially lost children. It's for that reason that, when a kindly old woman comes into his office looking to hire him to find her lost adopted granddaughter, Spinoza can't say no. There's a twist though. Veronica, the teenager he's to be looking for, claims to be a vampire slayer. Is she off her rocker? Or is Spinoza about ready to see a side of the world he never could have imagined existed?

This is a fun and fast paced read. There's just enough background given on Spinoza where it doesn't bog the story down but the reader will feel as if they know where he's coming from, what his motivations are. As always in a JR Rain novel the dialogue is fast and witty as well. That's always a staple of Rain's novels. Even the supporting cast, no matter how small their part, read well, each having their own personality and mannerisms. That's no small feat for a character that comes and goes in only a couple pages.

The book is short but it's priced accordingly. So if you're already a fan of JR Rain's Samantha Moon and Jim Knighthorse series you'd do well to check this out.

[Tarl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read some of the reviews for this novella before picking it up and was glad to see that a lot of the poor reviews were just that, poor.

Rain (banking on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with this title) has created an interesting detective story here. Though short, the story flows well and manages to keep itself moving from plot point to plot point at a fair pace. They do falter a bit on a couple moments, but all in all they are easily ignored as the story progresses.

Characters are fleshed out only as much as they need to be to keep the story going, which is important in a piece of fiction as short as this. You only get a real look at the main character and Veronica, and that's all you really need to know for the story to really work. Everyone else is just character development for those two characters.

One of the poor points I found in the story was Rain's attempt at trying to divert the reader into believing one of two things. That vampires were real, or that they were completely fake and it was a delusion. In the end, though Rain presents both sides well, it becomes kind of obvious which case it is.

However, despite that, the story is excellent and has the right amount of action and mystery to keep the reader reading until the very end. If you are looking for a huge climax, this doesn't really have one, but the one it does have is satisfying for the level of build up that you get from the tale.

All in all, I recommend it to readers of the paranormal and vampire lovers. I will be curious as to see where Rain takes this character and the series and if they can keep up the wonderful story that they present here, and not have to lean so heavily on current popular fiction in his titles to present it to the world.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book 14 in this series and while you may want to read this series from the start, it is not absolutely necessary, since the author puts in enough back-story for anyone to understand what is going on.

Dougal is a Vamp with many issues, which is okay since the woman he is going to fall for has issues also! The good Vamps re fighting bad vampires and a demon in this book. Dougal has recently lost his hand when fighting the Malcontents (a past bad guy group) and is learning to use his ‘bionic’ hand.

Leah is a genetic scientist who the vamps need to help them win this fight. She is also the embodiment of the woman that Dougal had lost centuries ago. She is having a little trouble reconciling herself to the fact that vamps exist. It sure doesn’t hurt matters when she see’s sexy Dougal strolling around looking like a pirate in his kilt.

This is not only a relationship driven novel, but an action driven one as well and the author does a great job of blending both into one entertaining and fast read. The characters of Dougal and Leah were a little difficult for me to empathize with, since they are a tad whiny, but they grew on me after a while.
Reading this book would be a good way to relax over a lazy weekend. *ARC supplied by publisher*

[BookNerdette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read from June 18 to 24, 2012

NOOK Book (eBook) $0.99, 60 pages
Published October 16th 2010


I’ve had this book a while… as I tend to be a bit addicted to gathering books for reading. But I gather so many I haven’t gotten around to all of them yet and more are releasing daily. It is absolute maddening if I think on it too long.

I finally picked the book up and it started like one of those late night tv-shows about the private investigator. I read a bit of the first page and put it aside.

I come back later .. darn it the summary makes me want to read it.. I try again to read and again put it aside.

FINALLY.. I pick it up tonight. Force myself through the first page. BAM! you got me! Well ‘Rain it took ya long enough. You have to be careful about having a crappy first page… especially when you only have 59 others.

This turned out to be intriguing read. Once I got into the story… it went rather fast.

Good story… original to my knowledge. I liked it!

[Cherei · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had not read JR Rain's works before.. as I'm not really into Vampires. The title of the book peaked my interest.. so, I got it. It was a very fast paced read! A novella that is tightly written.

The story is about a private detective who locates missing children. An older woman comes to him.. in hopes that he can find the young woman who showed up at their doorway three years prior all bloody.. and needing help. As they had a major rift with their own daughter.. they felt God had sent them this young waif to give them a chance.. to give her a good life.

The girl is a good kid.. but, she does have ONE obsession.. to slay the vampire that killed her parents. One learns much about the girl as the detective uncovers major facts about her life... as he tries to find her.

The story is very fast paced. Very enjoyable read! If you need a fast mental escape.. this little novella is perfect for reading while waiting anywhere!

[Mad about · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another example of why i love novella's, all the great action and story with none of the boring unnecessary bits in between.

Spinoza is a private investigator who specializes in missing children's cases. A forte he discovered after his own life tragically fell apart.
His latest case revolves around a missing teenager of an unknown name and origin with very odd interests. He questions the grandmothers sanity when he hears all the details but a missing child is a missing child and his heart goes out to her and the runaway Veronica.

Fast past paranormal mystery that leaves you wanting more and wishing it was a full length novel. I honestly could have read another hundred pages as the details were in-depth and the story gripping.
Characters were well developed and you can see there's more to come from them.

Would even welcome a mini Veronica side series *hint hint*

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a wonderful and quick read that I couldn't just set aside before finishing ! This story had me thinking from the beginning. Spinoza is an interesting character , good at his job, optimistic, head strong, determined to do his work no matter the outcome, even when faced with unbelievable events he witnesses with his own two eyes. Young Miss V. I shall call her is a complete mystery for a while and with the more revealed about her, the more interesting she is. I can't wait to read the next book and actually get to know her, herself. I wonder if she lives up to my expectations! This was also very fast paced and well written throughout. I highly recommend this book to others.