Once Bitten

By: Stephen Leather

Narrated by: James Langton

As a psychologist for the Los Angeles police department, Jamie Beaverbrook has seen it all. Or so he thinks until the night a full moon brings out the crazies, including Terry Ferriman. Trouble is, Terry isn’t exactly crazy. But how else can the police explain finding the girl in an alley off Sunset, crouched over a man’s lifeless body, her mouth smeared with blood? After an interview that is unsettling at best, the good doctor decides to dig deeper into Terry’s story. What he discovers is that a world he previously imagined to exist only in horror movies is actually flourishing in the shadows of L.A. Vampires are real, walking among - and feeding on - humans every day. Beaverbrook knows he should be frightened, but his fascination with Terry is all-consuming. And when he realizes that a shadowy government organization has captured several vampires, including Terry, Beaverbrook must decide just whose side he is on…

©2012 Stephen Leather (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

the ending killed the whole story for me.

the ending wasn't even an ending, it just left the story hanging in the middle and as far as I can tell there is no follow up book as this is a stand alone book. very frustrating. I think I'll be returning it since I didn't bargain to purchase half a story when I bought this book. I'm horribly dissapointed.

Fans of Stephen King, will LOVE this book!

What did you love best about Once Bitten?

Right from the start, this story draws you in. I know that I have gotten my money's worth, when I find myself picking my kids up early, just so I can listen to my book.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the ending. Sorry, but I can't elaborate. You'll just have find out for yourselves.

What does James Langton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love his voice. Also, I found myself enthralled by the story. Only with a truly talented narrator does this happen.

If you could take any character from Once Bitten out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Terry. Hands down. The stories she could tell.

Any additional comments?

I have had discussions with both, women and men, whom are fans of the paranormal genre. I found something interesting. Whenever I asked them to list the books they liked best, the men tended to list books that had a male author, while the females preferred books penned by women authors.
This book reminded me of this. I kept thinking this is more of a man's vampire story.

Do the characters have sex? Yes, but it's not detailed.

There are no bonding males, that start stinking up the room with

Pretty Standard Pre Twilight Vampire Story

Format: Audible Download

This was very much the way vampire stories went before they became all attached to fairy tale endings. Jamie D. Beaverbrook is a British psychologist whose life is in a tailspin. He is going through a divorce, recently his wife and he had an infant die, and he spends his work time assessing people who have been picked up by the Los Angeles Police Department for various crimes. His main means of assessment is a computer program based on his own research. He is also having one of the most annoying early mid-life (35 years old) crises that I've run into in fiction. He obsesses on the various aging processes going on in his body.

Then one day he is called in to assess a young girl who had been found crouching over the body of a dead man in an alley, blood on her face.

It's competently written, for the most part. There's few clunkers. An LA detective referring to a lawyer as a "brief" jarred me. And the California divorce law was a bit off. The pacing at times was slow. Describing the gestures involved in sign language for the deaf just doesn't translate well to the written or audible page. While I can watch someone sign with great pleasure, having it described to me leads to skimming.

Also, I have seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show so the having the theatre crowd antics described is a bit over the top.

The plot unwound pretty much as I expected, so there wasn't a lot of surprises there. I didn't think the writing was strong enough to support the ending.

As for the narrator-- he was good with Beaverbrook's voice-- first person view point so this is important. He also managed all the other characters. However the girl's voice just didn't sound right, especially when first introduced.

I know Mr. Leather can do better, this was a minor effort.