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Victory Nelson's Blood Investigations #4
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Začalo to telefonátem, jaký žádná dcera nikdy nechce obdržet - z Katedry přírodních věd Queen's University Vicki zavolali, že její matka nečekaně zemřela. Jenže to, co začalo jako až příliš běžná osobní tragédie, se rychle změnilo v nejděsivější případ její kariéry soukromé vyšetřovatelky. Tělo Marjory Nelsonové totiž záhadně zmizelo z pohřebního ústavu. Vicki přísahala, že viníka najde a že se postará o to, aby byla její matka náležitě uložena k věčnému odpočinku. Nepočítala však s tím, že se na univerzitě nachází někdo, kdo je podle všeho odhodlán zaměstnávat paní Nelsonovou i po smrti. I přes Vickiin výrazný odpor však vzápětí dorazí i královský levoboček, upír Henry Fitzroy a detektiv - seržant Michael Celluci - a jejich pomoci bude více než zapotřebí.
332 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1993
83 people are currently reading
1844 people want to read
About the author
Tanya Huff
154 books2,418 followersTanya Sue Huff is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood Ties.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
August 12, 2013
Opening Line:"Mrs.Simmons? It's Vicki Nelson calling: the private investigator from Toronto."
BLOOD PACT is the 4th offering from Tanya Huff’s Blood (Ties) series. As a fan of the TV show I was thrilled to discover this series of books which now have the added benefit of visual references for our 3 main characters as they continue to battle both the supernatural and each other in their ongoing love triangle.
My favourite character here remains romance writing, bisexual vampire Henry Fitzroy. As the 450 year old illegitimate son of King Henry VIII turned modern day romance writer he’s both fascinating and swoon worthy. And with our love triangle finally coming to its shocking conclusion I fell even harder for him. Private Investigator Vicki Nelson is as inflexible and tough as ever and even though she’s still managing to sleep with both of them it’s a mystery to me why either Henry or blue collar cop Mike Celluci would love her because she’s not really a very likeable person.
I was again impressed by Huffs writing as she weaves together multiple POV’s and gives us a gruesome and truly horrifying story. This one creeped me out big time. Full of thought provoking moral issues, it’s a fantastic mixture of romance, horror, fantasy and suspense. The closing chapters are heart pounding and although many disliked the controversial ending I loved it, finding it to be the perfect and really only logical conclusion to the series.
Vickie’s been avoiding her mother’s phone calls so when she suddenly dies from a heart attack Vicki is not only grief stricken but wracked with guilt. Vicki travels to Kingston for the funeral and because both Mike and Henry are concerned for her fragile mental state they follow her. However the situation goes from bad to unthinkable when her mother’s body goes missing from the funeral home and later turns up outside the living room window, dead yet somehow horribly alive. Knowing that the Ontario police aren’t going to invest much time in looking for a body Vicki sets out on her own to find her Frankenstein mother. Refusing to grieve Vicki’s nastier than ever, which pairs Henry and Mike on the same team and watching them put their jealousies aside and become friends of a sort added a very sexy dynamic.
The real monsters in this story aren’t the zombies at all but the scientists experimenting and reanimating the dead and it’s with this discovery that our trio find themselves in dark and dangerous territory. Soon Henry’s trapped, starving and at the mercy of the scientists, Vicki’s about to lose her mind and zombies and mad, drunken scientists are running around killing each other in an abandoned hospital. Yup this is quite the ride.
BLOOD PACT is the 4th offering from Tanya Huff’s Blood (Ties) series. As a fan of the TV show I was thrilled to discover this series of books which now have the added benefit of visual references for our 3 main characters as they continue to battle both the supernatural and each other in their ongoing love triangle.
My favourite character here remains romance writing, bisexual vampire Henry Fitzroy. As the 450 year old illegitimate son of King Henry VIII turned modern day romance writer he’s both fascinating and swoon worthy. And with our love triangle finally coming to its shocking conclusion I fell even harder for him. Private Investigator Vicki Nelson is as inflexible and tough as ever and even though she’s still managing to sleep with both of them it’s a mystery to me why either Henry or blue collar cop Mike Celluci would love her because she’s not really a very likeable person.
I was again impressed by Huffs writing as she weaves together multiple POV’s and gives us a gruesome and truly horrifying story. This one creeped me out big time. Full of thought provoking moral issues, it’s a fantastic mixture of romance, horror, fantasy and suspense. The closing chapters are heart pounding and although many disliked the controversial ending I loved it, finding it to be the perfect and really only logical conclusion to the series.
Vickie’s been avoiding her mother’s phone calls so when she suddenly dies from a heart attack Vicki is not only grief stricken but wracked with guilt. Vicki travels to Kingston for the funeral and because both Mike and Henry are concerned for her fragile mental state they follow her. However the situation goes from bad to unthinkable when her mother’s body goes missing from the funeral home and later turns up outside the living room window, dead yet somehow horribly alive. Knowing that the Ontario police aren’t going to invest much time in looking for a body Vicki sets out on her own to find her Frankenstein mother. Refusing to grieve Vicki’s nastier than ever, which pairs Henry and Mike on the same team and watching them put their jealousies aside and become friends of a sort added a very sexy dynamic.
The real monsters in this story aren’t the zombies at all but the scientists experimenting and reanimating the dead and it’s with this discovery that our trio find themselves in dark and dangerous territory. Soon Henry’s trapped, starving and at the mercy of the scientists, Vicki’s about to lose her mind and zombies and mad, drunken scientists are running around killing each other in an abandoned hospital. Yup this is quite the ride.
May 31, 2021
Blood Pact is the fourth of the five Vicki Nelson novels and is probably the best of the lot. It's my favorite of all of Huff's books that I've read. After having investigated mummies, werewolves, and, of course, vampires, Blood Pact takes Vicki on a very personal journey into the world of zombies... or, more precisely, into the Frankenstein/mad scientist trope. Vicki has had a somewhat troubled relationship with her mother, and avoids her calls at the least excuse. When word reaches her that her mother has died she's hit with a lot of guilt along with the grief, and both of the other points of her love triangle, detective Mike Celluci and vampire Henry FitzRoy, go along to help with the arrangements. They find the casket filled with sandbags, and pretty soon Mom is back... It's a really dark and wrenching story, quite a contrast to the snarky, perky tone of the previous books, but a really excellent read.
