~REVIEW of Tanya Huff's: THE BLOOD BOOKS, VOLUME ONE~

The Blood Books, Volume I (Omnibus: Blood Price/Blood Trail

Opening Line:"Ian shoved his hands in his pockets and scowled down the length of the empty subway platform."

BLOOD BOOKS Volume 1 contains the first two books in Tanya Huff's 5 part Blood series. These stories became the first few episodes in the Blood Ties TV show which luckily I discovered before the books because now I have the added bonus of visual references for all the characters. The books aren't as cheesy as the TV series sometimes became in fact the writing here is well above average, fast paced and contains several POV's and tons of witty dialogue. The three main characters diverse personalities play well off each other and ooze sexual tension even though all the love scenes are fade-to-black. They also take place in the real (Canadian) world which I loved because I like to think that vampires and werewolves may indeed walk among us.

The first story BLOOD PRICE is identical to the Blood Ties series pilot and was my favourite of the two. We are introduced to Vicki Nelson a tough, sarcastic P.I who because of degenerative eye disease has had to leave her job with the Toronto Police Dept. One night Vicki stumbles upon a suspicious murder victim and immediately becomes wrapped up in a case involving black magic and demons. As the victims pile up Vicki is forced to call upon ex-partner (and sometimes lover) Mike Celluci as well as befriending the 450 year old illegitimate son of Henry VIII, romance author and vampire. Together all three will try to stop the demon before it destroys humanity.

The second story BLOOD TRAIL takes Vicki and Henry into rural Ontario as they attempt to catch a sniper taking out members of a family of sheep farmers that also just happen to be werewolves. With Henry and Vicki growing closer the love triangle comes full circle as Cop Mike Celluci shows up to warn Vicki that he thinks Henry might be involved with organized crime. However that's the least of their problems as together the trio must fight off a mad gunman, angry werewolves and ultimately each other.

First written in 1991, this excellent series has been reissued with the 2006 omnibus edition. Except for the absence of cell phones and computers you'll never notice the age off the writing. Both stories are also complete and a great deal together which I would highly recommend to paranormal junkies. Cheers

~REVIEW of Tanya Huff's: BLOOD TRAIL~

~THE WEREWOLVES OF LONDON (ONTARIO)~

Blood Trail (Victoria Nelson, #2)

Opening Line: "The three-quarter moon, hanging low in the night sky, turned even tamed and placid farmland into a mysterious landscape of silver light and shadows."

BLOOD TRAIL is the second book in the thoroughly enjoyable Blood (Ties) series. As a fan of the TV show I was thrilled to discover this 5 part series of books and except for the absence of cell phones you won't be able to tell they were written in 1991. Once more I was impressed by author Tanya Huffs writing as she expertly weaves together multiple storylines and POV's creating a fun, action filled paranormal mystery. We even get a little romance this time (although it remains fade-to-black) as ex-cop turned P.I Vicki Nelson again joins forces with 400 year old romance author and vampire Henry Fitzroy. Throw in Vickie's jealous former partner Mike Celluci, a family of sheep farming werewolves and a crazed sniper with religious issues and you've got yourself the makings of a great story.

Vicki is a strong willed and very likable character who lives in the real world with the rest of us however ever since she met Henry and battled a demon in the last book she has also come to accept the world of the paranormal. It doesn't take much for her to accept a family of werewolves as her next case. It seems someone has discovered the Heerken's secret and has been hunting and killing pack members while they attend to their flocks of sheep. Of course they can't go to the police so investigator Vicki Nelson is their only hope. Huff's descriptions of Wer behaviour are well done here to the point that I felt she must have done research on real werewolves as she gives us often hilarious look at their possessiveness issues, politics, pack hierarchy and other social behaviours. All the while the neighbours just assume they're nudists with a lot of big dogs to keep strangers away.

Because of Vicki's night blindness she takes Henry with her to the Ontario farm. This works to her advantage as Henry can patrol nights while she finds clues and tries to discover the sniper's identity during the day. Henry and Vicki continue to have an aura of sexual tension which eventually reaches a breaking point after Henry is injured and forced to feed. Vicki is more than willing to accommodate him and this only gets further complicated when Mike suddenly arrives at the farm. It seems after doing some investigation he's now convinced Henry's s involved in organized crime. There's lots of snappy dialogue as the three fight off the sniper, angry werewolves and each other.

For the most part this was a fast paced and entertaining read with the storyline between Henry, Vicki and Mike continuing to develop throughout. Although I felt the story lagged in the middle it was still a great read that I would recommend to any paranormal junkies. Cheers.

~REVIEW of Tanya Huff's BLOOD PRICE~

~GREAT SERIES OPENER THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME~

Blood Price (Victoria Nelson, #1)

Opening Line: "Ian shoved his hands deep in his pockets and scowled down the length of the empty subway platform."

Written in 1991 BLOOD PRICE was the basis for the television series Blood Ties. After becoming a fan of the TV show I discovered author Tanya Huff and was instantly blown away by her writing. Now this 5 part series also has the added bonus of visual character references (in particular Henry the yummy Vampire). I will definitely be continuing on with this series and would highly recommend it to other fans of the paranormal genre. Despite the noticeable absence of cell phones and computers it holds up perfectly well by today's standards.

 Vicki Nelson is going blind and because of her degenerative eye disease has had to leave her job with the Toronto police department. Now a private investigator the headstrong and intelligent P.I tackles most of her cases during daylight hours when she has some amount of reliable vision. One night however while waiting at the subway station she stumbles upon a murder victim and is immediately wrapped up in case beyond her wildest expectations. The case forces Vicki to call upon ex partner (and sometimes lover) Mike Celluci as well as befriending the 450 year old illegitimate son of King Henry VIII, a gorgeous vampire who makes a living writing historic romance novels.

The three main characters diverse personalities play well off each other and ooze sexual tension throughout. And even though all the love scenes are fade-to-black I surprisingly enjoyed having to use my imagination in a time when all books get down and dirty in vivid detail. Huff has also given us the advantage of multiple POV's within this story and I especially enjoyed Henry's numerous flashbacks, taking us back to when he was turned and his many adventures and lost loves after. I also liked the fact that this takes place in the real (Canadian!) world because we don't believe in the paranormal here and at first neither does Vicki.

As I mentioned before the writing is top notch although I found the story lagged a bit in the middle when we entered the demon caller antagonist Norman's head. The ending however more than makes up for it with page-turning excitement. This promises to be a great series and fans of Blood Ties or Vampires and the paranormal in general couldn't ask for more. Cheers