How to Vex a Vampire, by Alice Winters (VRC 1)

[Ulysses]

How to Vex a Vampire (VRC 1)
BY Alice Winters
Published by the author 2020
Four stars

I’ve already bought the second in this series because a good vampire novel (that doesn’t push the wrong buttons for me) is always welcome. “How to Vex a Vampire” did not disappoint. In fact, it was a pleasant surprise in that it was far funnier than I expected. Finnegan Hayes is absurd and adorable (how can a homicide detective with two prosthetic limbs be adorable?) and Marcus Church is sexy and fierce. I did not somehow expect their banter to be laugh-out-loud amusing.

Otherwise, this nicely written book falls into the classic detective/vampire mashup that has matured in the world of m/m literature. Where Winters has set her storyline apart from others is the complicated and interesting family life that Finn has – some of it rather dark – and also the deep, mysterious history in Marcus’s background – about which we only find out tantalizing snippets. These are both wells from which the author can continue to draw in future books.

The murder mystery plot is interestingly twisted – an angle I’d never imagined, a hair-raising scariness that is more due to the criminal activity than the thus-far confusing dark backstory that will drag us all into future episodes of this smart series. I will not spoil, but I confess I’m tired of this dark backstory already. Maybe I’ll be less so after book two, but right now it seems forced. The author gets credit for avoiding a cliffhanger and simply slipping a little tweak at the end that warns us of what’s to come.

I’m ready.