Where there’s Hope there’s trouble…  A former elite member of the SAS, Ben Hope is tortured by a tragedy from his past and now devotes his life to rescuing kidnapped children. But when Ben is recruited to locate an ancient manuscript which could save a dying child, he embarks on the deadliest quest of his life.  The document is alleged to contain the formula for the elixir of life, discovered by the brilliant alchemist Fulcanelli decades before. But it soon becomes apparent that others are hunting this most precious of treasures – for far more evil ends.  It seems that everyone – from the Nazis during WW2 and powerful Catholic organisation Gladius Domini – want to uncover the secrets of immortality. Teaming up with American scientist Dr Roberta Ryder, the trail leads them from Paris to the ancient Cathar strongholds of the Languedoc, where an astonishing secret has lain hidden for centuries… Last year I read both of Scott G. Mariani’s Vampire Federation novels Uprising and The Cross. After I had finished reading them I discovered that he writes thrillers as well, under the name Scott Mariani. I guess the G. is important when it comes to writing horror? I’m…

A brutal murder. An ancient temple. A long-lost treasure. Buried deep under Istanbul, a secret is about to resurface with explosive consequences… Sean Ryan arrives in the ancient city to identify the body of his friend and colleague Alek Zegliwski. Alek has been savagely beheaded, his body discovered near the sacred archaeological sit of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Aided by British diplomat Isabel Sharp, Sean inches closer to snaring Alek’s assassin. Evil is at work and when a lethal virus is unleashed on the city panic spreads fast. Time is running out for Sean and Isabel. They must catch the killer before it’s too late. Sean and Isabel make a believable pairing, he is methodical and steadfastly refuses to walk away from the mystery surrounding his best friend’s murder while Isabel is tenacious and driven to help Sean discover the truth. Their separate strengths compliment one another and as the plot develops it’s nice to see the relationship that forms between them. You get a sense of the trust that they have in one another as they are flung from one desperate situation to another. There is also just enough backstory included for the reader to appreciate that these individuals are, in…

Please note The Cross is a direct sequel to Uprising and this review may contain minor spoilers for those of you who have not read book one. Consider yourself warned and read on at your own peril. An Ancient Evil Rises Again… The cross of Ardaich, feared by vampires, was believed to have been destroyed during the bloody war between the Vampire Federation and the Trads. But its accidental rediscovery could be catastrophic. Detective Joel Solomon can’t forgive VF agent Alex Bishop for making him a vampire. Yet when the Federation arch enemy Gabriel Stone enlists a vicious killer to retrieve the cross, the couple and their human allies become the only defence against pure evil. If the cross is used to gain power by the Ubervampyr, the sadistic and primeval race of the undead, it isn’t just ordinary vampires like Alex and Joel who will be in danger. Things could be about to turn very nasty for the human race… The Cross picks up immediately after the events at the end of it predecessor, Uprising. The reader is immediately thrust into the fallout of the previous novels conclusion. Each of the sides in the conflict has retreated to their respective…

For centuries, vampires walked the earth undetected, feasting on humans in keeping with their ancient traditions, but now 21st century technology has left them open to detection… To establish order, the Vampire Federation is born, policed by special agents like vampire Alexandra Bishop, authorised to hunt down those who violate the new code. But rebel vampire Gabriel Stone doesn’t play by the rules and declares war against the Federation, throwing Alex and her team into turmoil. Oblivious to the chaos in the vampire world, human Detective Inspector Joel Solomon is drawn into and unlikely alliance with Alex when he investigates a series of gruesome corpses drained of their blood. Together they are plunged into a war of good versus evil, taking them from the streets of London to the mountains of Transylvania in a battle that threatens to destroy them all… The blurb on the back cover of Uprising boldly proclaims that this will be “a perfect read for fans of films such as Blade an Nightwatch”. Curious to see if this claim would prove to be true I was looking forward to reading this novel. The concept of vampires living secretly amongst humans has been done before, and I’m sure it will…