X-Rated Bloodsuckers

X-Rated Bloodsuckers by Mario Acevedo

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The Nymphos of Rocky Flats introduced me to Felix Gomez, an Iraqi veteran turned into a vampire private investigator, and I’m pleased to see that he’s returned in his second novel.  In his first, he investigated an outbreak of nymphomania on a secret government research facility, and now, he’s taken on a case to solve the murder of a social activist who was also a porn star.   As Felix discovers as he investigates the case, many people wanted her dead, and now anyone who had been associated with her before is also turning up dead.  That he’s also being sent to investigate a vampire-human collusion in LA adds a little something extra to the story, but it turns out that it’s all tied together, anyway.

I think what I like about the Felix Gomez novels so far is that they have no pretension of being anything more than a wild romp through a traditional mystery story.  Felix is about as average an investigator that you can get, and if you read a lot of PI novels, you’re going to recognize him right from the start (though the fangs and the red eyes might be something new).   Both novels also have a dark sense of adult humor, which adds a nice touch to the otherwise serious business of investigating murders.  Not much here is laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s light-hearted, and easy to read.

There is still a lot of repetition in the novel, in that Felix’s main investigative tactics involve hypnotizing anyone he can make eye contact with.  The author goes to a lot of trouble to describe Felix taking his contacts out, then putting them back in, or doing the same with his sunglasses.  It’s a fine tactic for the novel, but it seems overused.  At least this time, the author spared us from the overindulgence in describing how Felix has to put blood on everything he eats to make it palatable.  That sort of thing is still there, but it’s not as invasive as it was in The Nymphos of Rocky Flats.

I would recommend the book to anyone who likes fantasy, mystery, or horror, and who has an open enough mind to go along with the basic premise of the story.  Acevedo seems to be improving as he continues the series, and since the book ends with the suggestion that Felix has another case ahead of him, I look forward to seeing where the author takes his character next.  If he keeps improving, he could become an author to watch.

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