Stake

June 1, 2020
In this diverting mystery from Anderson (Death Warmed Over), told with wit and brio from the viewpoints of three main characters, Det. Todd Carrow, of the Colorado Springs PD, seeks a rational explanation for the stake-through-the-heart murders he’s investigating. Alexis Tarada, the creator of a website that posts items that might be true (bigfoot sightings, conspiracy theories, and, of course, vampire speculation), desperately seeks proof of the paranormal. Alexis finds the contributions of one of her dedicated followers, Simon Helsing, “careful, rational compilations of subtle evidence,” despite their disturbing intensity. Simon believes he has found a kindred spirit in Alexis. Meanwhile, Lucius, a minor player who leads a mysterious commune in the Pike National Forest, has his own agenda. As the number of macabre deaths rises, Alexis, who forms an uneasy alliance with Carrow, comes to realize that perhaps “the only way to stop a bad guy with fangs... is a good guy with a stake.” Fans of lighter vampire fare will want to check this one out. Agent: John Silbersack, Bent Agency.

June 1, 2020
Dauntingly prolific Anderson steps away from his farcical series starring Dan Shamble, zombie PI, for a much more straight-faced search for vampires in Colorado Springs. Back from his traumatizing service in the Bosnian War, David Grundy takes the name Simon Helsing as a cover for his newfound peacetime vocation: hunting vampires. Following up on a list of characters he considers suspicious mainly because they work at night, he drives a stake through the heart of convenience store clerk Mark Stallings and eliminates Douglas Eldridge, a fellow Bosnia vet, before a killing he didn't count on sends him into hiding. Helsing's only remaining ties are to Lucius, the head of the Bastion, a shadowy group dedicated to rooting out vampires wherever they can be found, and to Alexis Tarada, a freelance researcher whose website, HideTruth.com, does its impartial best to weigh the evidence for and against supernatural beings, evidence that Detective Todd Carrow, of the Colorado Springs Police Department, would reflexively brand as paranoid raving. Like Helsing, who shares his list of suspected vampires with Alexis, Carrow is willing to play along with her but only up to a point: "Vampires don't have to be real, but the killer certainly is." So although they might frame the question in different terms, all three leading characters would agree that the main questions here are whether there really are vampires and what we should do if there are. Competent but unmemorable, especially by Anderson's own standards.

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July 1, 2020
In Colorado Springs, David Grundy, a former NATO medical corpsman who now calls himself Simon Helsing, is hunting down vampires and killing them. He's part of a secret global organization called the Bastion, which is dedicated to eradicating vampires from the world. Or is he? Is it possible he's a serial killer with a serious case of the crazies (even more than most)? What will Detective Todd Carrow and online journalist Lexi Tarada find when they follow the trail of bodies to its source? The great thing about Anderson is that he's comfortable writing in a variety of genres (thrillers, space opera, horror with a lightly comic twist, sword-and-sorcery, historical fantasy, etc.), and that he adjusts his writing style to suit the material. Stake has its own voice, different from, for example, the author's books about zombie PI Dan Shamble. It's a freshly told tale that effectively incorporates elements of mystery and horror, with a trio of central characters who, each in their own way, command the reader's attention. A fine new novel from a writer who consistently delivers the goods.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)