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"Enjoyable visit with modern vampire culture"

A long-haired, motorcycle riding vampire and an SUV driving sheriff must make inroads in the investigation of recent murders and keep the peace. Each is working for their own reasons; each with their community seemingly against them and each not quite trusting the other.

Shadow Bay, Michigan USA is a small, peaceful town whose sheriff, Shelby Cort has suddenly come upon something she cannot explain. A body was discovered in an old privy hole and the victim was drained of blood. The new county medical examiner Ricardo "Ric" De Chaux is someone she finds attractive but elusive. Her instincts tell her he knows something he isn't sharing, but is it personal or has it to do with the murders?

After avoiding humans for centuries, Ric has become the new Overlord of the local vampire community. He needs to make sure that the sheriff is kept in the dark about the possible existence of vampires while finding whose careless feeding caused the recent uproar. Meanwhile his group tests his authority and petty rivalries are about to explode. If Ric cannot keep them under control the fallout will draw some undesirable reactions from the vampire hierarchy.

The third in Roycraft's "Image" series stands alone with few references to past characters. It is not necessary to read the other books to enjoy SHADOW IMAGE but a better understanding of "vampire politics" would be realized.

Vampire fans are sure to enjoy this visit with the modern vampire culture as presented in the "Image" series and SHADOW IMAGE fulfills the promise of a captivating tale. The ending lets us know there is more to come but concludes the story of Ric and Shelby with a splash of style.

Courtesy: eBOOKISLE

Reviewed by Cy Korte
Posted October 3, 2002

Shelby Cort has had enough of working for a big-city police department. Ricard De Chaux, the notorious le docteur la mort and ex-Paramount for the Undead in France, has been escaping for years and now reluctantly works his way back into human society. They meet in the small town of Shadow Bay, Michigan—Shelby as Sheriff and Ric as the new county medical examiner.

When dead bodies start to pop up in unlikely places and the killings go unsolved, Shelby comes under attack from town officials, the media, and her own co-workers. She finds an ally in the new ME, both grateful for his support and drawn by his exotic good looks.

But what Shelby doesn't know is that the killer isn't human. What she also doesn't know is that the cool, collected Dr. De Chaux is by night Doctor Death, the new Overlord of the local Undead, whose top priority is to protect his new charges. Doctor Death hides one piece of evidence after another from the Sheriff, as all the while Ric fills Shelby's off-duty time with longing and passion.

When the killer goes after Shelby and all Ric's secrets are on the line, where will his allegiance fall?