23 Hours: A Vengeful Vampire Tale

June 22, 2009
Wellington's smooth fourth horror novel to feature vampire hunting, lesbian ex-cop Laura Caxton (after Vampire Zero) finds Laura behind bars at Pennsylvania's Marcy State Correctional Institute, where she's serving a five-year sentence for kidnapping and torturing a federal prisoner-a sociopath who'd killed his whole family to impress a vampire. Meanwhile, Justina Malvern, the world's oldest living vampire, is at large, wreaking havoc. Then Justina shows up at Marcy State, already hungry for convict blood. Justina gives Laura 23 hours to decide whether to become a vampire or die. Wellington's deadpan humor enlivens the satirical goth-gore proceedings as Laura battles the half-dead and their evil leader.

June 1, 2009
Strange as it may seem, the key to good supernatural fiction is realism. Readers have to believe in the world that has been created in order to suspend their disbelief of the creatures set loose in it, and Wellington ("Monster Planet") excels here. Most of the action takes place inside a women's prison, where vampire hunter Laura Caxton has been incarcerated and is being stalked by Earth's last vampire, Justinia Malvern. This could easily have dissolved into B-movie stereotype but instead seems intensely researched and utterly believable. The characters are likewise fully formed and consistent. VERDICT Since this is the third book in a series (after "13 Bullets", full-text available on the author's web site, and "99 Coffins"), series readers may expect the principals to escape, but the cleverly managed ending avoids predictability. Wellington's voice continues to grow. Highly recommended for horror and vampire fiction fans.Karl G. Siewert, MLIS, Tulsa City-Cty. Lib., OK

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