I don’t often read funny books…I don’t know why, I probably should, maybe it would jolt me out of the perpetual bad mood I seem to be in these days, but the fact remains, I usually pass up the humor for a good spurge of gore or zombies with anger management issues; so when my husband handed me a book with probably one of the most intriguing titles I have read in a while… I just couldn’t say no.
“The Reformed Vampire Support Group” by “Catherine Jinks” was hilarious. Not in a joke-after-joke-pun-after-pun way, but more the this-is-so-awkward-you-can’t-help-but-laugh-at-it funny. Think “A Fish Called Wanda” meets “Grumpy Old Men” (come on…picture it…got it? Funny isn’t it.)
The plot is written from Nina’s perspective…she’s a vampire (duh) but not the kind we normally think about. No, Nina and her band of vampire misfits are whiney, sickly, paranoid schizophrenics that spend more time in group therapy and fanging helpless gerbils than that do actually living their lives. That is, of course, until Cassimir (the original vamp) turns up ashes in his coffin and Nina decides she just can’t take her pathetic life anymore. Her and friends (Dave the downer vamp, and a Catholic Priest) set out on a mission to track down the slayer and bring things back to order, only… after turning up at the wrong house they get more than could ever bargain for. (Lets just say a very angry puppy shows up.) The entire book is based around the groups fumbling attempts to be better than they are and to stop a slew of crimes that… incidentally they actually caused themselves.
There is an 80 year old granny vamp with bad hips and a crocheting fixation, a prescription sunglasses incident that has Nina a little wobbly, lots of angry bedroom captives, a failed arson attempt, a loopy newbie vamp that hurls while trying to hostage negotiate, creepy basements, and 1 very distressed mail carrier that jumps out of a 2nd story window.
The writing was charming, as if Nina was letting you in on little secret but sparing you the gory details, and the plot was extremely twisty turny but well executed. I laughed out loud several times, and at one point had the most bizarre, in my head, movie playing…but I will whole heartedly admit that I enjoyed it. So much so that I might actually consider reading the brighter side of life more often.
Happy reading my fellow Groupers and remember: if at first you don’t succeed, cower in a corner till the bad man goes away.
For a complete book description click image
[Rating:3.5/5]
