THE AWAKENING

This second installment of a romantic vampire series set in modern-day New Orleans focuses on a detective with remarkable abilities.

Brinkley follows up The Blazing (2019) with this sequel starring Viveca Moreau. Viveca is a police detective with quite some experience with the paranormal. In the previous volume, she fell in love with a vampire named Richard Ambrose. She also managed, with her powers as a dream walker, to save him from his lot as such a creature. This installment sees their relationship blossom further. The two marry, and Viveca becomes pregnant. But all is not well in the Big Easy. Charles Rainier is a coroner whose son, Philip, has died. Rather than accept his son’s demise, Charles injects the boy’s body with vampire blood. This allows the boy to come back to life, albeit as a vampire. As one might expect, vampires need blood to survive, and so local women are kidnapped to feed Philip. Meanwhile, Viveca is on the beat with a rookie named Frank Taylor. As the two investigate other crimes, such as a murder at a liquor store, they inch closer to Philip and the terror the vampire has in store. Viveca is warned more than once that “The Awakening is upon you.” How will such a cryptic statement play out? The chills start right from the prologue with Charles’ choice to produce a new vampire. Surely this decision can only mean bad news, particularly for a policewoman with vampire experience. But Brinkley’s narrative makes some odd choices that curtail some of the tension. Even though readers are well aware of what happened to the missing women meant to feed Philip, Viveca and her police cohorts are not. A plot involving detectives figuring out what is already known to readers does not make for the most high-stakes thriller. Certain obvious dialogue also slows things down, as when Viveca tells Richard: “You are the best husband ever!” But what of this coming Awakening? It would seem likely that Viveca’s unborn child will have something to do with it. But will Viveca even make it to the end? A skillful pinch of excitement comes in the final pages when it seems all could be lost. The narrative sets an enticing stage for a supernatural third installment.

A slow-moving but ultimately engaging vampire thriller.