Vampyres of Hollywood

Vampyres of Hollywood
Adrienne Barbeau and Michael Scott
St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 9780312367220
Fiction, Paranormal
Reviewed by Cynthia Armistead

Everybody knows that Ovsanna Moore is third-generation Hollywood royalty—beautiful, intelligent, and powerful, head of her very own studio. She doesn’t just act, but writes, directs, and produces her own films.
What the world does not know is that Ovsanna has been around since before California was “settled,” and that she’s the Chatelaine of Hollywood—every vampire there must answer to her. When a Vampyre Hunter starts killing in her territory, her responsibility is to stop him. It will be the end of her long life if she doesn’t end the hunt (and the Hunter) quickly and quietly.
Peter King, the police detective assigned to the case, is under pressure to get what the media are calling the “Cinema Slayer” shut down immediately. If he doesn’t, his career is over.
I laughed out loud several times while reading, and that’s always a good sign. The characters as drawn could probably have figured things out more quickly than they did with a little more basic detective work (like, oh, interviewing everyone involved), or at least it seemed that way to me. The Hollywood atmosphere and references certainly felt “true,” showing Barbeau’s experiences to good advantage.
If you’re looking for a light, fast, and funny read, Vampyres of Hollywood fits the bill. It doesn’t ask you to do any deep thought, and while the murders are horrific, the authors don’t dwell on the gore. There’s really not that much of the paranormal going on for most of the book (other than the existence of the undead), so Vampyres might be a good choice as an introduction for readers new to the genre.