A Vampire Chef Mystery, by Sarah Zettel, Obsidian, July 2011
Chef Charlotte Caine and her vampire brother, Chet, own Nightlife, a restaurant that caters to vampires, paranormals and their guests. They've worked long hours and gone without a full salary to overcome anti-vampire sentiment and build their business into a must-go-to place to see and be seen in New York City. So they are thrilled when NYC's best undead dining critic, Anatole Sevarin, shows up one evening to sample their menu. One good review from Sevarin, and Nightlife could be catapulted into the top-tier of Big Apple restaurants.
Their excitement is quickly extinquished when a spurned warlock threatens one of the diners with a handball of fire and sets off the sprinklers, drenching tables, chairs and guests with fire retardant. But that is just a warm-up to what they face the next morning when Charlotte returns from a successful early morning trip to the farmers market. Juggling grocery bags and keys, she enters the restaurant and discovers the warlock's body sprawled on the floor near the host station with two bite marks in his neck and Chet nowhere to be found. Now she must rely on both the charismatic vampire dining critic and the warlock's gorgeous cousin Brendan to help find her brother, solve the murder and save her restaurant's reputation.
This is a delightful story with lots of fun dialogue and surprising twists and turns. The protagonist, Charlotte Caine, is smart, witty and dedicated to protecting her brother. She blames herself for Chet's transition to vampire life and has looked out for him since their parents fled to the Southwest. She is a creative chef and cooks to relieve stress, to the enjoyment and benefit of her roommates, Trish, a midtown attorney, and Jesse, a makeup sales consultant.
This is the first book in a new series that I hope will continue for several years. The book's characters are not your typical, every day vampires and warlocks, and the story is fresh and fast-paced. Kudos to the author for this quirky and entertaining book. I'm already saving up my pennies to purchase the next book in the series, Let Them Eat Stake.
* The next book in the series, Let Them Eat Stake, will be released in April 2012.
PROTAGONIST: A 30-year-old, intelligent and witty, female chef and owner of Nightlife, a restaurant catering to vampires, paranormals and their guests
ACTION: Struggles in a dark alley, fight for life in a bright kitchen
LOVE INTERESTS: A charismatic and handsome vampire, a gorgeous and caring warlock
ROMANCE: Great kisses and lots of electricity
QUIRKINESS: Vampire dining critic, transitioned brother, vamp tramp
INTERESTING TIDBITS: Inner workings of an upscale restaurant's kitchen, big city restaurant staffing issues, who visits NYC early morning farmers markets
FUN FACTOR: Lighthearted, witty dialogue, cute jokes, funny situations
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Wishcraft Mysteries by Juliet Blackwell, Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, Bewitching Mysteries by Madelyn Alt, Ophelia & Abby Mysteries by Shirley Damsgaard