Blood Law

Holmes debuts with the first in a derivative paranormal mystery series featuring Federal Bureau of Preternatural Investigation enforcer Alexandra Sabian, a vampire charged with policing the undead populace of Jefferson, Miss. When someone begins killing and mutilating vamps in ways that send Alex flashing back to her father’s murder, Alex’s ex-fiancé, Varik Baudelaire, is dragged out of retirement, reassigned to the FBPI, and sent to help her on the case. With all the tension between human and vampire populations exposed, the story reads like a badly conceived morality play on racism, including 1960s vampire demonstrations for equal legal rights, which they earn in a scant seven years. A dash of religious zealotry and flimflammery adds little flavor. Holmes does deviate from tradition in that her vampires, while light-sensitive, are not night creatures—in which case, why bother? (July)