May 19, 2017
This book has one of the best love triangle endings in the world. Well done Huff.
Powerful volume in the series (and at the time it was published, a fitting conclusion. Vol 5 does not take away from that).
Powerful volume in the series (and at the time it was published, a fitting conclusion. Vol 5 does not take away from that).
February 2, 2018
With the Vicky Nelson series, Canadian author Tanya Huff has created an inventive and fun set of stories based in Toronto, where Vicky Nelson an ex-cop with degenerative eye disease and an assertive personality meets Henry Fitzroy, vampire, 450 years old. This dream investigative team is complicated by Vickie's ex partner from the police and also ex lover who will not give up on Vicky. The triangular dynamics make for a much more interesting book that a simple duo would.
In 'Pact' the series takes a dark twist, instead of Vicky being pulled into a supernatural investigation because of her civilian job as a PI, this time it is personal. Vicky and her mother have always had a love/hate or at least love/major irritant relationship, much like many of us with out mothers I suspect. But Vicky is devastated and prostate with guilt when she ignores a few phone calls from her mother only to receive one telling her that her mother has died. Going home to Kingston to deal with the affairs left behind, is complicated by the fact that both Henry Fitzroy and Mike Celluci insist on accompanying her to help.
Vicky does not cope well with feelings and as she is trying to process it all, the coffin is opened and it is empty save sandbags.
In Blood Pact, the theme is reanimation, with many strong nods to Mary Shelly and Frankenstein. Without spoiling this book in any way for anyone yet to read it, I thought this was one of them best with secondary characters that were interesting to read, moral dilemmas galore and unexpected tension when Henry is captured.
Great book, I will probably re-read it again.
Next!
October 30, 2022
Really a 2.5 star read.
After a year of fighting supernatural crimes with her former partner Mike Celluci and Henry Fitzroy, the bastard son of Henry VIII and a 450 year old vampire , ex-cop turned P.I. Vicki Nelson receives the phone call to tell her her mother has died. Flying out for the funeral, she discovers the coffin is empty. The police don't have the manpower to search for these modern day bodysnatchers, so Vicki, accompanied by the two men in her life, starts her own search.
This book was a bit of a struggle after the previous novels. Owing to events Vicki spends the book stomping around in a bad mood, using anger to prevent herself from falling apart. While this is understandable, it doesn't make her good company (goodness knows how Henry and Mike tolerate her). I also found the rather boring.
I believe originally this book was the last in the series, and that does make sense, even though at least one more book has been written since. I probably will read more of Vicki Nelson in the future but I'm going to give the series a break for now. If you're a fan of UF with vampires more in the 'hot dead guys' camp than the 'blood drinking monsters' camp than you may enjoy these books.
After a year of fighting supernatural crimes with her former partner Mike Celluci and Henry Fitzroy, the bastard son of Henry VIII and a 450 year old vampire , ex-cop turned P.I. Vicki Nelson receives the phone call to tell her her mother has died. Flying out for the funeral, she discovers the coffin is empty. The police don't have the manpower to search for these modern day bodysnatchers, so Vicki, accompanied by the two men in her life, starts her own search.
This book was a bit of a struggle after the previous novels. Owing to events Vicki spends the book stomping around in a bad mood, using anger to prevent herself from falling apart. While this is understandable, it doesn't make her good company (goodness knows how Henry and Mike tolerate her). I also found the rather boring.
I believe originally this book was the last in the series, and that does make sense, even though at least one more book has been written since. I probably will read more of Vicki Nelson in the future but I'm going to give the series a break for now. If you're a fan of UF with vampires more in the 'hot dead guys' camp than the 'blood drinking monsters' camp than you may enjoy these books.
July 19, 2020
This series continues to be a lot of fun. If you like urban fantasy and haven’t gotten around to this one yet, I highly recommend it. It’s a great early UF series that holds up really well. I mean, cell phones could have solved some plot issues in this book but considering this takes place in the early 90s… I’m not going to hold the past against it. 🙂
SOME SPOILERS BELOW SO IF YOU HAVEN’T STARTED THIS SERIES YET, I RECOMMEND SKIPPING THIS REVIEW.
.
.
.
This book is probably the most personal book in the series. Vicki finds herself dealing with the unexpected death of her mother. Not only that but when her mother’s body goes missing and turns up undead and leering at Vicki from outside her own house one night, things go from bad to worse. Plus she’s dealing with the whole messy love triangle and both Mike and Henry trying their best to be there for her while still kind of competing for her attention (seriously guys? timing?). Yikes. Vicki…has always been a tough nut to crack. Her character development over the course of this story is great but where it leaves off I’m not sure she’s grown all that much even though she’s certainly changed. Up until the very end she still has a hard time admitting (she doesn’t really other than in actions) that she loves Henry. Or that she loves Celluci. Part of it is because feelings isn’t something Vicki does. But having to deal with her mother’s death, she’s forced to confront her feelings here no matter how much she keeps trying to focus on the investigation and putting her emotions to the side. But, she does eventually break down and deal with things and she does realize she needs others in her life, does have feelings for both Mike and Henry.
Speaking of Mike and Henry. I will admit their confrontations got on my nerves a little bit here because really there is a time and place and this was neither the time nor the place but things had to come to a head eventually I suppose. I love that both Mike and Henry have absolutely no problems telling Vicki how they feel about her. They’re sure in their feelings. And while they are competing against one another they’re never really pushing Vicki one way or another even if they are pushing her to just make a decision one way or the other. (Side note: I don’t know why more love triangles can’t end in poly relationships–this would solve so many problems, just saying.) Anywho. Both Mike and Henry have great character growth here too. Henry is still wrestling with his past and what it means for his future with Vicki. Meanwhile Mike has gone from a skeptic to being the one to alert the rest of the police when monsters are on the loose (and in such a serious way it’s actually pretty hilarious and I laughed a lot at that part–oh, Mike). Also, when push comes to shove, Mike is willing to let Vicki go if that means saving her life.
