Unholy Awakening

Hanno Stiffeniis #4

by Michael Gregorio

A woman's body has been found at the bottom of a well. The death wounds are startling: two small, round punctures to the jugular vein. . . .

Vampire fever is spreading throughout the countryside, and suspicions soon fall on the recently arrived Emma Rimmele. Investigator Hanno Stiffeniis must do everything he can to find the true culprit before the mob's hysteria reaches its breaking point and turns violent.

Set in a nineteenth-century world where people truly believed in vampires, Unholy Awakening pits rational, scientific detection against unhindered, violent superstition.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Vampires, Germany

464 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Daniela De Gregorio and Michael G. Jacob

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read the previous three books in this series, and wasn't particularly excited about this fourth one, as I'm beginning to think something like "not another vampire book." (I was blown away by Anne Rice's brilliant resurrection of this genre back in the 1970's, and I can't help but compare all vampire books since to Rice.) I believe that within Gregorio's 450+ pages of "Unholy Awakening" (awesome title and cover art work!)there might lurk a very good 300-page who-done-it entitled "War and Peace and Vampires", but more on that later. However, Gregorio doesn't limit himself/herself to a simple who-done-it here or in the previous three books. Gregorio is fantastic at reminding us that time travel into the past would most likely be very painful, very unsanitary, and the stench would be horrendous. Gregorio knows how to write some unsettling scenes, to say the least. But the best parts of this book for me are the temptations of Prussian Investigator Hanno Stiffeniis and how he responds to them. When a beautiful and mysterious young woman flirts with him, he finds it difficult to resist. But there are other flirtations which oddly don't bother Hanno at all. Hanno's marriage is about to destruct, it seems, but at this point I can't even guess which way he'll turn afterward. I'll continue reading future books in this series as I'm fully invested in Hanno and his family and other characters. This is by far my favorite historical crime series.(As a side note, I'm currently reading Tolstoy's "War and Peace" behemoth which is set in the same time period and has Prussian characters/references. It's now staring at me from the coffee table with a bookmark at the first quarter point. I think I'll pretend that Count Peter Bezuhov's vast wealth has something to do with hundreds of years of good investments and that even though Napolean tried his best, he forgot about the stake-through-the-heart gambit.)

[Afreen Fathima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just found out that this book is a part of a series by Michael Gregorio but neverthless still liked it even tho I haven't read the other books from the series.....it was great👍

[Christina Hannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up without realising it was book four in a series. It didn’t read like a fourth book, though. I was able to keep up with the happenings of Hanno and Helena quite easily without having even know what they’d been through in the past three books. That aside, I did enjoy this novel. I liked how subtle the clues were and how immersed the story was in its setting, it made the characters and the plot feel authentic. I wasn’t expecting the book to take the turn it did but I enjoyed the ride I went on with it.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unholy Awakening is the fourth book in a series of murder mysteries set in early 19th century Prussia. The characters are interesting, but the story is a bit dull, and clues that someone with any investigative experience would have followed up on are left to linger, and then become important plot closure points as the story ends. Not the author's best effort, but a good light read.

[Adri266 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dosla som do nejakej patiny a nebavilo ma to vobec. Myslela som, ze ju necham trosku odlezat, ze sa k nej vratim, ale absolutne ma dalej nelaka. Skoda.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. This was definitely a book I struggled to put down. Highly recommend!

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just okay.

[Sundarraj Kaushik · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are new visitors to the town Lotigen of Hanno Stiffenis. A dad and his daughter. Almost as soon as they arrive they find the dead body of a tailor lady in the well of the house which they have hired. There are all marks of a vampire on the neck of the lady whose blood has been drained.

Soon there are bodies all over the village, with the person managing the cemetery, followed by his replacement. A surprise visit from Lavedrine the French (possibly gay) Colonel adds a further twist. He brings a gift for Hanno's wife and he says that he has seen similar murders for French officers in the town of Marienburg where the French are stationed.

Hanno is pulled to Marienburg by Lavedrine where he discovers more details of similar gruesome murders.

How Hanno and Lavedrine go about solving the murder mystery is the basic premise of the book. Another dark thriller from Micheal Gregorio.

A good read.

[Carlos · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit that I was attracted to this book by the amazing allure of the cover and title. Unfortunately for the reader, especially if they are unfamiliar with Gregorio’s previous work, the book is much more akin to a mystery novel set in Prussia during the Napoleonic wars than the vampire book implied by the cover and title. While the book is not without its merits as a mystery novel, the narrative is so drawn out that it becomes hard to stay engaged. Frankly, I could only recommend this book to those readers fonder of historical fiction, especially those interested in war-time novels.

[Trilby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the Minnesota "Monkeywrench" novels, this one is part of a series written by two persons under one nom de plume. Despite the purple title, I found this one quite offbeat and amusing. It's a vampire story, or more accurately, a story about the hysteria that folk beliefs about vampires can cause.
The setting is 1810 Prussia; the narrator is a magistrate of a town who works in collaboration with a Byronic French colonel to solve several murders visited upon both the French invaders and the local Prussians. In contrast with the stereotype of the pietistic, serious Prussian, the narrator is rather a doofus who is constantly misled by his own prejudices and passions.

