The Scribbled Victims

By: Robert Tomoguchi

Narrated by: Laura Bannister

Living the immortal life of a vampire hasn’t been easy for Yelena Solodnikova. With all her heart, she loved the ancient vampire Marcel, who made her, and expected to spend eternity with him. But after over a century together, Marcel disappeared without a word, leaving Yelena brokenhearted. To make things more difficult, Yelena goes completely against the nature of her vampiric race by developing a conscience, and begins to feel guilt for all the mortals she kills each night in Los Angeles.

A chance encounter with 12-year-old orphan Orly Bialek changes everything for Yelena, as Orly has a supernatural gift. Orly is able to scribble portraits of people and see the evil deeds they have committed. With Orly’s ability to find predators of all sorts - murderers, rapists, drug dealers - roaming the streets of Los Angeles, she is able to provide Yelena a way to feed without feeling guilty even when the deaths are violent and torturous.

The pair bonds quickly, forming a mother/daughter relationship, and this begins to heal Yelena’s broken heart while allowing Orly, who has lived in a string of foster homes, to feel loved for the first time. It’s the perfect symbiotic relationship except for one thing - Orly is rapidly dying of leukemia.

If Yelena allows Orly to die, she will lose the daughter she has come to love, as well as the guilt-free meals she’s grown accustomed to. But if Yelena saves Orly’s life by turning her into a vampire, not only will she be going against the rules of vampiric tradition, she will be dooming Orly to an eternal existence devoid of true romantic love, as Orly will always appear to those around her, both mortals and immortals alike, as untouchable, as she will forever be trapped in the body of a child.

©2017 Robert Tomoguchi (P)2019 Robert Tomoguchi

Critic reviews

"A traditional vampire tale with an emphatic emotional core." (Kirkus Reviews)

Unexpected vampire ( NOT A YA category)

treat, I was surprise at how much I liked this book. I figured it to be ambient mind candy but it was better than that and has room to grow. This is NOT a YA novel it is very much and adult story with a young person at risk, but with special powers. Just when you think it’s going to fall apart it holds together. There is a set up for the next book and I look forward to the next one.

Worth your time cash or credit if the subject interest you.

Enjoyable listen

I enjoyed this book and loved how the characters progressed, am interested in seeing how the next book plays out.

The characters and their interactions, excellent dialog!

I am not really a big fan of vampire fiction as a genre, whether crafted as horror or drama or romance, but this book hooked me and drew me in. I plan to buy the next one when I get my next paycheck, because I can live on ramen noodles and it’ll be WORTH IT! The story is a refreshing take on vampires by focusing not on the vampires exactly, but on how the immortals affect the living when they interact not as predator and prey, or monster and monster hunter, but as family.

There are a few supernatural elements besides the vampires which adds some interest to the plot and is deliciously hinted at, but the nature of the ability to sort of scry into people’s lives by a mortal, is left, I think, deliberately vague, likely either to explore later, or because every work of this type needs to preserve a little bit of the mystery. I heartily recommend this book. There are some adult themes touched upon and a bit of harsh language, but its use never comes off as egregious.

I hope the author writes more of these, because I think there are at present only three, and I can imagine getting hooked into this the same way I did the Aubrey/Maturin novels of Patrick O’Brian, a fictionalized collection of stories of English sailors during and after the Napoleonic Wars, which is more my speed.

I’m not going to say here that Robert Tomoguchi is to vampires what O’Brian is to His Majesty’s Royal Navy, but… I liked both, and Tomoguchi’s, being modern and contemporary, is VASTLY easier to read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The characters make this story

Tomoguchi has imagined a world that requires total suspension of disbelief. Although he defines the parameters of this world well enough to suit the story, he does little to build a foundation for it. And there remain some glaring unanswered questions, such as how can so many victims not be missed, raising the suspicion of authorities?

But I really like the characters, especially Orly as performed so amazingly well by Laura Bannister. It's this that makes this story so great.

Note: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Amazing spin on am old vampire idea

Vampire's who desire not to kill? Not a new idea, but Robert Tomoguchi's spin on this idea is thought provoking, and original is its own way. This maybe a Debut full length Novel for Robert, but I've read all his other works and see such tremendous progress as a writer I am falling in love with his work, and Orly's world. I recommend this work if you enjoy such works as Anita Blake, Mercy Thompson, and Discovery of Witches series'.

Not your average vampire story!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Delightfully different vampire story! I was very impressed with such a different idea and approach. You have some of the classic blood thirsty vampires we all love. Some wonderful backstory and beautifully developed characters that draw you in.

The quick change of point of view was my only complaint. It at times made it hard to follow and I had to rewind a bit a time or two because I thought I had missed parts.

Narration was excellent.
Looking forward to the next book!

A interesting story including1special girl & Vam💎

A interesting story including one special girl and a bunch of vampires. At first I wasn't so sure but once I truly started listening and had nothing else I enjoyed it so much and that being said there's at least one more book in this series but you never know maybe it will keep going past two books 📗📘🖌️🖼️👩‍🎨🏥🔪🩸💉⚰️🪦🧛‍♀️🧛🧛‍♂️.💎💞

Haunting and Beautiful

This is how I like my vampire stories! They kill to live, they love deeply, and hurt even deeper. Laura Bannister's voice fits the story nicely and she draws you into the characters. I will echo what others have said about not knowing who was speaking at times but eventually it falls into place. I highly recommend this audiobook!

A great story that hits so many different themes

After reeling from the loss of someone she thought she would be with forever Yelena blames herself and hates herself for what she is. She is a vampire and despises the fact that she must feed on life to continue existing, stuck in this spiral she happens across a girl that changes everything for her. A young dying girl named Orly that can sketch people and reveal their true natures leads Yelena to need to be in this girls life for her own sanity. The relationship between Orly and Yelena is really the heart and soul of the book and them bonding and growing closer in the first half of the book really drew me in and got me thoroughly invested in these two.

I think the narration by Laura Bannister was quite good, and I enjoyed her delivery and performance throughout. Through the two main characters relationship, we get to experience a lot of self-discovery and insights into their lives and needs. It was a lot more thoughtful than the genre fair I am used to when it comes to vampire books I have read in recent years, and it was a breath of fresh air. If there was any complaint it would be that maybe I would've liked a longer period establishing and growing their relationship. But I can completely understand not wanting the book to take forever to get to the other story beats and it was great all the way through.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read for anyone that is a fan of The Vampire Chronicles by Ann Rice, or a more mature urban fantasy. A vampire tale that has more to it than the creatures that inhabit the night, and it is better for it.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Preping for the Sequel

I had read the book previous to the audio book being released, and with the audio book coming out I thought it would be a great refresher for the sequel due out soon. The story is a powerful and heartbreaking tale of love within the vampire genre, but with it's own supernatural scribble for the heroine. Tomoguchi has found the right conduit to explore truth, lies, and the nature of the different aspects of love we seek in our short lives, however for vampires that quest goes on forever. It took a chapter to get used to Bannister's soft spoken Orly, but the narration is clear and appropriate to the story being told. Definitely, give this a read or a listen before the sequel comes out.

I received the audible book for free in exchange for an honest review.