Waincroft Manor has long been tied to rumors of witchcraft and fatal curses, and to Nora Charles, that makes it the perfect place for a Halloween fundraiser. But her first trip to the deserted old mansion turns out to be truly ghoulish when she discovers a dead body. What’s more, the corpse is laid out in a coffin—with two bite marks on its neck. Then the autopsy comes back showing that the body was drained of blood, and there’s no stopping the local gossips from whispering the word vampire to anyone who will listen.
Determined to dispel the rumors and save the fundraiser, Nora sets out to prove the murderer was quite human after all. Sifting through the clues, she learns of a bitter family rivalry that spans generations, and a more recent conflict that may point to the motive for the murder. And when Nick spells out a clue that proves to be the missing piece of the puzzle, Nora knows she’ll have to watch her back—because there’s a killer out there who wants to keep some secrets buried, and they’ll happily bury Nora right along with them.
While I love this series, Nora makes me angry. She is intelligent and yet she makes such stupid and dangerous decisions. First of all, Nick the cat is a wonderful and intelligent cat, but Nora doesn’t seem to always understand him, or she is deliberately obtuse. In this case, there was no red herring. It was quite clear once introduced what Nick was trying to say. Which means I knew who the killers were right away.
Second, I cannot stand the officer versus amateur detective animosity. In this case, Dale Anderson seems jealous of Nora because of Samms, and Samms seems not at all supportive of Nora. Can we please get this whole situation fixed in the next book, please? It's frustrating and thus distracting.
Third, because I knew who the killers were, it was frustrating to see Nora ignoring the OBVIOUS clues. The ultimate motive was good. It's a classic theme but one that will never get old because it's still a reality. I just wish there had been more of a play with the “vampire” and the abandoned mansion.
Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
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