Colleen Gleason, When Twilight Burns Review

When Twilight Burns

Colleen Gleason

Signet, Aug 2008, $7.99

ISBN: 9780451224750



Following a vicious attack by the dangerous vampire Beauregard, Venator leader widow Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy comes home to recuperate. However, before she can determine whether the odious Beuregard tainted her, she learns of the impossible; a vampire attacked a woman in daylight.



Apparently someone has discovered a remedy that enables vampires to walk in sunlight. This frightens Victoria as these are deadly foes at night; to fight them when they go undetected in the sun is an abomination with odious consequences especially with the Prince Regent's coronation coming shortly. Victoria accompanied by friends and occasionally lovers Sebastian and Max investigate; to their chagrin all clues confirm Victoria as the prime suspect although others exist such as her deceased husband's heir, a royal, an opera singer and her lover.



The latest Gardella Vampire Chronicle continues the level of excellence set by its predecessors (see The Rest Falls Away, The Bleeding Dusk and Rises The Night). The storyline remains fresh partly because of its Regency setting, but mostly due to the heroine who not that long ago dreamed of her debut season delayed for the last two years due to the deaths of her grandfather and father as she went from galas to tyro vampire slayer to veteran Venator leader. When Twilight Burns is fast-paced from the opening vampire assault until the powerful finish, but as always in this excellent vampire wars saga Victoria turns the thriller into a victory for sub-genre fans.



Harriet Klausner