WIN an autographed copy of Bitternest by Alan Draven!

Here's a vampire novel for you to celebrate Halloween! Comment to this post by 11:59PM EST on Sunday, October 21st to be entered this copy of Bitternest, signed by the author Alan Draven. Please be sure to include an email address where you can be reached if you do not have a Blogger profile or if your profile is not public. One winner will be chosen at random. Good luck!

Bitternest: A Novel
By Alan Draven
ISBN: 978-0-595-43204-2
Paperback, ©2007, iUniverse
Review ©2007 Sabrina Williams for Front Street Reviews

Under the surface, the town of Bitternest, Louisiana is a hotbed for all things supernatural. Rumors of vampires quietly circulate among citizens. The most famous crime boss in the area, Tezano Cortez, even purchased a mansion owned by a known practitioner of the dark arts.

For officer Terry Graves and his partner, Miguel Vallejo, the possibility of a sinister underground is about to manifest itself. While investigating a murder, Graves finds himself being led to an impromptu meeting with a vampire named Cyrus. Cyrus has a business proposition for the officers.

The recent epidemic of avian influenza has taken its toll on the human population of the city, as Graves already knows too well since he lost his young wife to the virus recently. The vampires have found their own threat in the pandemic. It seems a vampire bite makes one immune to the effects of the virus, but in the process, transforms the human into a zombie-like hybrid vampire. They're not as strong or stealthy as a full vampire, but in large numbers, they pose a significant threat to the dwindling vampire population of the city. Cyrus enlists the police department's aid in defeating their mutual enemies, called "bloodmongers."

The bloodmongers are one step ahead of them. They infiltrate the local hospital, already filled to the brim with victims of avian influenza, and transform the inhabitants into an army of bloodmongers. As they emerge into the city, they leave behind a trail of carnage.

With an entire species of bloodmongers to defeat, Graves and Vallejo already have their hands full. But another threat is looming among the bloodmongers, and this one is a race of witch children who leave no prisoners. While a cure is being developed for the bloodmongers, the officers must discover the origins of these vicious carnivorous children before they take over the city.

I'm a bit of a nitpicker when reading, and noticed a major contradiction that I couldn't overlook. On the very first page of the book, Draven states that Graves' wife, Tracie, was twenty-eight when she died. Then on page 67, as Graves mourns at Tracie's gravesite, the tombstone lists Tracie's lifespan from 1973-2006, which would make her thirty-three at the time of her death.

Nits aside, Alan Draven certainly creates some original plot twists in Bitternest. Combining both a supernatural horror novel and a medical thriller solicits a much wider audience than Bitternest might normally find. It is pretty gory at times, but the mystery aspect of the novel keeps the reader intellectually stimulated. The characters include vampires, bloodmongers, witch children, angels, demons, police officers, crime lords, rebellious teens, conspiracy theorists...and the list goes on. Though it can become a bit overwhelming, there's something for every reader. It's definitely a great first novel, and I'd love to see more from Draven in the future.