Just Finished Reading: Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston (FP: 2009)

Exiled in the Bronx for over a year Joe Pitt is desperate to return to Manhattan. His rescue comes, however, from a direction he never imagined – The Coalition, the most powerful vampire clan in the city – the very clan that, until recently, wanted him dead (again). The power base of The Coalition is based on two things: access to copious amounts of blood and their ability to keep the existence of vampires a secret from the rest of the population. They know that, no matter how powerful they are in the shadows that, in the light of day, they would be hunted down and killed by a dangerously frightened humanity. That secrecy is now being threatened by a rich and powerful girl who Joe rescued over a year earlier. Fully aware of the existence of vampires she has advertised he desire to find a cure for the virus that infects them and makes them what they are. Afraid that she will ‘go public’ before The Coalition are ready to react the offer Joe his life back on the understanding that he can persuade her to stop recruiting from the lowest dregs of vampire society.

Joe, of course, has his own agenda and reasons for returning to his old stamping grounds. He has scores to settle and a woman to see – if she’ll see him. A woman he loves, a woman he watched dying of AIDS, a woman he saw cured and killed in the same moment, a woman who might now hate him for what she has become, a woman he can’t let go of for any reason. Then there’s the girl. Can she really find a cure? Can Joe really get his life back or will he just become a foot soldier in the long predicted war between vampire and human for final dominion of the Earth? Finally, where is all that blood coming from and is the price of that knowledge worth the cost of finding out?

This is the fourth Joe Pitt novel and I’m honestly still loving it. As I’ve said repeatedly Joe is a great character and I delight in his single minded attempt to do what he thinks is right no matter the cost or consequence. Loved and hated with equal measure he walks through a bizarre noir landscape causing death, destruction and chaos wherever he goes. Neither able to leave well enough alone nor keep his mouth shut he is authorities worst nightmare: someone who really doesn’t give a damn and who is willing to do whatever it takes to do the right thing. His arrogance and naïve stupidity are both jaw dropping and hilarious. He’s so well written that I devour these books and deeply regret that the author stopped at 5 novels (one more to go!) but I will be trying out his other books when I finish with Joe. Unless you are particularly squeamish or find Noir dull and boring and especially if you’re a fan of modern hard core non-sissy vampire fiction this is definitely the series for you. Well written, great characters, fascinating vampire history and social structures, sparkling dialogue, laugh out loud moments and plenty of shivers, cringe worthy shudders and a gripping pace this is a great if short (250 pages) read. Highly recommended.

[2015 Reading Challenge: A book from an Author you love that you haven’t read yet – COMPLETE (3/50)]