Immortal
Laws
A
Bryson Coventry Mystery
Jim
Michael Hansen
Dark
Sky (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-9769243-5-8 (0976924358)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9769243-5-7 (9780976924357)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $13.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry is thrust into his most bizarre, terrifying and twisted case yet as he hunts for the killer of a woman who was murdered with a wooden stake through her heart as if she was a vampire. Meanwhile, beautiful young blues singer Heather Vaughn learns that she has been targeted for a similar death. She frantically searches for answers, not only to save her life but also to find out whether dormant genes from an ancient past are buried inside her. As time runs out, both she and Coventry find themselves swept deeper and deeper into the throes of a modern-day thriller born of ancient and deadly obsessions.
Review:
Denver homicide detective Bryson Coventry investigates two separate
cases, the disappearance of a local television reporter and the
vampire-style murder of woman, a wooden stake driven through her heart,
in Immortal
Laws, the sixth thriller in
this series by Jim Michael Hansen.
After spending an evening out on the town with Bryson, Jena Vernon
disappears from her home without a trace. Though Bryson is not a
suspect in her disappearance, he is a person of interest and therefore
prohibited from officially investigating her high-profile case. That
doesn't stop him from unofficially pursuing clues that lead him to
similar unsolved cases in other parts of the country where the missing
woman was later found murdered. He believes he's in a race against time
to prevent the same for Jena. The case to which he has been officially
assigned is most bizarre: a woman has been found murdered with a wooden
stake embedded in her chest. He doesn't necessarily believe in the
existence of vampires himself, but knows all too well that others may
and sets out to find this self-styled vampire slayer before anyone else
loses their life.
The large cast of characters in Immortal
Laws
is effectively managed by having them appear, for the most part
independently, in accounts from three points of view: that of Bryson, a
purported vampire Heather Vaughn, and the vampire slayer Trent
Tibadeau. It should be noted that the vampires depicted in this novel
are not the stereotypical characters from legend and film; they are
fairly typical, everyday human beings who happen to be blood
descendants from people considered to be immortal vampires in their
day. In a rather oddly compelling way, that the author chooses to
represent them as relatively "normal" makes them all the more unusual.
Of the three narratives, that of Bryson's unofficial investigation of
the missing reporter is in many ways, and certainly somewhat ironically
given he's the series character, the least interesting. A sense of
danger or urgency is never established and even though it is presumed
that the storylines will intersect at some point, Bryson's unofficial
case remains essentially orthogonal to the others up to the final pages
and even then never seems fully integrated into the story. His murder
investigation is also weakly delivered and is clearly secondary to his
search for Jena.
Of far more interest are the narratives of Heather and Trent. These are
well-rounded, nuanced, captivating characters that inexorably draw the
reader into their spheres. Each takes a cat-and-mouse approach to the
other, with their suspense-filled pathways culminating in a climatic
encounter, the outcome of which cannot be foreseen. A couple of
seemingly minor and tangential subplots and a disappointing final
"twist" are all that mar the courses these characters take.
There are many reasons to recommend this book, but in the end, the
intriguing, most unusual plot of Immortal
Laws
is what makes it a worthy addition to this fine series.
Special thanks to Jim Michael Hansen for providing a copy of Immortal Laws for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Immortal Laws? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Night
Laws
Dark Sky (Hardcover), March 2006
ISBN-10: 0-97692430-7 (0976924307)
ISBN-13: 978-0-97692430-2 (9780976924302)
Shadow
Laws
Dark Sky (Hardcover), October 2006
ISBN-10: 0-97692434-X (097692434X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-97692434-0 (9780976924340)
Fatal
Laws
Dark Sky (Hardcover), June 2007
ISBN-10: 0-97692436-6 (0976924366)
ISBN-13: 978-0-97692436-4 (9780976924364)
Deadly
Laws
Dark Sky (Hardcover), October 2007
ISBN-10: 0-97692433-1 (0976924331)
ISBN-13: 978-0-97692433-3 (9780976924333)
Bangkok Laws
Dark Sky (Trade Paperback), March 2008
ISBN-10: 0-9769243-1-5 (0976924315)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9769243-1-9 (9780976924319)
Immortal Laws
Dark Sky (Trade Paperback), September 2008
ISBN-10: 0-9769243-5-8 (0976924358)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9769243-5-7 (9780976924357)
Voodoo Laws
Dark Sky (Trade Paperback), March 2009
ISBN-10: 0-9769243-7-4 (0976924374)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9769243-7-1 (9780976924371)
Ancient Laws
Dark Sky (Trade Paperback), September 2009
ISBN-10: 0-9769243-2-3 (0976924323)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9769243-2-6 (9780976924326)
Omnimystery
keywords for Immortal Laws
...
Location(s) referenced: Denver,
Colorado.
