Chasing Daybreak

Glass’s by-the-numbers debut is filled with character archetypes, paranormal tropes, and plot points straight out of the Laurell K. Hamilton playbook. Isabel Stone is a 22-year-old PI in a world that’s still adjusting to the recent revelation that vampires are real. She lives (nonromantically) with her now-vampiric ex-fiancé, Shane. When she lands what appears to be a standard missing-persons case, sure enough, there turns out to be a supernatural element, and that soon leads to the usual slate of vampire and werewolf political and romantic machinations. There are certainly worthwhile moments, although the best—a well-deserved slam at Twilight’s ephebophilia—is undercut both by its lack of originality and by a protagonist’s name that’s only a few characters away from “Bella.” There’s nothing wrong with walking in the footsteps of other creators (the influences seem to range from Laura Lippman to Veronica Mars), but Glass never manages to find her own unique stride. (Mar.)