VAMPIRE MISSIONARIES

Two vampire-bitten missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vigorously resist their physical and mental changes in Rhodes’ horror novel.

Gabe Fitzpatrick and Luke Parley have been spreading the gospel for the last six months in Portland, Oregon. One morning, the 18-year-olds awaken in their local apartment with no recollection of how they got there. They also have inexplicable cuts on their necks and find that silver and their sacred garments burn their skin. Also, any attempt at prayer zaps them like a cattle prod. Gabe understandably surmises that they’re now vampires, which they confirm after retracing their last-known route and returning to the home of a man calling himself Bishop. He’s the one who bit the teens, and now he wants them to be his missionaries and make even more vampires. Luke and Gabe understandably resist this idea; they want to continue their previous religious mission, but they’re unable to say certain words, such as God and salvation, without being zapped. They’ve also spent the last few weeks working with the Swanson family, including 18-year-old Joy, who’s ready to be baptized. Who knows what holy water will do to the new vampires? In addition, the missionaries’ sexual desire has skyrocketed, and as Gabe ponders his attraction to Joy, Luke fixates on Joy’s older brother, Robert. All the while, Bishop and his vampire “family,” determined to see the teens give in to their thirst for blood, resort to kidnapping and even more savage means to their ends.

Rhodes somewhat caters to readers’ expectations by incorporating numerous familiar genre conventions. The vampires have no reflections in mirrors; they sport fangs and claws that elongate when in bloodsucking mode; and they can’t enter new places without an invite. However, this doesn’t stop the author from playing with such rules, as well; it turns out that sunlight, for instance, isn’t as much of a problem because rain-soaked Portland is so often overcast. Such humor is common in the novel’s first half as Gabe and Luke struggle with vampiric urges and unforeseen complications. Both characters are compelling and well-developed throughout. This taut narrative, which also focuses on Bishop’s fiendish vampires and the Swansons, gets a bit darker as it progresses. Luke’s struggle with his sexuality connects to a revelation that his father used to physically and emotionally abuse him, calling him a “sissy”; Gabe is shown to fight his bloodsucking impulses more vehemently than Luke does, and has experienced plenty of trauma in his life, including losing his father in a car accident and watching his mother succumb to alcoholism. The story is never excessively violent or graphic, but Gabe and Luke’s circumstances become increasingly dour, and the tension rises as the two are forced to make tough choices. The lengthy and frenzied final act boasts a few sharp plot turns involving Gabe’s past and what the vampires’ plan entails. Although this novel could easily be a standalone novel, it leaves room for a sequel or two.

A suspenseful character-driven vampire story that deftly blends familial themes with horror and religious overtones.