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Every culture has its own superstitions, stories told around campfires to explain the inexplicable and to send shivers up the listener's spine. But the ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties aren't really real, are they? They are in David and Aimee Thurlo's BLOOD RETRIBUTION. This book, the sequel to SECOND SUNRISE, is a Hillerman-gone-supernatural-style tale set in New Mexico. In this world, the Navajo stories of skinwalkers -- shapeshifting witches -- are real. So are the European accounts of vampires. Officer Lee Nez is sure of this, because he is a vampire and skinwalkers killed his wife. Working once more with mortal FBI agent Diane Lopez, the partners stalk a pack of skinwalker smugglers who have killed two native officers. The book is surprisingly thin for the number of sub-plots it covers. In addition to the main plot, Agent Lopez is hunting the skinwalker pack that killed her previous partner, while Officer Nez seeks the skinwalker who looks so uncannily like his murdered wife. There is also a vampire bent on revenge for the destruction of her family, her unwilling henchman, and a particularly fiendish assassination plot. With so much going on, the story could be much richer than it is; the bare bones are presented and little more. Also, this is not a series to be read out of order, for some things are mentioned with little explanation. Skinwalkers, for example, seem to work along the same premise as werewolves, but for some reason only Navajo can be transformed. The details of vampirism are particularly in need of clarification; every author has their own list of what vampires can and cannot do, and the Thurlo take is unique enough to require a little background. Nez eats food, has little blood craving, and can withstand sunlight. He is also once described as only half vampire with no explanation. Still, fans of fantasy/mystery crossovers looking for a little light reading may find a few pleasant hours becoming acquainted with Nez and Lopez.
Reviewed by Linnea Dodson, December 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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