Crappy Maine Vampire Or Wraith Or Whatever Doesn’t Even Sparkle
“The Taker” (Gallery Books), by Alma Katsu: Luke Findley, a doctor in the rural Maine town of St. Andrew, is on the overnight shift when police bring in a young woman they claim is a murder suspect. The woman, Lanore McIlvrae, explains that she’s immortal, and grew up in St. Andrew over 200 years ago. As she begins to tell Luke her story, she asks him to help her escape the police, and he’s so captivated by her that he agrees. And so “The Taker” is mostly Lanore’s story, and it’s as engrossing as it is reminiscent of past novels about immortal beings, particularly as it uses layers of narrative, each going deeper into the past. And though Lanore is an intriguing character, curious and impulsive — dangerous qualities in a young girl from a Puritan settlement — her story doesn’t add anything new to the genre. (ABC)
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