Review: Not quite Vampires
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 3, 2012
The book deals with a group of people, known as Hybrids, who have been bitten by vampires in the past but not fully turned. As a result they develop certain powers, not ageing, mind reading, the ability to see ghosts, etc.The book carries two main themes, the work the main characters (Alison and Harvey) do for the police murder department, and their private lives, which involve a heavy dose of BDSM sex.  As the book starts Alison is unaware of her powers and the reason for them, although she is aware she sees dead people and can talk to them. After the accidental death of her boyfriend she is taken under the wing of Harvey & his elderly friend Jenny (also a hybrid, but one who ages). With their assistance she starts to explore a new and different life, and her new powers.I rated this as a 4* for 2 main reasons. I enjoyed the police / murder / thriller element of the book, but I felt that once the extent of the powers that Alison possesses were revealed it became a trifle predictable in the way the criminals were caught and interviewed, leading to confession and conviction. Nevertheless, this element of the plot moves quickly and cleanly, and springs some enjoyable surprises. There is an element of violence and the macabre, but this is not overdone.The second reason for marking the book 4* was the extent to which, especially towards the end of the book, the BDSM started to take over the storyline. It felt to me as if the book couldn't decide whether it was a thriller or an erotica novel.  As the hybrid protagonists cannot feel pain, the BDSM is extreme, and this book should certainly not be read by the faint of heart.  The author takes the BDSM element of the story into extreme and unusual pathways.  However, towards the end I felt it almost started to become stale, there are only so many permutations of rubber, leather, ropes, chains and hoists that can be employed.Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book a lot, and hunted out the sequel.