The ONE thing that really annoyed me about this book is that in the end the decision of Mike vs Henry is taken away from Vicki anyway due to circumstances at the end of the book. I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil what happens BUT. I will say that I think some of the ‘vampiric nature’ in this series is bullshit. Those of you that have read this probably know what I mean. This does a great job of solving one of the issues in the book but it makes me so angry on a personal level. Like….whhyyyyyyy. Why would you do that to me, Huff? Welp. I guess we can’t always get what we want.
Back to the things I loved. The story, of course, was great. We’re dealing with the classic mad scientists here, like a Dr. Frankenstein type. There are all kinds of great ethical questions we’re dealing with all while Vicki is learning how to live with loss. The story is layered and it’s so well done. Even the villains in this one were interesting because they have their moments where you empathize with them.
Raging at the end aside, this was a fantastic book. I can’t be angry at the writing just because it didn’t end the way I wanted it to. (Okay, sure I could do that but I’m not going to.) It was another great classic monster story brought to life (hah) and the characters had a strong showing here. 4.5/5 stars.
SOME SPOILERS BELOW SO IF YOU HAVEN’T STARTED THIS SERIES YET, I RECOMMEND SKIPPING THIS REVIEW.
.
.
.
This book is probably the most personal book in the series. Vicki finds herself dealing with the unexpected death of her mother. Not only that but when her mother’s body goes missing and turns up undead and leering at Vicki from outside her own house one night, things go from bad to worse. Plus she’s dealing with the whole messy love triangle and both Mike and Henry trying their best to be there for her while still kind of competing for her attention (seriously guys? timing?). Yikes. Vicki…has always been a tough nut to crack. Her character development over the course of this story is great but where it leaves off I’m not sure she’s grown all that much even though she’s certainly changed. Up until the very end she still has a hard time admitting (she doesn’t really other than in actions) that she loves Henry. Or that she loves Celluci. Part of it is because feelings isn’t something Vicki does. But having to deal with her mother’s death, she’s forced to confront her feelings here no matter how much she keeps trying to focus on the investigation and putting her emotions to the side. But, she does eventually break down and deal with things and she does realize she needs others in her life, does have feelings for both Mike and Henry.
Speaking of Mike and Henry. I will admit their confrontations got on my nerves a little bit here because really there is a time and place and this was neither the time nor the place but things had to come to a head eventually I suppose. I love that both Mike and Henry have absolutely no problems telling Vicki how they feel about her. They’re sure in their feelings. And while they are competing against one another they’re never really pushing Vicki one way or another even if they are pushing her to just make a decision one way or the other. (Side note: I don’t know why more love triangles can’t end in poly relationships–this would solve so many problems, just saying.) Anywho. Both Mike and Henry have great character growth here too. Henry is still wrestling with his past and what it means for his future with Vicki. Meanwhile Mike has gone from a skeptic to being the one to alert the rest of the police when monsters are on the loose (and in such a serious way it’s actually pretty hilarious and I laughed a lot at that part–oh, Mike). Also, when push comes to shove, Mike is willing to let Vicki go if that means saving her life.
The ONE thing that really annoyed me about this book is that in the end the decision of Mike vs Henry is taken away from Vicki anyway due to circumstances at the end of the book. I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil what happens BUT. I will say that I think some of the ‘vampiric nature’ in this series is bullshit. Those of you that have read this probably know what I mean. This does a great job of solving one of the issues in the book but it makes me so angry on a personal level. Like….whhyyyyyyy. Why would you do that to me, Huff? Welp. I guess we can’t always get what we want.
Back to the things I loved. The story, of course, was great. We’re dealing with the classic mad scientists here, like a Dr. Frankenstein type. There are all kinds of great ethical questions we’re dealing with all while Vicki is learning how to live with loss. The story is layered and it’s so well done. Even the villains in this one were interesting because they have their moments where you empathize with them.
Raging at the end aside, this was a fantastic book. I can’t be angry at the writing just because it didn’t end the way I wanted it to. (Okay, sure I could do that but I’m not going to.) It was another great classic monster story brought to life (hah) and the characters had a strong showing here. 4.5/5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2024
I was not at all expecting Blood Pact (Victoria Nelson #4) by Tanya Huff to do what it did, but this is easily my favorite installment of the series so far. I can't wait to see what's next. The previous installment was my least favorite by far, but I'd say this one is the best of the series so far. This installment gets very personal, and does it very well.
July 11, 2014
Of the many, classic Urban Fantasy books of the 90′s, the Vicki Nelson series holds extremely well. This strong source material lends itself well to revival, from the Canadian TV show “Blood Ties” to the recent reissues of the books themselves. Re-reading Victoria Nelson now, every description of Vicki brings to mind the strong jaw and dry sense of humor of her televised incarnation, adding to the experience of the re-read.
BLOOD PACT is an anomaly in the Vicki Nelson series, as there is very little Vicki to drive the story forward. Dealing with sudden death of her mother, and then the theft of her mother’s body, Vicki is understandably remote. Celluci and Henry are jarred out of their “time share” arrangement and forced to work together as they try to help Vicki, leading to some new and interesting interactions… and a definite sense that Vicki’s love life is about to change. Between this man show, the eclectic villains, and the often heartbreaking glimpses of the “monsters” point of view, BLOOD PACT manages to compensate for the emotionally absent main character.
The satisfying structure of this story, however, is almost completely overshadowed by the game change at the end. BLOOD PACT offers significant character growth throughout the book, but nothing can compare to the electric events at this book’s ending. As much as I enjoyed this story over all, I was breathlessly anticipating the end… and I now can’t wait to continue on to BLOOD DEBT to see how everything falls out.
