The Vampire's Seduction

Suspenseful without being horrific and sexy without being romantic, this debut from Hart (a pseudonym for the writing team of Virginia Ellis and Susan Goggins) adds nothing to the growing pile of vampire fiction except the promise of more to come. Vampire William Cuyler Thorne is a 500-year-old socialite living in contemporary Savannah, Ga. Passing himself off as a new family scion each generation since the Revolutionary War, William has acquired substantial wealth, social stature and a co-conspirator in Eleanor, a high-class madam who supplies women to satiate his bloodlust. Despite his savagery and anger issues, William isn't such a bad guy: his victims are all willing, he sponsors charity events, and he's even got a good-ol'-boy buddy, Jack McShane, a former Confederate soldier whom William turned into a bloodsucker. Life is good for the trio until the sadistic Reedrek, William's vampiric sire, shows up to make William pay for centuries of defiance. Luckily, William has his friends and voodoo princess Melaphia on his side—but can he retain their loyalty when the powerful Reedrek seeks to turn their allegiance? This foray into fangoria is atmospheric and occasionally funny, but surprisingly toothless; perhaps Hart will hit her stride in the inevitable second volume. (Apr.)