Rating: 4 stars (Spotlight Review)

In this clever, hilarious mystery from the team of Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Creepshow) and author Michael Scott (The Alchemyst), the land of make-believe is turned into a bloodbath when three A-list Hollywood stars die in a span of two weeks. The gory, violent and very inventive murder scenes have every celeb living in fear of the killer the tabloids have dubbed the “Cinema Slayer.”

Ovsanna Moore is one of them. Ageless and beautiful, she is the head of Anticipation studio and known worldwide as the Scream Queen and star of 17 blockbuster movies (and a few that went straight to DVD.) She is also a woman with a lot of secrets to protect: she's a 500-year-old vampyre, and the CEO of the Vampires of Hollywood. And the three stars were all from her clan.

Peter King is a BHPD detective; a decorated hero, admittedly not so bright, almost handsome enough for the movies, and the son of a movie-obsessed mother with a booming Ebay business selling memorabilia. He is also quite a tenacious investigator when he is assigned the biggest case of his career. When it becomes clear the Cinema Slayer is targeting Ovsanna, Peter is determined to find out the killer's identity...and just who is Ovsanna Moore? Is she the victim, or the murderer?

Barbeau and Scott have created the epitome of an over-the-top cliché: Hollywood vampyres, complete with name-dropping, designer labels, and product placement. Tinseltown is filled with bloodsuckers and through Ovsanna, Barbeau drives that point home with her sharp-witted insider's view of the movie industry. Michael Scott provides an excellent balance with the voice of a snarky, jaded detective hot on the trail, but seemingly always half a step behind. Peter's scene-stealing mother is a priceless addition to the cast, as is Maral, Ovsanna's "personal assistant." Although cool and efficient on the surface, she's full of all sorts of surprises.

Mixed with just the right touch of racy romance and a fresh take on the vampyre genre, this splatterfest is guaranteed to keep you up all night.