cover image By Blood We Live

By Blood We Live

Glen Duncan. Knopf, $25.95 (368p) ISBN 978-0-307-59510-2

British author Duncan's conclusion to his complex supernatural suspense trilogy (after 2012's Talulla Rising) opens with an arresting sentence: "It's better to kill people at the end of their psychology." In the near future, a population explosion among werewolves has led to immense changes across the world. There are now Web sites devoted to werewolf porn, and the Catholic Church has accepted the reality of werewolves and revealed the existence of an army trained to destroy them. That shift poses an existential threat to lycanthrope Talulla Demetriou, the mother of twins who are also werewolves, but her species' battle to survive the New Inquisition doesn't generate a lot of thrills. In addition, the intricate backstory involving blood feuds between werewolves and vampires will confound many newcomers. Fans of the first two books who have become attached to Tallula and her kin will be satisfied, but others may wonder what the fuss is all about. Agent: Jane Gelfman, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency. (Feb.)