
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had not read a book about vampires since I was a teenager, many years ago, so I was a little intrigued about what I would find in Behind Blue Eyes. The amazing recent upsurge in popularity for the genre through the likes of Buffy and co. completely passed me by. The book seemed to be typical to begin with as one of the characters, Vasile, is from Transylvania. However, D M Wolfenden has written a story that takes place over very many years, including aspects of romance, tragedy and loyalty plus, of course the inevitable horror that must accompany a vampire when overcome by his or her blood lust. The author keeps the reader’s interest throughout the book with a fast-paced tale full of incident and intrigue. We have strong hints of morality and torment from vampire Cain, one of the main characters, who is constantly revolted by his own acts of violence. He seeks some kind of redemption through his love for Mia, the young girl that he hopes to protect and save from the evil of a world that has completely enveloped Cain.
The undoubted evil side of things is well represented in the book by Vasile, amongst others. I find it difficult to describe Behind Blue Eyes as a pleasant read, but it had plenty of twists and is a definite page-turner in the tradition of any thriller. Although I was not converted back to the horror/vampire genre this book was very different to what I expected and I enjoyed it. A very human story of kindness and understanding permeates D M Wolfenden’s narrative and I think that, for a first novel, this author has demonstrated great story telling talent. For me it lacked exposition, which I suspect was sacrificed to maintain the fast pace of the book. It is to be hoped that she continues to write more for her inevitable fans.
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