The Winter Man

Rating:
Summary: Vampires can exist.
Review: I found it to be extremely well detailed on the locations ofWashington, DC and surrounding areas, keeping the city alivefor me while reading. Nicki seems real and the twist on vampirism in the story is very good. The 'Dracula' syndrom is broken. The story flows well and keeps you turning pages in an attempt to figure out who the 'Winter Man' actually is. I made time to read--I had to know! It is a murder mystery with a very capable sleuth--move over Columbo. Maybe vampires do exist--Denise Vitola makes you think so!

Rating:
Summary: New Twist on Vampires But a Weak Finish
Review: Nicki Chim is a small unassuming Asian woman and a forensics expert. She also happens to be a vampire. Her current consulting job with the Washington DC police has her on the track of a serial killer dubbed The Winter Man because he strikes during snowfalls.

Nicki's vampirism and that of her fellows (known as hematoman) makes for very interesting reading. Few vampire tales have ever given plausible explanations for vampire physiognomy but this one does.

While reading the book it becomes obvious that the author was hoping to do more stories with these characters and her vampire society but this is the only one so far. Vitola made a hit with her Ty Merrick werewolf stories instead (Quantum Moon, Opalite Moon, The Radon File, etc.).

The mystery is fairly well done although the final solution was rather cheap (but I won't give it away). I was also a little disappointed to not find out why the Winter Man used snowstorms (a quick comment at the end lets us know that there must have been many more killings than were suspected).

All in all a pretty good book and I am sorry there are no more in the series. But fans of the Ty Merrick tales should like this one. Truly original.

Rating:
Summary: New Twist on Vampires But a Weak Finish
Review: Nicki Chim is a small unassuming Asian woman and a forensics expert. She also happens to be a vampire. Her current consulting job with the Washington DC police has her on the track of a serial killer dubbed The Winter Man because he strikes during snowfalls.

Nicki's vampirism and that of her fellows (known as hematoman) makes for very interesting reading. Few vampire tales have ever given plausible explanations for vampire physiognomy but this one does.

While reading the book it becomes obvious that the author was hoping to do more stories with these characters and her vampire society but this is the only one so far. Vitola made a hit with her Ty Merrick werewolf stories instead (Quantum Moon, Opalite Moon, The Radon File, etc.).

The mystery is fairly well done although the final solution was rather cheap (but I won't give it away). I was also a little disappointed to not find out why the Winter Man used snowstorms (a quick comment at the end lets us know that there must have been many more killings than were suspected).

All in all a pretty good book and I am sorry there are no more in the series. But fans of the Ty Merrick tales should like this one. Truly original.

Rating:
Summary: An intelligent Vampire-detective mystery
Review: This is a well written, easy to read novel. Nicki Chim is forensic hematologist (a specialist in blood), who works on contract for various people, including the police department in washington DC.

This book chronicles both the investigation into a serial killer called 'the winter man' and Nicki's private life which is getting more complicated than she would like. The characters are believable and the author has well thought out her sub-culture of vampires in the modern world without going into obessive detail.

If you like a good mystery and run across a second hand copy of this book it's worth picking up and reading. The fact that Nicki is a vampire is in many ways almost incidental to the story, it's just something she has to 'live' with and work around.

Rating:
Summary: An intelligent Vampire-detective mystery
Review: This is a well written, easy to read novel. Nicki Chim is forensic hematologist (a specialist in blood), who works on contract for various people, including the police department in washington DC.

This book chronicles both the investigation into a serial killer called 'the winter man' and Nicki's private life which is getting more complicated than she would like. The characters are believable and the author has well thought out her sub-culture of vampires in the modern world without going into obessive detail.

If you like a good mystery and run across a second hand copy of this book it's worth picking up and reading. The fact that Nicki is a vampire is in many ways almost incidental to the story, it's just something she has to 'live' with and work around.