I enjoyed this book more than Sunglasses After Dark. I thought it was more tightly-plotted, and it has a happier ending. There's far less of the confusing dream/flashback/trippy stuff from Sunglasses After Dark, which makes more room for plot.In Sunglasses After Dark, we meet Sonja Blue, a vampire who never died, which is rare and strange. Therefore, she lives with a foot in both worlds, and has the split personality to prove it. She's capable of great violence, but she has pesky human emotions holding her back from being just like every other Pretender (non-human critter passing for human).In the Blood continues Sonja's story. She's searching for Morgan, the monster who unwittingly created her following a violent rape. She has a private detective following her, set on her trail by the ancient vampire Pangloss. Palmer, the detective, is just out of prison for his supposed involvement in a murder plot, and he's started to see things he can't explain.This book has a greater variety of Pretenders. There are a few demons Sonja interacts with, there's a kitsune, past lives play a part, and the seraphim make another appearance, with an expanded role. There are also ghosts inhabiting a bizarrely-constructed haunted house, calling to mind Stephen King's Rose Red (doubtless inspired by the same source material). It serves to flesh out the world, and fill the page count with a lot more than disturbing rape and violence and subjugation.While the climactic battle does take place psychically, as in the first book, I found it easier to follow in this book than in the previous. I also felt more invested in Sonja's success, that the stakes were higher for her failure. Morgan is pure evil, and his every action, every choice within the book reinforces that he deserves to be destroyed. That investment kept me up well into the wee hours, flipping pages to find out what happens next.This book brings out more of Sonja's human side, but we still see flashes of the monster she is underneath. Palmer is equally attracted and repulsed, and we can't blame him.I've already added the next book to my to-reads. After the first, I wasn't sure if I could stomach the violence and rape enough to go through the whole series. But, if all of the following books are as good at this one, it's well worth it.
I found this second run of Sonja Blue better than the first book. Now that we know the nitty gritty (and I mean gritty) background of Sonja's "birth", we move forward in her chase of Morgan. I did find it odd, though, that the main POV was from Palmer and not Sonja. I hope it goes back to her as it is her series. :)PI Palmer gets roped into finding Sonja and delivering a letter. She ends up saving his life and he decides to stay with her to learn about the Real World which has been opened up to him. This is good for both of them. They each need the companionship of someone who (kinda) understands and this brings a little piece of happiness to the story. Sonja finally hunts down Morgan and she discovers two other vampires who are not dead, like her. This makes her so happy that she is not alone. They are a couple and Anise is pregnant. You know this baby is going to be important later on.
What do You think about In The Blood (1992)?
This is a fantastic read. I thought it was going to be a straight vampire novel but it was so much more. A private investigator has his own bad experience, then starts a supernatural roller coaster meeting vampires, werewolves, ogres, demons, ghosts, elementals and myriad other creatures from mythology and fairy tales. Palmer's dialogue is realistic and funny, Sonja is sufficiently mysterious and deadly to impress and it all hangs together in a fun ride that you'll breeze through quickly and then wish there was more !!!
—Sivitrii
Palmer is a PI who mistakes the mistake of falling in lust with his client. When she kills her husband, she shoots Palmer in the chest trying to make it appear that he did the deed. The police don't believe her and she kills herself after incriminating Palmer. Palmer is looking at twenty years when he gets an offer from a Doctor Pangloss that is too good to believe, if Palmer will work for him, Pangloss will make everything go away. Palmer agrees and Pangloss asks him for one single thing, to deliver an envelope to his granddaughter, Sonja Blue.I really liked this story. I felt that you got a lot more feel about what motivates Sonja Blue. The story is well paced and the characters are very intriguing. In the Blood just leaves you wanting more Sonja Blue.
—Yvonne Boag
