With The Vampire of Kings Street, Asha Greyling sets herself up for the challenging task of bringing something new to the canon of existing tales about the undead. She mostly succeeds—certainly setting herself up for a complexly evolving series—while also paying respectful homage to those that tread this ground before her. Despite its darker tone, The Vampire of Kings Street will appeal to cozy mystery fans, historical fans, and readers who love supernatural world-building.
Asha Greyling clearly knows the history of vampire fiction—especially when it comes to mysteries. The Vampire of Kings Street stands apart while also acknowledging its forbearers. Devoted fanatics will notice echoes of the supernatural crimes found in the early Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton; the social commentary embedded in Charlaine Harris’s depiction of Sookie Stackhouse’s Bon Temps, Louisiana; and the verisimilitude brought to the “vampire experience” by the modern mother of the genre, Anne Rice. For her part, Greyling skillfully links the life experience of vampires to that of countless immigrants—always struggling to be part of a society, even as that society’s citizens seem hellbent on repeatedly reminding them of their “otherness.”
Radhika Dhingra is struggling to make a name for herself as a lawyer in an “alternate” New York City, circa 1900s. Her Indian heritage makes her uniquely qualified to understand the trials and tribulations of those who lack status in her society, so when Evelyn More—the vampire ward of an upper-class family—is accused of murder, she is virtually the only lawyer willing to take the case. Amassing a rag-tag bunch of associates, Radhika sets out to prove the innocence of a man who’s very existence society views as evil and dangerous.
The setting of The Vampire of Kings Street is by necessity complex—both foreign and familiar in equal measure. Asha Greyling allows the reader time to become accustomed to this “world” while mostly avoiding overloading too many details at one time. This sets up a slow-burn of a novel. The Vampire of Kings Street is the kind of book readers settle into, allowing the ambience to wash over them as the plot steadily marches towards its climactic moments. For this to work, the characters must be compelling enough to encourage readers to invest the time—something that Asha Greyling makes look easy.
Both Radhika and Evelyn are fascinating characters. Despite their differences—gender, “race,” age, etc.— readers will immediately sense their bond, allowing the machinations of the plot to strengthen their loyalty to one another. In the case of Radhika Dhingra in particular, the fidelity to justice is so relatable to fans of crime fiction, making her the perfect character on which to build a mystery series. Asha Greyling also knows when side characters need to be more fully-rounded or when a simple stock-type figure can serve the story without overwhelming the reader with too many personalities.
The Vampire of Kings Street is a brief novel, coming in at just over 250 pages, but Asha Greyling tells a complete story while also planting plenty of details that can be expounded upon with future entries in this series. Readers looking for something different will be rewarded by adding this title to their to-be-read piles.
BUY LINKS: The Vampire of Kings Street by Asha Greyling
Disclaimer: A print galley of this title was provided to BOLO Books by the publisher. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
