Late Bite: Vampire On Trial
The Toronto Vampire Chronicles, Book 1
By John Matsui
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror, Action Thriller
Police capture Dragul Mangorian in Toronto’s sewers on a series of blood-sucking assaults. Media worldwide and local citizens and politicians buzz with news the perp is ‘a real vampire.’
Mangorian’s blazing yellow eyes, cadaverous 6’-6” frame, three-inch fangs, taste for human blood and near takedown of a heavily-armed SWAT team persuades the usual public defenders to contract the flu. It falls to down-on-his-luck lawyer Al Hamblyn not just to defend this fearsome creature on the charges but to ensure he beats down a crack prosecution team’s efforts to deny Mangorian his legal rights on the basis that he’s not quite human.
Hamblyn learns Mangorian is the sole-surviving member of the Homo Sanguinus, a sub-species of Homo Sapiens that through evolution evolved to feed on human blood.
The lawyer seizes the opportunity to revive a disastrous career and win back his former wife and family. First, however, he must overcome his fears in mounting a defence for a client who appears to have stepped out of a nightmare.
Late Bite has been described as “A Path Breaking Novel” that’s “Fast and Fun” and gives an entirely “Fresh Take On Vampires.” The main character Dragul Mangorian is a non-sparkly blood sucker who both charms readers and keeps them guessing until the final page.
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Author’s Bio
John Matsui is a former daily newspaper writer, turned public relations guy, turned business consultant, turned Internet entrepreneur, and finally author of thriller mashups that stick to a single genre like confetti in a hurricane.
His storylines and characters, like his work life, rush everywhere at once and still arrive at the finish line with all plot threads neatly and satisfyingly knotted or so readers have told us. Unless you have a habit of reading the last pages of a book first, you clearly enjoy this form of topsy-turvy, jigsaw mystery. That or you decided to see how far from the beaten path John could go.
People who [enjoyed] [hated] [laughed] [cried] [got sick over] [have no idea what to think about] John’s writing are invited to visit the website or email the author and tell him they [loved] [despised] [shared] [ripped apart] [borrowed a copy of] [bought a copy of] his books and that they plan to [buy his other books] [recommend him] [start a bonfire with it] [spread it as fake news].
John’s other novels, Lycanthrope Rising: The True Story Behind The Vampire-Werewolf Wars — The Toronto Vampire Chronicles, Book 2 and Gravity Games, A Nathan Sherlock Foodie Thriller, are available as eBooks through most popular online vendors. The paperback version can be ordered on Amazon or clicking the link on John’s Amazon author page.
John and wife Judy live in Wortley Village, a quaint neighbourhood in London, Ontario, far from Toronto’s clash of vampires, werewolves, superheroes and high housing prices.
My Review
4 stars
Dragul Mangorian is found in the sewers of Toranto. Dragul is the last of the branch off of homo sapiens called homo sanguinis and survives by drinking the blood of homo sapiens. He is taken to court and has his attorney, Al Hamblyn has to fight for Dragul to be treated as an equal. Yes, he does drink blood to survive but he takes away the bad memories and leaves the victim better off.
This court room drama leads Dragul to become a late night talk show host. But this is just the beginning. Those victims that have testified are being found murdered. Of course, Dragul is the main suspect but is he really the killer or is he a victim himself?
I loved the idea for this book. Dragul is not the traditional vampire that we always think about, thank goodness he doesn’t sparkle either. As I went along with this story, I found myself actually sympathizing with Dragul. He has to do what he does to live but he is the last of his species.
Just when you think that the story is done with the court case it takes off again as people are turning up dead. It starts to make you think that maybe Dragul is not as innocent as he seems. And the killer, I loved them. I didn’t expect them and I loved the ending.
This is a great story with a fresh take on vampires that I think will please many people. This is one book to check out.
I received Late Bite from Sage’s Blog Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
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