Night Life

In this tired sequel to Garton's memorable Live Girls (1987), about a seedy vampire-run 42nd Street peepshow, the protagonists of the earlier book, a brave reporter and a vampire couple, have left the now family-friendly street for the nondescript suburbs. The vampire couple have survived into middle-age by drinking bottled blood, unlike the "brutals," vicious vampires who prefer theirs fresh. Unfortunately, the story has also aged, the plot mechanism is unconvincing and the author's trademark sexual violence is clinically narrated. Garton fans may lap up this Bloody Mary, but most readers will find it as flat as bottled blood, uninspired treading on familiar turf. Agent, Richard Curtis. (Oct.)