"Chicago detective Selena, the companion of the vampire Istvan, is drawn into his world by murder"

Selena Crawford is a detective on a Chicago homicide team -- she is also the companion of the vampire Istvan, who is called the Enforcer's Enforcer. (An Enforcer is a cop in the vampire world -- they uphold the Laws of the Blood.) She hasn't seen him in a while though, and while he's been gone, Selena has joined a companions support group and started to consider the merits of an organized rebellion against the vampire masters.

Istvan returns, following the trail of a murderer, and the bloodbond draws them back together. The vampire corpse she finds drags Selena deeper into Istvan's world and into the hands of one of her master's ancient enemies.

Though COMPANIONS isn't considered a romance, it has a nice romance subplot in it. The relationship between Istvan (Steve, as Selena calls him) and Selena is refreshing. Also, the entire story is peppered with Selena's Roma- descended family, which is great fun. There are flashbacks and visions -- long pages of italics -- but the book is easily readable and the history is given in short, manageable chunks. There is one scene of Istvan's abuse at the hands of a vampire (as a young man) but it isn't stomach-turningly graphic.

This is the 3rd book in the Laws of the Blood series, though it isn't necessary to read the first two novels. The Hunt (book one) does give background on the Enforcers, though.

COMPANIONS is a fun vampire adventure book, and is recommended especially to those who enjoy Hamilton's Anita Blake books, although there isn't nearly as much sensuality.

Ann Leveille © Copyright 2002
For ParaNormal Romance Reviews

Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Posted March 18, 2002