X-Rated Blood Suckers: Mario Acevedo

When we first met Felix Gomez in The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, he was fresh into the private investigation business, more or less as something to do after ending up as a vampire while stationed in Iraq.

Yes, the timeline is contemporary but very workable. ...and while we're at it, just ignore the suggestive titles; they're an excellent marketing tool but really aren't descriptive of the books' contents. Okay, so maybe there was an outbreak of nymphomania secondary to exposure to a UFO artifact in the first novel...and yes, the vampires of this novel are tied in with the porn industry in Southern California. But really, that's just plot stuff to... okay. Yeah...but there's nothing but the title to keep you away from what turns out to be one darned fine murder mystery with a PI who is from the New School and is learning his trade on the job in some really tight spots. Oh, and his mentor in this one is from the days of the conquistadors. And pees fire when he's had an afternoon rum and lemonade. Really.

X-RBS has more off the wall events than the first book but they are just window dressings around a view into land use fraud, infiltration of city government by vampires determined to run their own show outside the boundaries set by their Araneum, and multiple murders (witnesses keep dying just as Felix gets to them.) Oh, and vampire-human collusion; that's just not done and why Felix has been given instructions to handle the situation to whatever extent is needed. Sure, just blow into a strange town, figure out who the bad guys and gals are, whack them, clean up Dodge, and figure out who killed the girl...

Does Felix get the girl? Sure, one of them but don't get excited: he gives her back. ...and does he have one of they keenest eyes for detail in the business? Yes, of course. Can Mario Acevedo build a story? Heck yes! Where the first book was a bit of a romp and easy enough to work through over several days, this one grabbed me and didn't let go. Foreshadowing is in place, but done lightly enough to keep you from seeing too far ahead, and the action moves so quickly you really have no choice but to hang on and go along for the ride. More or less like Felix has to do with that old pickup Coyote is driving, boards nailed to the floorboards and all. If there were a soundtrack to this novel, Los Lobos would be doing it.

Recommended? Yes. Summer reading? If you can hold out that long. Don't start it until you're settled in!
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Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Rayo (February 27, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0060833270
ISBN-13: 978-0060833275
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