The Deviant

The Deviant by Orren Merton, 2010; 292 pages. Published by Darkling Books. Source: from author for review.

Heinrich Straus, an eight-hundred year old German vampire, is on the run-from his past, from his crimes...from himself. Looking for a place to settle, Santo Paulo, a quiet, central California college town, seems to offer everything he's looking for: peace, quiet, and friendly people. It's not long before he is noticed by one of the local college students, who endeavors to win his heart. Concurrently with his arrival, however, local detectives uncover the serial murders of young women, and fix their sights on Heinrich. Even with a daughter of Santo Paulo as his champion, Heinrich finds that being a vampire makes proving his innocence complicated...

Lately, I've been a bit nervous when it comes to reading a book about vampires, but The Deviant was definitely an interesting read and I'm glad that I had the chance to read it.

One of the things that made The Deviant different from the majority of vampire books was that the author went for a more traditional vampire, which I found to be fascinating. Sure it's cool when somebody takes an old myth and gives it new life, but there are only many ways one can spin it before it starts to seen like they're trying too hard to be original.

What really pulled me into The Deviant was the first chapter; it was just so good...and creepy. While the first chapter rocked, the book kind of slowed down for about forty pages, but then it picked so much that I ended up thinking about it all night wondering what was going to happen next.

I really liked the mystery aspect of this book; even though I had guessed pretty early on who the killer actually was (I'd like to thank all the mystery books I have read, especially Agatha Christie and the Sherlock Holmes books).

I also think that the short chapters really helped to keep the story moving; it also made it that much harder to put down.

While it was a really good book, I do however have a few things that I didn't like about the book. In the first half of the book it seemed liked Heinrick's name was mentioned just a bit too much. There were also a few typos, but in the end not even those minor complaints could keep me from enjoying reading this book.

My favorite thing about The Deviant would have to be Heinrick, I thought he was a slightly odd vamp, especially since he seemed so conflicted over the way he was.

The thing I disliked the most about this book was the swearing, I don't swear...so I don't really like it when it pops up into the books I read. Yes, I'm weird like that.

Final Verdict: I'd definitely recommend The Deviant to those looking for a thrilling mystery...that just so happens to have vampires.

The Deviant earns 4 out of 5 pineapples.