Sexual Content: References to sex.
BLOOD PACT is an anomaly in the Vicki Nelson series, as there is very little Vicki to drive the story forward. Dealing with sudden death of her mother, and then the theft of her mother’s body, Vicki is understandably remote. Celluci and Henry are jarred out of their “time share” arrangement and forced to work together as they try to help Vicki, leading to some new and interesting interactions… and a definite sense that Vicki’s love life is about to change. Between this man show, the eclectic villains, and the often heartbreaking glimpses of the “monsters” point of view, BLOOD PACT manages to compensate for the emotionally absent main character.
The satisfying structure of this story, however, is almost completely overshadowed by the game change at the end. BLOOD PACT offers significant character growth throughout the book, but nothing can compare to the electric events at this book’s ending. As much as I enjoyed this story over all, I was breathlessly anticipating the end… and I now can’t wait to continue on to BLOOD DEBT to see how everything falls out.
Sexual Content: References to sex.
March 20, 2021
VICKI NELSON VS. THE RE-ANIMATORS! I happen to really like this series and this one seems like it takes a lot from the Herbert West: Re-Animator story. It's probably just coincidence but a bunch of zombie-raising medical students have absconded with Vicki's mom's body. Vicki is so overwhelmed by the grief of her mother's death that she can't cope with it even as both Henry and Celluci have decided to both state they want to be exclusive (or at least beyond casual).
I've always liked Vicki taking charge of her own sexuality and setting whatever rules she wanted for herself but it's also realistic that relationships change. Having lost a parent within the past few years, this also feels very authentic to the mind-numbing effect on it. It felt very real. I recommend this a lot more than Book #3 and put it up there with Book #1.
I've always liked Vicki taking charge of her own sexuality and setting whatever rules she wanted for herself but it's also realistic that relationships change. Having lost a parent within the past few years, this also feels very authentic to the mind-numbing effect on it. It felt very real. I recommend this a lot more than Book #3 and put it up there with Book #1.
dnf
March 17, 2021I'm not rating this one because I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I didn't like the zombie aspect of the scientific experiments—I can't pinpoint what, but something about that part of the story really rubbed me the wrong way and I found myself dreading reading those sections. Since I have never been a fan of the Henry-Vicki-Mike love triangle, there wasn't much keeping me reading, so I decided to not force the issue.
DNF @ 33%
DNF @ 33%
May 28, 2024
This was another seriously creepy, unsettling and overlong novel that veered towards weird bilogical horror rather firmly, from its urban fantasy settings. Didn't like all that darkness and abuse. But things brightened considerabloy towards the end. Last few pages made all of it worthwhile.
May 1, 2020
Sad book, angsty love triangle and mostly annoying mad scientists
November 19, 2024
It ends with the big Change, and there’s two books after this- so I’m looking forward to where this series will settle. I really enjoyed Vicky/Celluci/Fitzroy as a dynamic here.
September 5, 2025
the horror was great and the triangle was triangling 👌 (they can still make it work 🤞)
December 16, 2020
Fun and creepy. We're going through all the monster movie monsters, so we've done vampires, demons, werewolves, and mummies, that means it's time for zombies.
May 27, 2016
MORE? MORE! @ P.S. I love that book!
I have started the series many years ago and somehow still have not come around to finish it. Therefore, as I am determined to cut down on my TBR this was the book I chose to read next. I do not remember really much of previous book, surely I know the characters and all but not exactly what happened before. However, each book in this series focuses on some crime Vicki has to solve so it was not really a problem that I did not remember what happened before.
I read this book really fast. It is just that easy to read. However, I was kinda annoyed by the way science and science geniuses were presented in it. Not everybody who has great ideas is Dr. Frankenstein.
THE WORLD: It is really a simple the world like ours, the action is based in USA. The only difference to our world is that paranormal creatures exist in the wold of Tanya Huff created, tho nobody really knows about them. Also, another difference is that because the book were published years ago it feels a little bit like reading about the past when it comes to technology and so.
CHARACTERS: The main character is the book is ex-cop Vicki Nelson who now is a private detective. In book one she met this handsome vampire Henry Fitzroy aka the bastard son of Henry VII, the Kind of England. Another male character in the book is Mike Celluci who was Vicki's partner and is still a policeman. To be honest, I never liked Vicki, she is just too blah for me. And I never liked Mike either. But I used to love Henry before. The reason I say before is because in this book I noticed that I am just not interested in his anymore. Therefore, I would say the characters in this book are not that great to me as I just do not relate to any of them. But at the same time, I cannot say that they make the story boring either.
LOVE: So we have a love triangle again. Henry loves Vicki, Mike loves Vicki and she cannot make up her mind. Frankly, I just do not see anything lovable about her so the fact that 400 years old vampire and a smart policeman are fighting over her is just funny to me.
PLUS: This book and series in general are very easy read. The thing is you do not have to remember anything or go re-read previous book just so you could continue with the series All you need to know is main character which really easy.
MORE? MORE! @ P.S. I love that book!
I have started the series many years ago and somehow still have not come around to finish it. Therefore, as I am determined to cut down on my TBR this was the book I chose to read next. I do not remember really much of previous book, surely I know the characters and all but not exactly what happened before. However, each book in this series focuses on some crime Vicki has to solve so it was not really a problem that I did not remember what happened before.
I read this book really fast. It is just that easy to read. However, I was kinda annoyed by the way science and science geniuses were presented in it. Not everybody who has great ideas is Dr. Frankenstein.
THE WORLD: It is really a simple the world like ours, the action is based in USA. The only difference to our world is that paranormal creatures exist in the wold of Tanya Huff created, tho nobody really knows about them. Also, another difference is that because the book were published years ago it feels a little bit like reading about the past when it comes to technology and so.
