BLOOD

Will, a 750-year-old vampire and the heir to the Earl of Mercia, awakens in the 21st century and, with his first kill, finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue.

Determined to confront Lorcan Labraid, the “evil of the world,” Will must first find the vampire who cursed him with this undead existence long ago. With the help of 16-year-old runaway Eloise, Will prepares himself for the first battle, even as he finds himself inexplicably drawn to the girl. Wignall, an award-winning crime novelist, fails to deliver the well-rounded characters, compelling mystery and twisting action scenes that comprise his work for adults. Despite an interesting back story, Will is bland, with little emotion or motivation driving him forward in his centuries-long existence. If there were not constant reminders of his undead status, he would be indistinguishable from any other love interest. Eloise suffers from the same boilerplate feel, and their connection is flimsy at best. There’s no sense of mystery in Will’s search for his creator, and the climactic battle sequence could have been lifted from many a generic vampire movie.