Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, Not as good as some other reviwers thought...
Review: A decent effort by a writer who has been around for a while. Gresham has been a long-time writer for the Pinnacle Horror line and shows what he can do with a vampire tale in the deep south. He does not make it hard to read; the language is easy to understand and he has a natural storyteller's gift for gab.
It is a little slow at times, but the story is still very easy to follow. The Trackers date back to the Civil War and the old southern mansion is about to be torn down, letting loose an ancient evil. Not really that original of a concept, but Gresham does a decent job with it.
Franklin is an original character as a homosexual in the family that is an outcast. He is a natural as a vampire and makes for a wonderful "bad guy." However, the ending is one I never would have guessed from this frightful character. This was one of the first books I have read from Gresham. Based on this interesting tale, I will search out more, even after his Dark Magic, which was disappointing. Mr Gresham, you have a gift as a storyteller and I am sorry to only give a 3 for this effort, but it just didn't strike me as deserving more. However, I will continue to read your work and hope to see future novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Will curdle your blood...
Review: because of the poor and uninspired writing. "In the Blood" follows the unfortunate Tracker family, cursed since the Civil War era for their cruetly towards slaves. They are doomed to "lead lives of quiet desperation," never becoming truly successful at anything. In the family manse "Sweet Gum," the spirit of one dead bloodsucker kin infects a male Tracker and for some reason they can only feed off of one another. So the vampire Trackers run around trying to recruit the non-vampire Trackers as they pass up some choice locals, who seem to dissapear midway through the book. I was turned off by the incestual tone throughout the story, for Pete's sake the main character was in love with his neice! No matter how pretty a bow the author tried to slap on that package, I still couldn't get past it. Aside from the endearing character of the dwarf-child Emily, there was really no one to rally behind. Kudos to Gresham though for making the chief vampire, Franklin, homosexual; in his former life Franklin never followed the conventions of society, so he set his own rules as a vampire, like walking by day. That was original. The action was mostly very contrived and implausible, the heros and villains each making dumb choices simply to advance the plot. Despite an interesting premise, the novel never succeeds in completely pulling you in.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful, simply awful
Review: I had high expectations when I bought this book and was looking forward to reading a good vampire novel. I was sorely disappointed with the whole effort. The story was boring and the characters did not grab my attention at all. The story revolves around the Tracker family and a curse from the Civil War days. Trackers are connected by blood and need to feed on other Trackers. Franklin Tracker goes on a rampage and turns most of the family into vampires throughtout the course of the book. The word "blood" had to be used in almost every other sentence and I got sick of reading it. The writing was high, no make that grade school level and plastic cutouts would have more life than the characters. There was a feeble attempt at a romance, between Brianna and Jacob (two main characters), but that failed completely. The climax was even over too quickly after being built up from the middle of the novel. This book was simply bad and I would say do not waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Awful, simply awful
Review: I had high expectations when I bought this book and was looking forward to reading a good vampire novel. I was sorely disappointed with the whole effort. The story was boring and the characters did not grab my attention at all. The story revolves around the Tracker family and a curse from the Civil War days. Trackers are connected by blood and need to feed on other Trackers. Franklin Tracker goes on a rampage and turns most of the family into vampires throughtout the course of the book. The word "blood" had to be used in almost every other sentence and I got sick of reading it. The writing was high, no make that grade school level and plastic cutouts would have more life than the characters. There was a feeble attempt at a romance, between Brianna and Jacob (two main characters), but that failed completely. The climax was even over too quickly after being built up from the middle of the novel. This book was simply bad and I would say do not waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Scarey vampire novel
Review: Soldiers' Crossing, Alabama is home to Trackers, a dysfunctional extended family bound by blood and family ties. Some say the Trackers are cursed, that their blood is tainted because in the Antebellum South, their ancestors were cruel to their slaves. There were even Trackers who would return runaway slaves to their masters. The family mansion of Sugar Gum is being torn down, releasing an evil that reaches out to blood. The Trackers are turned into vampires, but one of them warns Jacob Tracker before committing suicide. He and some of his kin kill the vampires but not before another Tracker is turned into a creature of the night. Franklin Tracker intends to turn every Tracker into a vampire but Jacob is just as determined to stop him. IN THE BLOOD is a horror novel in which the good versus evil theme is given new meaning. Stephen Gresham has written a compelling novel that is impossible to put down until the last page is turned. The characters seem very real, especially the vampires, who are very different from one another because some still retain shreds of humanity. Fans of vampire lore are going to love reading this horror novel. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Scarey vampire novel
Review: Soldiers' Crossing, Alabama is home to Trackers, a dysfunctional extended family bound by blood and family ties. Some say the Trackers are cursed, that their blood is tainted because in the Antebellum South, their ancestors were cruel to their slaves. There were even Trackers who would return runaway slaves to their masters. The family mansion of Sugar Gum is being torn down, releasing an evil that reaches out to blood. The Trackers are turned into vampires, but one of them warns Jacob Tracker before committing suicide. He and some of his kin kill the vampires but not before another Tracker is turned into a creature of the night. Franklin Tracker intends to turn every Tracker into a vampire but Jacob is just as determined to stop him. IN THE BLOOD is a horror novel in which the good versus evil theme is given new meaning. Stephen Gresham has written a compelling novel that is impossible to put down until the last page is turned. The characters seem very real, especially the vampires, who are very different from one another because some still retain shreds of humanity. Fans of vampire lore are going to love reading this horror novel. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Vampiric horror -- Southern style
Review: Stephen Gresham, author of several horror titles under the Zebra print line of the mid 80's to mid 90's, has written his first novel published under the Pinnacle horror line (although both Zebra and Pinnacle are lines published by Kensington Books). Much like his earlier works, "In the Blood" is a quick read and contains many elements to keep the reader enthralled. This vampire story has a distinctive Southern flavor to it, but this is due to it taking place in Alabama, where all of Gresham's novels occur. The premise of the novel surrounds a family that is bound together "by blood" and their family is always their main priority. An evil is unleashed when an old plantation house is to be demolished. One member of the family becomes a member of the living dead and before long, several other family members become vampires as the family is again bound "by blood". While the author tries to convey the way in which people in small Southern towns tend to speak, it's sometimes difficult to express this dialect in words. However, the effort does tend to give the reader an idea of what small town life in the South is like. For the most part, the characters are believable and the story, while it does have a few slow moments, is entertaining. The ending was a bit unexpected and unusual for a horror novel, but after reading most of Gresham's novels, you learn to expect the unexpected. Whle not Gresham's best work, it is still a good read. If you can locate a copy, read some of his earlier novels including "Moon Lake" and "Abracadabra", both published under the Zebra horror line.