CHARACTERS: The main character is the book is ex-cop Vicki Nelson who now is a private detective. In book one she met this handsome vampire Henry Fitzroy aka the bastard son of Henry VII, the Kind of England. Another male character in the book is Mike Celluci who was Vicki's partner and is still a policeman. To be honest, I never liked Vicki, she is just too blah for me. And I never liked Mike either. But I used to love Henry before. The reason I say before is because in this book I noticed that I am just not interested in his anymore. Therefore, I would say the characters in this book are not that great to me as I just do not relate to any of them. But at the same time, I cannot say that they make the story boring either.
LOVE: So we have a love triangle again. Henry loves Vicki, Mike loves Vicki and she cannot make up her mind. Frankly, I just do not see anything lovable about her so the fact that 400 years old vampire and a smart policeman are fighting over her is just funny to me.
PLUS: This book and series in general are very easy read. The thing is you do not have to remember anything or go re-read previous book just so you could continue with the series All you need to know is main character which really easy.
MORE? MORE! @ P.S. I love that book!
August 23, 2013
Out of all the books this in the series this is the one with the most... resonance with me, more so now than when I first read it.
Huff does an amazing job here in taking a character who has appeared on maybe one page of writing over all the previous books (and who has never actually 'appeared' they have just been a voice at the end of the phone)- Victorys mother - kills her and makes us feel so so bad that she is dead. I think the way Huff succeeds in this is the way Victory acts towards her. We all love our mothers but sometimes when they call it is just at the wrong time or you're not in the mood to talk. I cannot imagine though what it would be like in 'real life' to avoid your mothers calls (or any direct relative) and then find out they have died. Add to that discovering that the body has been stolen and all the other ramifications Victory has to cope with *shakes head*. Huff does a nice job of twisting the knife in - after spending the book trying to find each other we are treated to these final words between the pair:
"...love you... Vic...ki..."
"I love you, too, Mom."
I don't tear up at a lot of books and I don't always tear up with this one but it is usually a close thing...
The other reason I like this book is that is is rare in the vampire novels for and then for the vamp to lose out. Normally in those situations the vamp gets a happy ever after but in this book it is our human love interest Celluci who wins out. It's interesting that in the next book they acknowledge that he was always Victory's - and I do think if she had been forced to pick between the two (as always happens with love triangles) she'd have gone with him.
I think this is the series best book (I only own and have read the first five so I might be wrong), it seems more of a natural conclusion as the next book seems to go about humanising Henry more (perhaps the later books focus on him rather than Vicki... which would make the humanising aspect make sense...). Which isn't a bad thing, but what with it not being based in Toronto (yes I know this one wasn't either) or based as much on Vicki it seems more like a story on the way to something else as opposed to a story in its own right.
Huff does an amazing job here in taking a character who has appeared on maybe one page of writing over all the previous books (and who has never actually 'appeared' they have just been a voice at the end of the phone)- Victorys mother - kills her and makes us feel so so bad that she is dead. I think the way Huff succeeds in this is the way Victory acts towards her. We all love our mothers but sometimes when they call it is just at the wrong time or you're not in the mood to talk. I cannot imagine though what it would be like in 'real life' to avoid your mothers calls (or any direct relative) and then find out they have died. Add to that discovering that the body has been stolen and all the other ramifications Victory has to cope with *shakes head*. Huff does a nice job of twisting the knife in - after spending the book trying to find each other we are treated to these final words between the pair:
"...love you... Vic...ki..."
"I love you, too, Mom."
I don't tear up at a lot of books and I don't always tear up with this one but it is usually a close thing...
The other reason I like this book is that is is rare in the vampire novels for and then for the vamp to lose out. Normally in those situations the vamp gets a happy ever after but in this book it is our human love interest Celluci who wins out. It's interesting that in the next book they acknowledge that he was always Victory's - and I do think if she had been forced to pick between the two (as always happens with love triangles) she'd have gone with him.
I think this is the series best book (I only own and have read the first five so I might be wrong), it seems more of a natural conclusion as the next book seems to go about humanising Henry more (perhaps the later books focus on him rather than Vicki... which would make the humanising aspect make sense...). Which isn't a bad thing, but what with it not being based in Toronto (yes I know this one wasn't either) or based as much on Vicki it seems more like a story on the way to something else as opposed to a story in its own right.
February 7, 2017
Avis tiré de mon blog :
Un tome un peu plus glauque que les précédent, et encore une fois assez original.
C'est un moment vraiment triste pour Vicki, alors qu'elle retardait le moment de parler à sa mère malgré ses coups de téléphone incessants ces derniers temps, elle apprends que celle ci vient de mourir.
Elle se prépare donc a l'enterrement ... Jusqu'au moment ou elle réalise que le cadavre a été volé !
Une enquête parfaitement dans son domaine, si seulement elle n'était pas tellement impliquée ... Michael et Henry sont bien entendu la pour la soutenir, et surtout bien utile quand on commence à voir traîner des cadavres ambulants dans les allées de l'université ...
On reprend le schéma auquel on est habitué sur cette série, à savoir qu'on suis simultanément nos héros qui découvrent le problème et le criminel en train de le commettre. Mais la ou sur les tomes précédents on avait quand même le suspense de ne pas savoir qui est ce criminel, ici ce n'est pas le cas. On sait depuis le début qui est derrière tout ça, quasiment, et donc le livre est moins basé sur le suspense.
En fait c'était limite fascinant les recherches entreprises sur ces corps, la façon dont ils réagissent, brrr.. J'avais presque une envie de recul quand on avait uns description qui les concernait.
On a aussi l'occasion de voir une situation ou Henry n'est pas du tout a son avantage, et c'est aussi un point que j'aime bien dans cet univers, les vampires ne sont pas trop puissants, ils ont des failles, ils peuvent être pris. Sans parler bien sur de la fin qui m'a surpris surtout parce qu'elle arrive à se moment la en fait. On aurait bien vu ce genre de fin à la toute fin de la série, ou au contraire vers le début annonçant le reste, mais la voir arriver sur le tome 4/6 c'était vraiment surprenant !
