cover image Lady Crymsyn

Lady Crymsyn

P. N. Elrod, Editor, Elrod. Ace Books, $22.95 (416pp) ISBN 978-0-441-00724-0

It's still 1937, and he's still in Chicago, but things are looking up for vampire PI Jack Fleming in the eighth installment in this strong series from veteran Elrod (Bloodlist; Lifeblood; etc.). Jack has picked up enough cash to finance his dream: a snazzy nightclub, dubbed Lady Crymsyn, where his chanteuse girlfriend can sparkle and a man can get an honest drink. Complications arise when basement remodeling reveals the remains of a mysterious lady in red who had been handcuffed and walled up while still alive. Jack's sympathies and curiosity are arousedDafter all, he was murdered himself before he turned into a vampireDand he sets out to solve the mystery. This latest adventure plays up the sleuthing more than ever, but with a detective who can use superhypnosis to verify the stories he is told and dematerialize through any locked door, a too-quick solution might be expected. Not so. Mix ruthless gangsters and tough broads with long-standing secrets at stake and things get dangerous even for a vampire. Several sordid pasts, numerous plot twists and even a ghostly presence combine for an only slightly supernatural, but altogether entrancing, who-done-it. (Nov. 7)