Review: A great vampire story with depth and a strong protagonist.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2013
On the night of Jeff and Jenny's twelfth anniversary, they are viciously attacked while returning to their car.Two weeks later, Jenny wakes up from a coma. Her husband is dead.Assured her two children are being cared for, she lies in the hospital bed, struggling to remember what happened that night. She draws a blank.The longer she lies in that bed, the weaker she gets. She aches all over. Even her hair hurts. And she's so thirsty and hungry.Detective Benjamin Bradley is assigned to her case and questions her about what she remembers, but she still can't recall anything.She wishes she could remember. She has many questions. Who attacked them? Were they going to be back to finish the job? She prayed it was all over and she and her children were safe.Her brother Joey flies up from Summer Haven, Florida, their home town. He suggests she and the kids come back there and stay in their parents empty house. It's neglected, but nothing Jenny can't fix herself.Jenny and her kids settle into the family farmhouse. It comes with its own mystery.The townsfolk claim it's haunted. People have seen lights moving around in the house. Some people claim to have heard her fathers horses, though they are long dead.Jenny continues to get weaker and can't eat. She begins to suspect the awful truth. She is becoming the thing she despises most."She was changing even more. She could feel it in her bones, her flesh, and her very thoughts. What happened if she mutated into something alien?"Years ago, Joey and Jenny battled a gang of vampires and succeeding in burning them up in the old theater, but not before many people died, including their parents.She can no longer deny what attacked her that night, or what she is becoming.And who is the mysterious tall man shadowing her? He stays in the shadows, a gaunt white figure. What does he want from her? Is he one of them?Jenny worries. She worries about making ends meet. She worries about the long-term. How do you hide not getting older? How can she be a mother to her children when what she craves, what she needs, is human blood?She worries.What do I think?The first thing I loved about this book was the cover art. It's dark and dreary. You can feel a menacing presence, and Jenny is standing bravely between whatever lurks out there and her children.I love a strong female protagonist and Jenny is like a momma bear with her cubs. You know how that is.She's dealing with losing her husband, moving back home, turning into a loathsome vampire, and worrying about her children.I liked how she went about learning more about her `condition' and how she taught herself to adapt.I enjoyed how the author revealed Jenny and Joeys history with the vampires. It explained how she reacted to what she is.The mystery of the lights and the ghostly horses isn't a focal point in the story, but it does stay in the back of your mind. The author refers to it vaguely at first, but slips more into the story as you read along.These vampires are different and I was surprised when the author came up with a new way of becoming one.When Jenny turns, it makes sense.This isn't a funny story. There are fun moments, but Human No Longer has depth, with strong secondary characters and several complications for Jenny to deal with. All while trying to keep her children safe.I was riveted right from the beginning and would love to read about what happened with Jenny and Joey and their parents previously. That would be a great story.The characters are strong, the plot is intriguing, the story is fleshed out, and I got a great ending.