BOOK REVIEW: Bloodshot -- Cherie Priest

SOURCE:  Audiobook dramatization by Natalie Rose

The first audiobook I ever listened to put me to sleep faster than my Econ textbooks. So did the second.  Audio was the best cure for insomnia I've ever tried.

Thanks to vendors such as Brilliance Audio and narrators like Natalie Rose, we do not have to just listen to someone reading the text. Cherie Priest's narrative is  lively, but Rose's voicing adds dimension and strength to the story that will keep you up past your bedtime listening.

So, what's the story?  Raylene Pendle's an international jewel thief known to the authorities as Cheshire Red and known on the streets by a series of pseudonyms. She's a vampire -- and what sparkles about Raylene is her witty repartee and the knife she'll stick in your back if you mess with her.  Raylene doesn't play well with her own kind, but Ian Stott charms her. He's not looking for jewels or to embroil her in vampiric politics. He needs her help finding out about a government program called Bloodshot that might make Dr. Mengele blink. Under the guise of helping the troops, the US Army tortured and destroyed the senses of vampires they held captive. Ian lost his sight due to the "experiments" and he believes if he can recover the files, a Canadian physician might be able to help.

I actually heard these books out of order. Hellbent is the first audio I heard and that was so good my husband got interested in the story on a road trip. Suspect I will be listening to Hellbent again now that I know what the set up is.

Characterization is good. The dialogue is witty and fast-paced. It's very difficult not to slip in the next disc in the series once you're done with the first. Well worth a listen--or a read, whichever you choose.

Rebecca McFarland Kyle, September 2012