The atmosphere is Gothic, with curly-headed temptresses, superstitious peasants, cemeteries, crypts, dark woods, and crumbling stone houses abounding. In keeping with the vampire theme, the countryside is littered with the bodies of murder victims, animal sacrifices. and unearthed corpses. Blood and gore is everywhere.

What I liked best--or rather appreciated best--was the use of smells to underscore the horrors of death. Unlike sight and sound, scent cannot be conveyed by film or TV, and this novel uses it to great effect.

[Jerry Kimbro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth Hanno Stiffeniis mystery, set in the early years of the 19th century during the French occupation of Prussia. Stiffeniis is the local Prussian magistrate and has the unenviable position of bringing criminals to justice and meeting the adminstrative demands of the French conquerors. He has however helped solve mysteries in the past to the satisfaction of both French and Prussian authorities.

So it is no surprise that they call him in when a series of murders inexplicably grips the countryside in a supernatural fear of vampirism. Several bodies are found drained of blood and with the marks of the vampire on their necks. But this is no supernatural crime, Stiffeniis is student of Immanuel Kant and a true scholar of the emerging Age of Reason. He has to use all his logic and wits to find the true killers and discover why the Vampires are running amok in his native conquered country.

Plague in the country side, wild dogs in the streets, Napoleon's Grande Army threatening to march and shoot all citizenry? These are daily facts of life in a Hanno Stiffeniis novel. To read these stories is a unique chance to immerse yourself in the very dangerous days of 19th century Prussia.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery series is new to me, and while I'm not generally a fan of the historical mystery (Brother Cadfael notwithstanding) this is was a good read.

Set during the French occupation of Prussia (during Napoleon's reign), it's also a time when reason and superstition collide. Our hero is firmly on the side of reason, looking for natural causes for the supposedly supernatural. In this case, deaths caused by a vampire - the local population wants to dig up the bodies and stake them, he'd prefer to look among the very living for the murder. He's also all too human, allowing the main suspect to seduce him away from his suspicions; had he paid more attention, the mystery might have been solved earlier.

Of course the world of that time is graphically described, and if you've got a suggestible nose this is not the series for you! The clash between the French and the Prussians is also very well described.

ARC provided by publisher.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a vampire book that I really liked. As is often the case, a mystery provides the nominal frame for much bigger themes. In "Unholy Awakenings," Magistrade Hanno Stiffeniis, a student of the pholosopher Immanuel Kant, finds himself investigating several guresome murders that the locals believe are the work of vampires. Throw in a setting of 1810 Prussia in bleakest autumn accupied by Napoleon's army and this makes a great read for fans of Nordic Noir. Fortunately, this book is one of a series, so now I'm hard at work on "Critique of Criminal Reason."

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Gregoria is a new author for me. His writing style is complex and contains lots of adjectives and adverbs to better define the characters and action. The story has elements of mystery, evil, history and romance. It was on the new reads shelf at the library and I found myself trying to read too fast.

Not a book you can skim as I quickly learned so I had to slow down and make a concious effort to absorb the story.

Michael Gregorio is the pen name of Michael G. Jacob and Daniela De Gregorio, for those of you who are interested.

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the book was overall an easily read book, while adding suspense where it should, the most aggrevating part was the obvious outcome. Halfway through the book you knew 90% of the outcome. Granted there were details that didn't come out until the end, you had to endure over half the book when you knew where it was going.

[Briansmom · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just OK. I felt that it was at times difficult to follow/read, where I was reading a passage and then going back to read it over again because it didn't really make sense to me. The main character of Hanno Steffaniis was interesting but not enough to make me read more in this series.

[Soraya Hekate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the library thinking it would be a fantasy/vampire novel, but it was a historical crime thriller, set during the Napoleonic occupation of Prussia in the early 19th Century. The historical setting is well written, and it is a good account of how superstition could create mass hysteria. Once I got past the fact that it wasn't quite what I expected, I did enjoy it,

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a lot of really great books in my day, this just wasn't one of them. I liked the time period. I liked the main character until he was such a jerk to his wife. I got within three chapters of the end last night and put the book down and went to sleep. I wasn't particularly exhausted. If the book was really good, I would have stayed up and finished it.

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly creative historical crime fiction tale. Stiffeniis is human inside and out but chasing after supposed vampires. Gregorio writes a wicked story leading us into the realm of unbelief and opening our eyes to the possibilities of the criminal mind.

[Guy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suspected vampirism in early 19th century East Prussia...what's not to like about that? More period and local atmosphere, maybe, and a slightly less breathlessly imaginative protagonist? I don't get the sense that the authors know the area and the period well.

[Tra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't tried this authors books before, and was pleasantly surprised.
Despite not reading the first book in the series I could still follow the plot too
Here's my full review - http://croftfantasyreads.blogspot.co....

[Dimmy-jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book,i really enjoyed the three main chacracters but, i got bored with the rest of the book

[Bre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished it. Sure generates some interest when people see the cover. Pretty good.

[AnneKristine Norris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess I'll file this under: Thank God that's over and Read One, Read Them All.

[Abbie]

I loved this book I really good historical read!

[Janice Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as well as previous books in the series, although it had some good moments. There were also times when it seemed to be dragging along and my attention waned.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting (Napoleonic era Prussia) and the characters were interesting. The plot completely fell apart at the end, and none of the deaths were properly explained.

[Kyle Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book.Nice to read a book about vampires not aimed at teenagers.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Ajzani]

Enjoyable read. Will read more by the author.