David and Aimee Thurlo Pale Death

Pale Death

David and Aimee Thurlo

Forge, Oct 2005, $23.95, 264 pp.

ISBN 0765313855

State police officer Leo Hawk, once known as Lee Nez, is a Navaho half vampire who frequently works with FBI agent Diane Lopez who knows what he is and cares about him anyway. They are called to a crime scene where three people are staked and bite marks are on their neck. They trace the works to a nearby top secret federal facility where vampire Stewart Tanner, a full fledged vampire was being held against his will.

Experiments were conducted on him that were painful and could be considered torture. Eventually he went insane and when he was able to escape he killed his captors and is now going after federal employees. Dianne and Lee are assigned to the case and Lee has the best chance of catching him even though he is only a half vampire and Tanner is stronger and faster than him. As the body count mounts, Lee knows he has to work faster to take Tanner down but it is difficult when he has to hold back his true nature because he is working with mortals that will use him to experiment on if they discover he is a half vampire.

Navaho culture is woven into the vampire legend and what results is a fantastic storyline that is creatively different than most vampire stories. Lee is a good man who protects mortals from the evil vampires that want to kill or turn humans. His sense of justice is strong and as a result he recognizes that there are good vampires in the world and he has no reason to go after them. PALE DEATH will appeal to horror and mystery fans as well as those who love to read tales that are refreshingly original.

Harriet Klausner