--- 247 pages
March 1917: In the eighth novel in this series (that began in 1988 with Those Who Hunt the Night) 400-year-old vampire Don Simon Ysido has been poisoned by a rogue doctor and smuggled aboard The City of Gold, bound for New York City. The unscrupulous industrialist and war profiteer Spenser Cochran intends to use Don Simon as a weapon against union organizers and anyone else who tries to get in his way. Don Simon is kept locked in a silver-lined coffin and must obey his captor in order to receive injections of the antidote that holds the excruciating pain at bay.
In despair, Don Simon uses what little power remains to him to send cries for help into the dreams of the only two humans he cares for, Professor James Asher and his wife, Dr. Lydia Asher. James in on assignment for British Intelligence behind enemy lines in eastern Europe, but Lydia is in London. She responds immediately and secures passage on the same ship, determined to prevent Cochran's plans by any means necessary.
Meanwhile, James, on leave in Paris, makes contact with the vampires of Paris to get his hands on the research notes about the poison and the antidote to wire to Lydia the vital information she needs to combat Cochran's plans.
But as The City of Gold crosses the Atlantic, in ever increasing danger of being torpedoed by German submarines, Lydia is horrified to discover evidence that a second vampire is hiding below decks, attacking and murdering children among the desperate refugees in steerage. Lydia knows she must find this other vampire before Cochran can capture another vampire for his arsenal. Yet she faces an even harder test: for breaking Cochran's hold on Don Simon will not eliminate the threat. The only way to do that is to kill Don Simon herself.
Barbara Hambly is a distinguished and award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy, mystery and horror fiction. She is best known for her Benjamin January series of historical mysteries set in antebellum New Orleans, and her World War I historical horror series featuring James and Lydia Asher and Don Simon Ysidro.
Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.
Click HERE to read the review from tor.com.
Click HERE to read the review from the Historical Novel Society.
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