I have been a secret member of the vampire literary fiction club, and my fascination with the genre, of course started with the original but was considerably sparked when I read (and here I really want to kick myself because I, for the life of me, cannot remember the title or the author!!!!) a haunting retelling and character analysis of the literary count  maybe 15 years ago. I loaned the book to my father–who I KNEW would appreciate it, being a psychoanalyst and intrigued by the same subject–who promptly LOST the book. And so, the story has forever lingered in my mind, but the reference has evaded me. Now, with the resurgence of vampire lore,  I may have the opportunity to read similar works, deliciously tantalizing and haunting, firing the imagination. I have read many, many reviews of the various vampire fiction out there right now, and Karen Essex’s book seems to come closest to what I yearn for in a Dracula novel. She is a fellow member of the HNS, someone I know is an excellent writer, and will have surely infused her book with meticulous historical detail, imagination, and insight as well as an engaging plot.

Now I just have to wait for it to arrive…