Résultat j'ai quand même une petite hâte de savoir comment ça va continuer !
16/20
Un tome un peu plus glauque que les précédent, et encore une fois assez original.
C'est un moment vraiment triste pour Vicki, alors qu'elle retardait le moment de parler à sa mère malgré ses coups de téléphone incessants ces derniers temps, elle apprends que celle ci vient de mourir.
Elle se prépare donc a l'enterrement ... Jusqu'au moment ou elle réalise que le cadavre a été volé !
Une enquête parfaitement dans son domaine, si seulement elle n'était pas tellement impliquée ... Michael et Henry sont bien entendu la pour la soutenir, et surtout bien utile quand on commence à voir traîner des cadavres ambulants dans les allées de l'université ...
On reprend le schéma auquel on est habitué sur cette série, à savoir qu'on suis simultanément nos héros qui découvrent le problème et le criminel en train de le commettre. Mais la ou sur les tomes précédents on avait quand même le suspense de ne pas savoir qui est ce criminel, ici ce n'est pas le cas. On sait depuis le début qui est derrière tout ça, quasiment, et donc le livre est moins basé sur le suspense.
En fait c'était limite fascinant les recherches entreprises sur ces corps, la façon dont ils réagissent, brrr.. J'avais presque une envie de recul quand on avait uns description qui les concernait.
On a aussi l'occasion de voir une situation ou Henry n'est pas du tout a son avantage, et c'est aussi un point que j'aime bien dans cet univers, les vampires ne sont pas trop puissants, ils ont des failles, ils peuvent être pris. Sans parler bien sur de la fin qui m'a surpris surtout parce qu'elle arrive à se moment la en fait. On aurait bien vu ce genre de fin à la toute fin de la série, ou au contraire vers le début annonçant le reste, mais la voir arriver sur le tome 4/6 c'était vraiment surprenant !
Résultat j'ai quand même une petite hâte de savoir comment ça va continuer !
16/20
October 7, 2010
Probably more like 4 1/2 stars, but I'm favoring 4 over 5 in this case.
Not sure that I can write a non-spoiler review of this one. Talk about writing yourself into a corner. I wonder if the author intended to end the books with just one more after this one, or if the plot twist in the end of this book cut off the action.
Spoilers
Vicki is injured to the point where the only choice is to let her die or let Henry try to turn her, knowing that once she's turned it will drive them apart. On one hand, it was a nicely bittersweet ending to see both Mike and Henry ready to give her up in order to see her survive. On the other hand, I hate to see the end of their odd little threesome. She seems to need both of them in different ways. And Henry and Mike were just finding a strange sort of balance with each other - respect, if nothing else.
The mystery of the book itself - some strange zombies in the Dr. Frankenstein sense. Using bacteria and artificial parts to revive cadavers. Only the newest of the experimental subjects seem to be more than just empty husks. Creepy as hell, especially since #10 used to be Vicki's mom.
So, lots of sacrifice and self-sacrifice going on in this book. Big tear-jerker, at least for me. A sort of natural ending book. Not sure how Tanya will bring them all back together for one final adventure.
Not sure that I can write a non-spoiler review of this one. Talk about writing yourself into a corner. I wonder if the author intended to end the books with just one more after this one, or if the plot twist in the end of this book cut off the action.
Spoilers
Vicki is injured to the point where the only choice is to let her die or let Henry try to turn her, knowing that once she's turned it will drive them apart. On one hand, it was a nicely bittersweet ending to see both Mike and Henry ready to give her up in order to see her survive. On the other hand, I hate to see the end of their odd little threesome. She seems to need both of them in different ways. And Henry and Mike were just finding a strange sort of balance with each other - respect, if nothing else.
The mystery of the book itself - some strange zombies in the Dr. Frankenstein sense. Using bacteria and artificial parts to revive cadavers. Only the newest of the experimental subjects seem to be more than just empty husks. Creepy as hell, especially since #10 used to be Vicki's mom.
So, lots of sacrifice and self-sacrifice going on in this book. Big tear-jerker, at least for me. A sort of natural ending book. Not sure how Tanya will bring them all back together for one final adventure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2009
I can't decide if this my favorite or Blood Lines is my favorite. Very good. Modern day Dr. Frankenstein turns Vicki's mother into a Frankenstein monster. The best part of this book was the ending. I won't give away what happened though. You'll just have to read the book.
March 23, 2013
4 1/2 Stars
What a ride! This modern version of Dr. Frankenstein and the monster was exciting, told in a very well-paced tale. The characters continued to be interesting to follow. I love the dynamic between the three and how it evolves further in this story.
What a ride! This modern version of Dr. Frankenstein and the monster was exciting, told in a very well-paced tale. The characters continued to be interesting to follow. I love the dynamic between the three and how it evolves further in this story.
October 20, 2018
Another re-read of this series, which has not lived up to my memories, although the third volume was an improvement. In this book, the theme - having covered demons, werewolves, and an Egyptian mummy in the first three - switches to a combination of Doctor Frankenstein and zombies. Vicki, who has avoided taking calls from her mother due to busyness or not being in the mood for her mother's usual questions into whether she is getting serious with Mike Celluci or Henry Fitzroy (her mother has never appeared physically in the books before and doesn't know Henry is a 450 year old vampire), is devastated when she receives a phone call to tell her that her mother died suddenly of a massive heart attack at work. She rushes off to deal with the funeral, keeping her emotions firmly clamped down - apart from her usual anger - and the two men have to track her down to Kingston in time for the funeral. At which point, she discovers that the coffin is empty and embarks on an investigation, helped by the two men.
Meanwhile, the latest villains have been appearing in their own viewpoint sections - a whole group of them this time as there is a doctor who is administrator of the scientific department of Kingston University plus two graduate students, both geniuses it seems and both odd in their own way although the female student is a lot odder. And we discover way ahead of the three main characters what has been happening to disappearing bodies .....
