Book Bling-Elizabeth Alsobrooks

Review: A Passing Curse by C. R. Trolson

8/19/2015

Reese Tarrant is an L.A. cop pursuing a serial killer. His chase ends with a dead murderer, his own retirement, and a bunch of loose ends pointing toward Cirrus Industries, the world’s largest supplier of medical blood products, owned by the mysterious Ajax Rasmussen.

On the other side of the world, archaeologist Rusty Webber, hired by Ajax Rasmussen to look for the resting place of Vlad Tepes, descends into a tomb in Transylvania, unaware that her project is about to come under attack.

In the wake of the chaos, both Reese and Rusty find themselves drawn back to Santa Marina, where the reclusive billionaire’s fortress home overlooks the seaside town, and where old corpses and new disappearances are piling up and beginning to draw attention. Their investigations focus on the original Spanish mission that the town grew around, which Rasmussen seems to have an old connection to. The ex-cop and the archaeologist are determined to uncover the truth… and the mounting evidence suggests that Rasmussen may be a vampire.

A police procedural that segues into a vampire horror novel? Yes. Strangely, it works. Most of the time. Trolson's novel may defy genre classification (a marketing nightmare), but his writing style and storytelling talent save the day for his readers. Main protagonist, Reese Tarrant, an LA cop without enough legal "evidence" to get a serial killer convicted goes rogue retiree. Enter a series of gory crime scenes dripping with evidence he no longer wants to bag and tag. He does, however, want to follow the clues to a serial killer, and they continue to point to Cirrus Industries, the world’s largest supplier of medical blood products, owned by the mysterious Ajax Rasmussen.

Billionaire Ajax Rasmussen likes to sink his teeth into more than corporate blood products. He hires archaeologist, Rusty Webber, to find the tomb of Vlad Tepes.

Through a string of converging events, both Reese Tarrant and Rusty Webber end up in the small town of Santa Marina, where Rasmussen has a fortress home that overlooks the seaside town. They are drawn to the ancient Spanish mission and the clues that suggest Rasmussen may have a connection to the religious icon the town grew up around. Against all logic, but in the face of irrefutable evidence, they have little choice but to admit that Rasmussen must be a vampire.

Were I to shelves this novel, I would have to place it in the thriller/horror category. Though a thread of suspense and investigation runs though the central theme, the delightfully complex plot and subplots scream explicit paranormal gore at its finest.

Book Bling gives this novel 4 stars.

C.R. Trolson lives in Northern California with his wife and a Norwegian Elkhound named Bird. The dog, given her genetic propensity for the darker themes of Ibsen and Hamsun, enjoys listening to the author's work and often howls with delight at the prose, especially after eating a page or two.