Those Who Dwell in Darkness by Steve McHugh -> Starting April 22nd, 2024

[Aly]

The hunt for a serial killer leads a vampire agent to uncover a terrifying conspiracy in this dark urban fantasy by the author of the Hellequin Chronicles.

Vampires and humans live side by side thanks to an uneasy peace maintained by the Assembly. As an Arbiter for the powerful organization, Miles Watson is authorized to act as judge, jury, and executioner for anyone—living or undead—who breaks the law. But now Miles is up against a threat more sinister than anything he’s seen in his centuries as a vampire.

A criminal network in London is offering wealthy humans the chance to become vampires without the Assembly’s consent. When the process goes disastrously wrong, the Boss wants to eliminate any trace of the fiasco. But a rogue enforcer refuses to play along, and trouble quickly escalates out of anyone’s control.

As Miles sets off searching for the illegal vampires, he finds himself on the trail of a monstrous serial killer. The twisty investigation takes him from London’s deadly underworld to the rural backwaters of the Pacific Northwest—where an even more devious criminal enterprise threatens all of vampire-kind . . .

Known for his terrifying tales of urban fantasy, author Steve McHugh goes even deeper into the shadows with this noirish vampire thriller, which masterfully combines suspenseful plotting and intricate world-building.

[Sibil]

chapters 1-7
(view spoiler)[I am not so happy with this book. I love Church (and I really hope nothing bad will happen to her because I had enough of bad things happening to dogs!! Usually, dogs in books don't have a happy ending, but here she is on the cover so... maybe she'll still live by the end?) and the mystery sounds interesting.
And the way in wich the author does all the infodumps on vampires here is not bad. But all in all, it is all a tad... boring. (hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Sibil wrote: “chapters 1-7…”

(view spoiler)[ I really like the idea of Church too, and I think she’ll live because she’s got vampire blood in her.

I agree that while it’s not necessarily bad, it is a bit boring and it feels slow.
(hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Chapters 1 - 9

(view spoiler)[ The book so far is fine, and there are interesting differences in the way the vampire society works, but I’m kind of bored.

I prefer faster paced books as well as different characters. Miles’ case hasn’t progressed at all, and it seems like he’s more of a lone investigator.

I like Charlotte and their friendship, but I feel like she’s going to disappear soon. Church seems like a fun dog, but I’m hoping her role will be more active in the future.

I’m not a fan of the many descriptions of places and the vampire world/society structure. The houses are a bit confusing, but that’s probably just because they’ve only just been introduced.
(hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Chapter 10 - 19

(view spoiler)[ I still want the book to be a bit faster paced, but at least there have been a few characters now, even though they're not major parts of the book.

Lauren being alive is shocking, but I'm thinking that she's probably not going to tell them anything useful.

Miles is investigating, but I feel like not much is happening.

Is the person Oliver is with a desolate king? Desolate kings and queens have been mentioned, but it doesn't actually say what they are. Although, it said something about the person waking up from a long sleep, so why did he wake up and was there a reason for the sleep in the first place?

Also, has this person gotten rid of Oliver's mind block or is Oliver just certain that the person can protect him from the Boss?
(hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Chapters 20 - 26

(view spoiler)[ I should’ve guessed that Lauren was the desolate queen (which still isn’t clear what that means). Is she just going to kill all the magistrate people now?

I’m curious to find out why House Umbra and the Magistrate are working together, and how that’s even working since the Magistrate is so against vampires.

I’m assuming that Oliver is wherever Miles and Yvonne are being taken to.
(hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Chapters 27 - 34

(view spoiler)[ I understood why Miles let Lauren go, but she’s going to have to feed which means killing people or creating desolates who will also need to feed, so was it a good idea to let her go?

I kind of wanted to see Miles telling others what happened and how the Assembly and House Umbra would react. Also, I think I misread something early on because I was sure that Vedran was the head of the House. I think I didn’t pay close enough attention to people’s titles.

Even though it seems like you find out everything about Miles, it still feels like he’s a mystery, his powers for example.

There were a few mistakes in who said/did what. For example, a person would be mentioned even though it’s not possible for them to do or say anything because they’re not in the scene.
(hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "Chapters 1 - 9
..."

(view spoiler)[The vampires here are really interesting! The fact that extreme temperatures, both cold and hot, aren't good for them is original, for example, and there are a lot of differences from the "normal" vampires. This part was quite enjoyable!
And I liked Charlotte too! She seems interesting and I hope to see more of her around! (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "Chapter 10 - 19
.."

(view spoiler)[It is pretty slow-paced, especially for this kind of book. Now that we have more characters around it is a tad better paced, but it is still slowgoing! (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

chapters 8-18
(view spoiler)[The things are a tad more interesting now, I am enjoying it more on the whole, even if it is slow and the investigation is dragging.
I like that we have new characters around, I especially like Amber but at the moment things don't make a lot of sense (not because the book is poorly done, but because we are in the middle of the investigation and all the pieces of the puzzle are still jumbled) and there is no much going around. They are circling back to the same topic and nothing new is happening! (hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Sibil wrote: "chapters 8-18..."

(view spoiler)[ I like Amber too, and I agree that there isn't much progression when it comes to the investigation.
(hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Sorry for the disappearing act! I couldn't use my PC in the last days!

chapters 19-27
(view spoiler)[I so hate hate speech and the such! They manage to instantly transform the talker in a moron (excuse my French here)!
Not that these characters need help with that, but still... Blake is just so despicable!
And I can't understand how it is possible for him and the Magistrate to work with vampires! I mean, when I thought that they were behind the serial killers and that they had some kind of prisoner who was doing their bidding it made sense (in a twisted way, but still... if they were doing some sort of experiment it was somehow understandable) but how they can work with a House is just strange (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "Chapters 20 - 26
"

(view spoiler)[I would have loved a tad more explanation about the desolate queen. It sounds interesting but I wanted to know more!

And the part about the Magistrate doesn't make sense!! (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "Chapters 27 - 34
"

(view spoiler)[I think that another round of editing would have helped because you are right, there are some instances in which the names of the characters were wrong because the one named wasn't in the scene!

And I would have loved to know more about Miles, too! And also the fact that his transformation should have been a new thing since he said that he couldn't transform, but he doesn't seem to make a big deal out of it... and it is a tad strange! (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Ended
(view spoiler)[I wanted to know more, and I am feeling a tad unsatisfied. I mean, why the Magistrate is working with vampires? Why the Inquisitors are working for a member of House Umbra? What would be of Lauren? Who is Miles in reality? Why does Gideon hate Miles?
And the book as a whole was not bad, but it was quite slow. And things dragged around a lot. I like enough Miles and Church but I am not really motivated to continue the series, even if I am left with a lot of unanswered questions! (hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Sibil wrote: "Sorry for the disappearing act! I couldn't use my PC in the last days!

chapters 19-27..."

(view spoiler)[ I completely agree about the hate speeches, and yeah, it did immediately make me think that all the Magistrates were idiots.

I didn't think the Magistrates and the vampires working together made any sense either. How did they manage to plan anything, or even talk to each other?
(hide spoiler)]

[Ela (Mouse333)]

Sibil wrote: "Ended..."

(view spoiler)[ I think that there were some interesting things in this book, but I agree, it was really slow. Also, some of the unanswered questions felt like they were done on purpose so you would feel compelled to continue with the series, because they could have easily been answered while other things were happening.
(hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "Sibil wrote: "Ended..."
.."

(view spoiler)[Yep, I agree with you on all the lines!
(hide spoiler)]
Thanks for buddy-reading this one!