Night Life: Ray Garton

Night Life is the sequel to Live Girls and takes place 18 years after the events chronicled in Live Girls, which was nominated for the Bram Stoker award. I have to wonder if this is a form of method writing as the real time between the two books was approximately 18 years.

"Live Girls" was a peep show off Times Square in New York run by vampires. We learn two things from the constant re-telling of the story in Night Life.

1. There are two types of vampire. The brutals, who prey and feed on humans, and a group never really named, but prefer to live peacefully style among the humans, feeding off of bottled blood.

2. Do not stick your engorged member into strange holes.

Live Girls introduced us to Davey Owens, a main character in Night Life. Davey is turned into a vampire after a visit to the peep show, “saved” by a reporter friend and together, they blew up the club. Threatened with exposure the brutal vampires set out to silence all witnesses and seek revenge, which drove Davey to move to Los Angeles, while his friend disappears into upstate New York.

I have never read Live Girls mind you, but the story is told three, maybe four times in Night Life. By time I was finished reading Night Life, I felt no need to read Live Girls.

Even so, the story seems forgotten by all except the occasional tabloid, or is it? Enter successful horror writer Martin Burgess, who has spent the last 18 years wondering if the vampires are real. Tired of searching on his own Martin hires Karen Moffet and Gavin Keoph to investigate.

The detectives do not take long to decide to take the case (money talks) even though as Gavin puts it, “I think you are one taco shy of a combo plate”, when Martin asks his opinion of the assignment. It does not take long for this duo of super sleuths to locate Walter Benedek, the reporter who wrote the breaking story, and win his trust. Arrangements are made to meet Davey Owen and his wife Casey, now successful screenwriters of romantic comedies in Los Angeles.

Uh-oh. Martin’s amateur attempts to investigate have alerted the brutals. Bet you did not see that coming? While Gavin and Karen are interviewing Davey & Casey, the call comes; Walter has been murdered by the brutals. But he did take at least one with him. Go Walter! From here, things become more intense as the brutals step up the pressure to convince Gavin and Karen to induce Martin this investigation needs to close.

The book is not, in my opinion, one of Garton’s best. Unlike the prequel I doubt this would be nominated for a Bram Stoker award. I think the best description comes from the book itself. An interview with the writer Martin Burgess is referenced on page 9, in which it is said he refers to his work as “..the literary equivalent of an order of spicy nachos”.

While seemingly not destined to be a classic, Night Life is fun to read in much the same way, as a bad movie can be fun to watch. So grab a plate of nachos, a glass of your favorite beverage and prepare to be entertained for a couple of hours.
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Publisher: Leisure (April 3, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0843956755
ISBN-13: 978-0843956757
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