cover image When Darkness Falls

When Darkness Falls

Shannon Drake. Zebra Books, $6.99 (428pp) ISBN 978-0-8217-6692-7

In the second installment of Drake's ""bloody"" trilogy, Jade MacGregor, a travel writer and publisher, barely survives a brutal vampire attack while on a tour of Scotland. A year later, back home in New Orleans, Jade has just reached some success with the publication of her first book, but this happiness is soon sidelined by disturbing events. Other survivors of the Scottish attack have begun turning up dead (heads severed and blood drained). If that weren't enough, Jade's dreams are invaded by images of the sensual, amber-eyed stranger who saved her life in Scotland. And Jade must make sense of all this even as her boyfriend is attacked and lies dying in the hospital. Fans of vampire tales may find this novel entertaining, but many will be turned off by the stiff dialogue, clumsy plotting and graphic gore. (Oct.)