From Starred Review Horror veteran Masterton delivers one of his best efforts. During World War II, American James Falcon traveled across Europe, hunting vampires for the Allied forces. Now it's the late 1950s, and the cold war is hitting its stride. Falcon is called out of retirement and sent to London, where an old enemy has resurfaced. He quickly discovers that, to beat the bloodsucker, he must confront some frightening secrets from his own past. This is a hugely entertaining novel, at once completely loopy and entirely plausible (once you accept vampires, of course). Masterton's exploration of the nature of vampires (what makes them tick, so to speak) is engrossing and scary as hell, and his descriptions of the violent confrontations between good and evil are unsettlingly graphic. On the other hand, the love story, between Falcon and his partner (a beautiful dog handler), is touching and surprising. Putting down the book before you've finished is not an option. David Pitt Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved Review �Hugely entertaining.� Engrossing and scary as hell!� �_Booklist_ (Starred Review) �Graham Masterton is the living inheritor to the realm of Edgar Allan Poe.� �_San Francisco Chronicle_ � �One of the true masters for the horror genre.�� �James Herbert, author of The Others ��Masterton remains a mesmerizing storyteller.� �_Publishers Weekly_ �� �Horror�s most consistent provider of chills.� �_Masters of Terror_ Californian James Falcon's compelling Romanian mother has told him so many folk stories that by the time he reaches college in 1943, he is something of an expert on the strigoi, the legendary, undying vampires who infested the most isolated forests of Wallachia. Mostly as a joke, he writes a term paper on the strigoi. But the joke turns serious when US counterintelligence approach him to recruit his expertise. James hunts down strigoi murderers in war-ravaged Europe, Nazi assassins hired to run down the French and Belgian resistance in exchange for Transylvanian independence, although the principal one, the terrible Dorin Duca, continues to elude him. In the Cold War, he must fight once more, as Duca goes on the rampage, spreading his strigoi infection all across London, England. With Jill, a police dog handler of great beauty and resilience, James is assigned to Britain's MI6 to go on the hunt again. But even after the threat is driven away, James will still uncover more secrets about the immortal predators, secrets that come ever closer to home
Ever since he was a child, James Falcon had heard folktales of the strigoi, the bloodthirsty vampires who stalked the forest of Wallachia. As a young man he was recruited by US counterintelligence to track down strigoi Nazis in war-torn Europe. Though the worst of the, the infamous Dorin Duca, always eluded him. Now, more than a decade later, the strigoi—and Dorin Duca—are ravaging London and James is back on the hunt. It's only a matter of time before the old enemies meet face-to-face, because vampires are immortal...and so is their thirst for vengeance.
In this supernatural thriller, U.S. counterintelligence officials approach James Falcon to hunt down strigoi murderers--undying vampires--in war-ravaged Europe. Even after the threat is driven away, James will uncover more secrets about the immortal predators--secrets that come ever closer to home.