I won't say much more about the plot as there are major spoilers otherwise. This story is a lot grimmer as Vicki takes blow after emotional blow and almost descends into a crackup, not helped by her inability to express any emotion apart from anger. I must admit to not really liking her as a character in this re-read of the series, and she seems to become more and more a caricature of herself as time goes on with constant breaking of household articles. Mike is a lot more sympathetic as a character, and near the end of the story shows his empathic and self sacrificing side - which turns out to be ironic, given the final resolution of the love triangle between him, Henry and Vicki. Henry is vulnerable here again as he was in volume 2, and has to rely on the other two to rescue him from a tight spot, and there is quite a high body count and plenty of action once the trio work out who is behind the body snatching.
Given my growing dislike of Vicki as a character I can only rate this at 3 stars. It would have made a good end to the series, although I did think on my original reading that the author could have tackled other traditional genre themes such as ghosts or the fae, but she did go on to write more books with the new character dynamic. I only have book 5 and having already read that, I don't think I shall want to track down the rest.
Meanwhile, the latest villains have been appearing in their own viewpoint sections - a whole group of them this time as there is a doctor who is administrator of the scientific department of Kingston University plus two graduate students, both geniuses it seems and both odd in their own way although the female student is a lot odder. And we discover way ahead of the three main characters what has been happening to disappearing bodies .....
I won't say much more about the plot as there are major spoilers otherwise. This story is a lot grimmer as Vicki takes blow after emotional blow and almost descends into a crackup, not helped by her inability to express any emotion apart from anger. I must admit to not really liking her as a character in this re-read of the series, and she seems to become more and more a caricature of herself as time goes on with constant breaking of household articles. Mike is a lot more sympathetic as a character, and near the end of the story shows his empathic and self sacrificing side - which turns out to be ironic, given the final resolution of the love triangle between him, Henry and Vicki. Henry is vulnerable here again as he was in volume 2, and has to rely on the other two to rescue him from a tight spot, and there is quite a high body count and plenty of action once the trio work out who is behind the body snatching.
Given my growing dislike of Vicki as a character I can only rate this at 3 stars. It would have made a good end to the series, although I did think on my original reading that the author could have tackled other traditional genre themes such as ghosts or the fae, but she did go on to write more books with the new character dynamic. I only have book 5 and having already read that, I don't think I shall want to track down the rest.
November 5, 2020
Huff's characters often tend towards moral ambiguity in ways that readers don't necessarily expect in genre books; this series, for example, is definitely not romance, although there is romance in it - Vicki is adamant that the love triangle is a non-issue and continues to have a romantic/sexual relationship with both Henry and Mike (despite the fact that each of them would prefer to have her to himself). Henry is bisexual and has an ongoing (non-monogamous) feeding/sexual relationship with a teenaged ex-prostitute. In this book, however, Henry does something that I found pretty disturbing (which is not treated as at all problematic by the text): I get it, Huff's not writing a romance, and Henry's not supposed to be a necessarily sympathetic character in some respects, but I tend not to love books where the protagonist commits rape; it's a level of moral "ambiguity" that bothers me.
Anyway, I found it hard to continue on with the book after that, in part because I think this series really reminds me of horror - not modern horror stacking up As Many Gory Deaths As Possible or whatever (I don't read a lot of horror) but old-school B-movies playing late at night. Not really my thing right now.
Anyway, I found it hard to continue on with the book after that, in part because I think this series really reminds me of horror - not modern horror stacking up As Many Gory Deaths As Possible or whatever (I don't read a lot of horror) but old-school B-movies playing late at night. Not really my thing right now.
August 3, 2020
Blood Pact is the fourth book in Vicki Nelson series written by Tanya Huff. It centers on private investigator Victoria "Vicky" Nelson, her new, immortal helper, bastard son of Henry VIII, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, or simply, Henry Fitzroy, and her former lover and colleague Detective Sergeant Mike Cellucci.
Marjory Nelson, the mother of Victoria "Vicky" Nelson, has died from a heart attack and she has to head to Kingston to make funeral arrangements. However, things go amiss when her mother’s body goes missing from the funeral home. It is later revealed that someone at the university that her mother worked in has absconded and experiment with her body in order to learn the secret of life after death.
Blood Pact is written rather well. The pacing of this installment is rather good with plenty of tension. Oddly, this installment does not have Vicky Nelson as the driving force to move the narrative forward. Instead, Mike Celluci and Henry FitzRoy are jarred out of their time share arrangement and forced to work together as they try to help Vicki, leading to some new and interesting interactions and a definite sense that Vicki's love life is about to change.
All in all, Blood Pact is written rather well and is a good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to continue in the very near future.
Marjory Nelson, the mother of Victoria "Vicky" Nelson, has died from a heart attack and she has to head to Kingston to make funeral arrangements. However, things go amiss when her mother’s body goes missing from the funeral home. It is later revealed that someone at the university that her mother worked in has absconded and experiment with her body in order to learn the secret of life after death.
Blood Pact is written rather well. The pacing of this installment is rather good with plenty of tension. Oddly, this installment does not have Vicky Nelson as the driving force to move the narrative forward. Instead, Mike Celluci and Henry FitzRoy are jarred out of their time share arrangement and forced to work together as they try to help Vicki, leading to some new and interesting interactions and a definite sense that Vicki's love life is about to change.
All in all, Blood Pact is written rather well and is a good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to continue in the very near future.
June 13, 2022
3.5 stars.. Strange story about Vicki. another mystery that is right up Vicki's expertise of strange phenomena.
