The Vampire

This dramatic but thinly plotted urban fantasy series opener immerses readers in an absorbing, atmospheric chronicle of friendship and caution. In New Orleans, vacationing college graduate Jason Sterling is hired by the enigmatic and obscenely rich recluse Laurent Augere, who’s the same age as Jason, to be his live-in personal assistant. Making the arrangements is Laurent’s equally mysterious law firm, Genier & Genier. Laurent and Jason settle in Boston’s posh Beacon Hill, where an appreciative Jason can’t believe he’s living in a mansion and working one day a week for someone who shares his love of movies, art, and goth fashion. But Jason’s luck begins to unravel when he accompanies the moody Laurent through Venice, Paris, and London. After Jason witnesses terrifying events and realizes Laurent is a vampire, he believes Laurent and the Geniers will kill him to keep their secret. Surprisingly, they release him from his contract. Free and alive, yet racked with regret, Jason yearns to return, but will Laurent take him back? This travelogue-style tale is much more about the journey than the destination. Laurent is dangerous and alluring, Jason hesitant yet curious. (Readers hoping for an amorous angle to their relationship will be disappointed.) Genier’s narrative effortlessly glides through Jason’s induction, wonder, and tests of loyalty and betrayal. (BookLife)