Cyndi J. (cyndij) reviewed on 10/10/2018 + 1032 more book reviews

Second in the Asher/Ysidro series. Ex-spy James Asher is at the train station when he sees the unthinkable - a man he knows is a spy for a foreign government obviously travelling with a vampire. Asher was sure that the undead would stay out of human affairs, but the damage they could do if recruited as spies is horrifying. He sets off in pursuit, but even with his skills this will be incredibly dangerous. After he's been missing a few days his wife Lydia gathers her courage and goes in search of Don Ysidro, the vampire that she and Asher helped in the last book.
I didn't find this one quite as compelling or exciting as the last. Most of it is Asher getting caught, escaping, getting caught, escaping, almost dying etc. Lydia is always just a step behind. But the cool thing about this book is the moral dilemma Hambly puts both James and Lydia in. Hambly's vampires are not pretty seductive beings that just take a few sips of blood and everyone goes home happy. They cannot survive without the death of their victim. So by not exposing Ysidro, the Ashers are complicit in the murder of other humans. But they need Ysidro to prevent worse things from happening. Lydia in particular is anguished by it...she extracts a promise from Ysidro he will not kill while he's helping her. Ysidro agrees but it means his powers start to decline.
Anyway a nice moody book without being noir, there's more action at the end. Would have liked a little less travelogue, but interesting characters and relationships.

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