Blood Red

Set in fictional Black Stone Bay, R.I., Moore's contemporary vampire novel offers plenty of traditional horror chills leavened with flashes of humor. The affluent community descends into turmoil after Jason Soulis, a cryptic and distinguished older gentleman, arrives in town before Halloween. Soulis recruits a college student to moonlight as a call girl and seduce all the Black Stone Bay clergy as part of an effort to create a crisis of faith. People begin vanishing and their loved ones find themselves confronted with ghostly versions of family members. Madness spreads like the plague, leaving the local police officers scrambling to respond. Moore (Writ in Blood ) doesn't feel bound by the classic attributes of vampires familiar to Bram Stoker's readers, but his variations aren't especially interesting and his failure to give Soulis much of a backstory or motivation lessens the overall impact. (Sept.)