Bloodshot
By Cherie Priest
Release Date: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Bantam Spectra
Pages: 384 Pages
Price: $15.00

Plot Summary: Raylene Pendle (AKA Cheshire Red), a vampire and world-renowned thief, doesn’t usually hang with her own kind. She’s too busy stealing priceless art and rare jewels. But when the infuriatingly charming Ian Stott asks for help, Raylene finds him impossible to resist—even though Ian doesn’t want precious artifacts. He wants her to retrieve missing government files—documents that deal with the secret biological experiments that left Ian blind. What Raylene doesn’t bargain for is a case that takes her from the wilds of Minneapolis to the mean streets of Atlanta. And with a psychotic, power-hungry scientist on her trail, a kick-ass drag queen on her side, and Men in Black popping up at the most inconvenient moments, the case proves to be one hell of a ride. (from goodreads.com)

Review:
Bloodshot starts with a vampire, Raylene, who is also an expert thief. She’s also unaffiliated with any vampire House, and as it turns out, vampires in low supply in this universe — but that doesn’t mean the government isn’t after them or doesn’t know about them. Raylene is commissioned by Ian, a House-affiliated vampire, to find out more details about the government experiment that left him mostly blind. She agrees, and finds that the case evolves into something more interesting with the discovery of a teenage girl whose vampire transformation the government tried to cover up from everyone, especially her family.

Priest, who is better known for her sci-fi and steampunk material, ventures into new territory with this vampire novel, but does so in an authentic voice for the compelling Raylene, who has shades of Anita Blake in terms of her no-nonsense “don’t mess with me” voice, but she has the same endearing qualities as other urban fantasy heroines like Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson all while retaining her tough exterior.

Raylene was refreshing to follow as a protagonist, not only because her voice and tone come off as natural and not “trying too hard” to be tough, but also because she’s not whiny, mopey, doesn’t lament her existence, and doesn’t have a death wish every second. She’s resigned herself to the fact that she’s a vampire several years ago, and she’s unapologetic about it. I found Raylene a nice change from the usual “I hunt supernatural baddies for [insert generic reason x here]” stock that persists in the subgenre these days. And personally, the lack of a romantic subplot made me love this book even more — it’s nice to read a UF novel in which the protagonist’s love life isn’t a part of the equation, although Raylene does have a few choice moments with Ian.

One of my favourite characters had to be Sister Rose, a drag queen and sister to the disappeared vampire teenager, who just wants justice and wants to find out what became of her doomed younger sister. Priest also covered her bases well by establishing that although Rose is clearly a guy in drag, when he’s not in drag, he’s referred to as “he” but when he’s in drag, he’s referred to as “she.”

Overall this is a great, quick read if you’re looking for a female vampire protagonist who isn’t annoying, and if you’re more into the world-building and plot aspects as opposed to romance.

Rating: 4.5/5