Rating:
Summary: The Family That Bleeds Together...
Review: Tainted somehow even before the civil war, the Tracker family has always been haunted by a corrupting influence. None have ever been able to escape the town of Soldier's Crossing or to free themselves from the uneasy influence of Sweet Gum, their old homestead. When the Trackers decide to pull down Sweet Gum, something terrible happens, a nameless evil is released to follow the Tracker bloodline. Unexpectedly Jacob Tracker witnesses his nephew Josh stick a gas pump nozzle in his mouth and burn himself to death. Jacob quickly realises that something is deeply wrong. "I'll save myself," Josh had said, "You save the others." Then he had breathed fire like a dragon in the sky. Jacob, and his buddy Bo rush out to find out what had driven Josh to death and discover that every Tracker who was working at Sweet Gum has been infected with something that turns them into monsters, vampires who can only drink the blood of their kin. No matter how quickly Bo and Jacob work to end this horror the corruption spreads even faster, quickly turning Soldier's Crossing into a graveyard. It seems the Trackers are doomed, headed to inevitable tragedy. Jacob cares deeply for his niece Brianna and her beautiful child Emily. He cares so much that he knows he really loves Brianna - a forbidden love that he dare not act upon. But the turning of the Trackers brings them closer together, as Josh struggles to keep Brianna and Emily safe from their own blood kin. But Emily is the missing piece that the vampires must have to come into their full powers. In Soldier's Crossing a great confrontation is building. Gresham has written a classic, slick tale of Southern horror. One can almost smell the mildew and rot of the worn out, tired town, and its desperate residents. While the cast is large, Gresham provides sufficient detail to make each come alive and the main characters are well developed. The book is plagues by a bit of repetitiveness as Tracker after Tracker is vampirized, but Gresham manages to hold the reader's attention. "In The Blood" is not masterpiece, but a solid, journeyman-like effort that reads well and will provide hours of entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: The Family That Bleeds Together...
Review: Tainted somehow even before the civil war, the Tracker family has always been haunted by a corrupting influence. None have ever been able to escape the town of Soldier's Crossing or to free themselves from the uneasy influence of Sweet Gum, their old homestead. When the Trackers decide to pull down Sweet Gum, something terrible happens, a nameless evil is released to follow the Tracker bloodline. Unexpectedly Jacob Tracker witnesses his nephew Josh stick a gas pump nozzle in his mouth and burn himself to death. Jacob quickly realises that something is deeply wrong. "I'll save myself," Josh had said, "You save the others." Then he had breathed fire like a dragon in the sky. Jacob, and his buddy Bo rush out to find out what had driven Josh to death and discover that every Tracker who was working at Sweet Gum has been infected with something that turns them into monsters, vampires who can only drink the blood of their kin. No matter how quickly Bo and Jacob work to end this horror the corruption spreads even faster, quickly turning Soldier's Crossing into a graveyard. It seems the Trackers are doomed, headed to inevitable tragedy. Jacob cares deeply for his niece Brianna and her beautiful child Emily. He cares so much that he knows he really loves Brianna - a forbidden love that he dare not act upon. But the turning of the Trackers brings them closer together, as Josh struggles to keep Brianna and Emily safe from their own blood kin. But Emily is the missing piece that the vampires must have to come into their full powers. In Soldier's Crossing a great confrontation is building. Gresham has written a classic, slick tale of Southern horror. One can almost smell the mildew and rot of the worn out, tired town, and its desperate residents. While the cast is large, Gresham provides sufficient detail to make each come alive and the main characters are well developed. The book is plagues by a bit of repetitiveness as Tracker after Tracker is vampirized, but Gresham manages to hold the reader's attention. "In The Blood" is not masterpiece, but a solid, journeyman-like effort that reads well and will provide hours of entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Bloody Awful
Review: This is one of the worst books I've read in the last few years. Someone explain to me just what Pinnacle was thinking when they published this. The writing is at a high school level, full of passive verbs and awkward sentences. The characters were completely ridiculous and not the least bit believable and there are so many of them -- half starting with the same letter of the alphabet -- that you don't know who is talking or being talked about half the time. And to top it off the plot is completely stale and boring. Don't waste your money.
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