Likes:
* 6' 4" Detective Sergeant Mike Celluci, possessive over Vicki and jealous of Henry
* 450 year old, Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of Henry VIII, bodice ripper novelist, church protector as a holy crusader back in the day
* Vicki ex Toronto homocide detective, retired due to vision disability
Dislikes:
* Not as many amusing scenes and first 2 books
* Jealous snarky remarks are not funny
With-reservations:
violence, murder, evil, mad scientist, debilitating fear
Our Characters:
Vampires:
Likes:
* 6' 4" Detective Sergeant Mike Celluci, possessive over Vicki and jealous of Henry
* 450 year old, Henry Fitzroy, bastard son of Henry VIII, bodice ripper novelist, church protector as a holy crusader back in the day
* Vicki ex Toronto homocide detective, retired due to vision disability
Dislikes:
* Not as many amusing scenes and first 2 books
* Jealous snarky remarks are not funny
With-reservations:
violence, murder, evil, mad scientist, debilitating fear
Our Characters:
Vampires:
July 15, 2024
If I am being very honest 3 stars is a tad unfair for this book, but I found myself skimming quite a few section of it (mainly because I remembered parts of it and wanted to get to them). Unfortunately that also means this book has confirmed my decision to donate these 5 books to charity - I just remember too much about these last two books that they've lost any re-read value for me.
One of the things I remember is quite a big spoiler, and yet on my edition it is literally the first line on the back of the book! So yes, I remembered that Victory's mother became a zombie in this book, and one that was on a mission. This remains as heart-wrenching as it did originally and really does make the book given the villain turns out to be just a little crazy.
It's a bit disappointing that given the way this series has twisted some of the usual tropes, the author relies REALLY heavily on the mad scientist motif here. I also wish we got a bit more backstory - why was number 9 so obsessed with the scientist? Just because she was 'nice' to him or did he know her in real life or what? I will say, I have never seen the TV series adaptation of this series, but I reckon this one could be really creepy and I am tempted to see if I can maybe check it out - even if I am giving the books away.
One of the things I remember is quite a big spoiler, and yet on my edition it is literally the first line on the back of the book! So yes, I remembered that Victory's mother became a zombie in this book, and one that was on a mission. This remains as heart-wrenching as it did originally and really does make the book given the villain turns out to be just a little crazy.
It's a bit disappointing that given the way this series has twisted some of the usual tropes, the author relies REALLY heavily on the mad scientist motif here. I also wish we got a bit more backstory - why was number 9 so obsessed with the scientist? Just because she was 'nice' to him or did he know her in real life or what? I will say, I have never seen the TV series adaptation of this series, but I reckon this one could be really creepy and I am tempted to see if I can maybe check it out - even if I am giving the books away.
January 18, 2022
I discovered Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson BLOOD books after seeing the Blood Ties TV show on Prime. The show was a little cheesy but it was as good as Forever Night, and 23 year old Kyle Schmid as Henry Fitzroy was very easy on the eyes. Anyway...
Tanya Huff is a fantastic writer. I've read the first 3 BLOOD books last year and man, Huff just knows how to write an old fashioned hold your breath and turn the page tale.
In #4, the saddest of the books, Vicki learns her mother has died. Vicki is a ferociously independent woman with castle-like walls built around her heart. She makes me want to slap her, since you know that damn heart of hers is huge. But as her mother tries to reach her, almost in desperation it seems, Vicki ignores her calls, until she learns she has died suddenly. Of course Vicki is filled with guilt and anger, as she should be, and returns home to Kingston to take care of funeral arrangements. Henry and Mike soon follow.
I won't say any more, since I don't believe in spoilers. Just be prepared to gasp, groan, lust and weep at this story.
Tanya Huff is a fantastic writer. I've read the first 3 BLOOD books last year and man, Huff just knows how to write an old fashioned hold your breath and turn the page tale.
In #4, the saddest of the books, Vicki learns her mother has died. Vicki is a ferociously independent woman with castle-like walls built around her heart. She makes me want to slap her, since you know that damn heart of hers is huge. But as her mother tries to reach her, almost in desperation it seems, Vicki ignores her calls, until she learns she has died suddenly. Of course Vicki is filled with guilt and anger, as she should be, and returns home to Kingston to take care of funeral arrangements. Henry and Mike soon follow.
I won't say any more, since I don't believe in spoilers. Just be prepared to gasp, groan, lust and weep at this story.
March 3, 2019
I liked this book more than I did the previous one, but probably because I liked reading the so called bad guys side more than I did Vicky and her two suitors. I've never been a fan of love triangles and it's the same in this series. Mostly because I don't like the main character Vicky. She is so obsessed about being strong and independent that it has become an insecurity for her. She gets pissed off every time one or both of the guys show some concern for her. It's not like they think little of her, they are just worried, but Ms. Nelson goes off the handle. It gets old after so many books. Not that Henry and Mike are much better. It feels like they are just there to like Vicky.
So the opposing force carried this book, they were interesting and so were their victims. They alone kept me going to the end. And the ending was good from a love triangle point of view, I guess.
So the opposing force carried this book, they were interesting and so were their victims. They alone kept me going to the end. And the ending was good from a love triangle point of view, I guess.
June 7, 2020
I have to say Zombies are not my cup of tea they tend to freak me out, so it was with some trepidation I started to read this book. It was good. I enjoyed the plot and it freaked me out just enough without making me want to stop reading. It was a bit more disturbing and more sad then the other ones though. Vicki continues to be such an awesome well rounded character and she really goes through the wringer in this story. I have to say this book really makes a very convincing argument for a polyamorous relationship between the three main characters, Mike and Henry actually reach a better understanding, and the three of them have such great chemistry together. Having said all that I did like the ending the author went with and it feels like it could've been a good end to the series although there is one more left. I will definitely be continuing.
October 21, 2024
Compared to the third book in the series, I liked this one better because it had the potential to be more focused on Vicki, Henry, and Mike and get into personal character development in a deeper fashion. Huff digs into Vicki's emotions because of her mother's death, into Henry's vampiric nature because of attempt to be a hero gets him into a trap, and Mike's heart and head as he must grapple with the fact that the woman he loves is perfectly fine being poly. Unfortunately, the story also jumped around a lot between many viewpoint characters; frankly that didn't help to keep me interested and made me want to just stop reading a few times when viewpoints were literally a sentence or two long. Unlike the previous three books, the threat here is more science based and that was also nice surprise. The twist I mentioned? Oh, I'm not revealing that to you.
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