Blood Book Series - Tanya Huff

Urban Fantasy

Rating: 8/10

As I was researching a feature recently, I was reminded of this series, which I adored when I read it many years ago.  So, I dug through my reading journals and put this quick review together for you.

The concept behind this book series is pure genius, Henry Fitzroy, the bastard son of Henry VIII, is a vampire who supports himself in modern, 1990’s, Toronto by writing romance novels. Vicki Nelson is a former homicide detective who quit her job to become a private investigator when she started losing her eyesight. Henry can’t be out during the day and Vicki can’t see at night, but, as Henry points out when they team up to solve a series of murders, they have all 24 hours covered between them. Over the course of the series, Henry and Vicki come up against many different kinds of supernatural foes which ensures each installment is fresh.

While there are unquestionably cliches, born of writers falling sway to the vampire pop culture rampant in the post Anne Rice days, these books have something going for them most vampire stories do not, biting humor and a tenderness among the characters.  Think Buffy The Vampire Slayer, not Dracula…

It is widely believed that this series launched the Urban Fantasy genre, no small feat and worth a read still to this day.

Fun Note: The first book in this series is now thirty years old.  Back in the day I was reading it during my subway commute to my retail job which involved evening shifts.  One night I was reading a passage that involved a vampire stalking a victim through the Eglinton West Station.  My stop.  Which was coming up.  And was dark.  True story!

The Books In Order:

Blood Price

Blood Trail

Blood Lines

Blood Pact

Blood Debt

Blood Bank

Book Pairing(s): Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews, Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, Night Shift by Lilith Saintcrow