"delightful horror thriller"

In the Michigan Emergency Room Dr. Carrie Ames is in the morgue when a vampire attacks her. She slowly recuperates from the assault, but she is no longer the same person as in her efforts to thwart the molestation, she exchanged blood with Cyrus the vampire; she is now a creature of the night.

Carrie struggles with the "Big Change as no one is there to nurture or guide her. She seeks information that leads her to an occult bookstore owned by Nathan the vampire. He tries to provide her some support as she transforms. Nathan also warns her to be careful of a vampiric group, the Movement that wants to commit suicidal genocide by killing all of their kind while the opposite side is 200 proof evil as they attack innocent people. Nathan insists Cyrus is one of the malevolent types, using his assailing her as his anecdotal example. She must choose one side or the other as there is no third position; whatever she chooses someone plans to kill her for selecting wrong.

The first book of the Blood Ties tales is a delightful horror thriller with some romantic and chick lit elements that enhance the overall impact of a swell written vampire story. The heroine is a wonderful protagonist as she struggles with the Big Change and an attraction to two individuals from feuding camps. Though gory and even unintended comical at times, THE TURNING is a terrific debut novel.

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 18, 2006

Summary

I'm no coward. I want to make that perfectly clear. But after my life turned into a horror movie, I take fear a lot more seriously now. I finally became Dr. Carrie Ames just eight months ago. Then I was attacked in the hospital morgue by a vampire. Just my luck.
So now I'm a vampire, and it turns out I have a blood tie to the monster who sired me. The tie works like an invisible leash and I'm bound to him no matter what I do. And of course he's one of the most evil vampires on earth. With my sire hell-bent on turning me into a soulless killer and his sworn enemy set to exterminate me, things couldn't get much worse -- except I'm attracted to them both.

Drinking blood, living as an immortal demon and being a pawn between two warring vampire factions isn't exactly how I'd imagined my future. But as my father used to say, the only way to conquer fear is to face it. So that's what I'll do. Fangs bared.