The exciting sequel to Grave Illusions picks up a week after the events of the previous book. Jess Vandermire, vampire hunter and vampire, wakes up with the uncontrollable urge to bite Britt, the lieutenant in her Special Ops unit. Understandably disturbed by her uncharacteristic behavior, both Jess and Britt are visibly shaken. To make matters worse, Jess states that she has had a nightmare – something she has not experienced in the five decades since becoming a vampire. After Jess and Britt part, both mulling the strange occurrences, Britt receives a call to a crime scene. Underneath the body of the dead woman, obviously a vampire victim, Sampson, the unit’s medical examiner, discovers Jess’ dagger. For now, until they can figure out what is going on, Britt and Sampson agree to keep that information to themselves.

Over the next few days, Jess blacks out a few times, and experiences brief losses of her heightened vampiric senses. Fearing that she may be losing her ability to keep her baser nature at bay, Jess attempts to push Britt away, explaining that she does not believe that a true relationship with a human can ever be possible for her. Jess’ brother Regent continues to encourage her to accept Britt has his successor as her protector. In the meantime, local shady businessman Drago Vaslov exhibits an especial interest in Jess, and tries several times to get her to visit his club. As more dead women turn up, Britt surmises there must be a connection between Vaslov, the victims, and Jess’ unusual experiences.

Gardiner skillfully provides a unique version of vampires, along with primary and secondary characters that seem real to the reader. Jess’ ongoing battle with her darker side adds depth to her portrayal, as well as believable conflict and difficulties in her relationship with Britt and her brother. Regretting the undue stress Jess believes she is causing Regent, she wonders, “Was she losing control of her small piece of humanity and slowly killing her brother in the process? “ (25).

As with the first installment in the series, surprises abound, and the author dexterously paces the suspenseful story. Fans of both urban fantasy and paranormal romance will enjoy this fast-paced, original novel.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: ImaJinn Books (November 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933417439
• ISBN-13: 978-1933417431

To purchase a print copy of Beyond the Grave click here.
To purchase an electronic copy of Beyond the Grave click here.

Books in the Jess Vandemire Vampire Hunter series in the order they should be read:
Grave Illusions
Beyond the Grave

To visit the author’s website go here.

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