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The Barnes & Noble Review
The third installment of David and Aimée Thurlo's Lee Nez mystery saga (Second Sunrise and Blood Retribution) pits FBI Special Agent Diane Lopez and half-vampire Lee Nez (a.k.a. New Mexico State police officer Leo Hawk) against their most dangerous foe yet -- a vampire who has been driven insane after being the guinea pig in a series of torturous secret government experiments.
After three people are found brutally murdered near a remote government facility, Hawk and Lopez soon discover that the alleged research center is actually a high-tech torture chamber where a group of sadistic scientists are trying to forcefully figure out how Stewart Tanner can heal himself of wounds so quickly. But when a thunderstorm causes a temporary electrical outage, Tanner breaks free from his prison and begins a bloody killing spree across New Mexico. As Hawk and Lopez give chase, Leo must be doubly careful to disguise his vampiric abilities. After all, if Tanner is captured and killed, the government will need another test subject!
With all the nonstop action of E. E. Knight's Vampire Earth saga and the dark humor of Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire mysteries, the Thurlos' Lee Nez novels will appeal to mystery, horror, and dark fantasy fans alike. The seamless blend of mystery and horror will keep readers guessing -- and shaking -- until the very end. Paul Goat Allen
Publishers Weekly
In the Thurlos' fast-paced third adventure (after 2004's Blood Retribution) to feature Leo Hawk (aka Lee Nez), a half-vampire Navajo and New Mexico cop who "died" in 1945, Leo and FBI agent girlfriend Diane Lopez team up to hunt down Stewart Tanner, a vampire who's been driven insane by torture received in covert government experiments. In addition, the pair must contend with proliferating vampires in Four Corners who are causing major problems. Tanner is captured, but later escapes from his cell after an electrical outage and goes on a killing spree that leads Leo and Diane on a breathless chase. The story ends somewhat abruptly with a surprising discovery that points to secrets to be revealed in the next installment. As usual, the authors smoothly combine action and investigative procedure with insights into Navajo culture. Agent, Elaine Koster. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
What does it take to catch a vampire? Another vampire, of course. And if the model vampire is also a New Mexico state cop, the bad vampire is in for it. All right, so Officer Lee Nez is only half vampire, he's still got plenty of game-able to leap tall fences and run like an Olympiad. So how does one go about shrinking to half-vampire status? If one finds the full condition as onerous as Officer Lee did, one seeks the help of a savvy medicine man and in due time one emerges "only partially afflicted with the rare condition." That was back in '45, which makes Lee a nonagenarian in a Gen X body, glacial aging being one attribute of vampires. Return now to Stewart Tanner, the so-called bad vampire, though a more-sinned-against-than-sinning case could be readily made. Kidnapped and imprisoned by the evil government scientist, Dr. Victor Wayne, and cruelly used in a variety of inhuman experiments, Tanner finally breaks free. Enraged and vengeful, he goes on the killing spree that sets Lee in hot pursuit. In this, Lee is joined by his girlfriend, FBI agent Diane Lopez, not the first toothsome female to be charmed by the blood brotherhood. Most of the rest is vampire-chase, which turns out to be pretty much like cops-and-robbers chase. As vampire novels go, the third in the Lee Nez series (Second Sunrise, 2002, etc.) is solidly minor-league: thin characters, under-imagined plot and only low-grade blood-curdling.
