- Hardcover: 528 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow (March 13, 2012)
- ISBN-10: 0061231541
- Source: Publisher
Rosetti family has been haunted by the vampiric presence of their uncle, John Polidori, former physician for Lord Byron. Now adults, Christina and her brother, Gabriel, believe that the spirit of Polidori has taken over Gabriel’s wife, Lizzie. Lizzie goes in to trances, the spirit that has taken her body hostage communicating through her via ghost writing.
Meanwhile, John Crawford is surprised when a woman arrives at the door of his practice, an ex-prostitute, Adeleide McKee, claiming to have given birth to his child. That child, presumed dead, is in fact living, her soul enslaved by Polidori as well. The Rosettis, along with Crawford and McKee, must join forces to regain the souls of those they love from the grasp of the vampire spirit that now torments both families. When a situation arises that permits the unlikely group to regain the soul of Crawford and McKee’s daughter, Johanna. They believe they have finally conquered the spirit of Polidori.
Several years later, the return of Crawford and Gabriel’s long-missing loved ones dash all hopes of the demise of Polidori. He’s attempting to regain power, using Christina’s blood, and return, this time with his Queen. The group must reunite to finally put an end to Polidori, before he takes control of the soul of young Johanna.
Set in Victorian England, Powers pulls from the already dark and Gothic setting to portray quite the dismal setting. This setting clearly plays an integral role to the story, almost a character in and of itself. Additionally, it is refreshing to discover a literary take on vampire fiction. Not being a fan of the lighter, sparkly vampires, I appreciate Powers sticking to the “real” vampires.
At over 500 pages, this is quite the lengthy book. While there were parts that seemed to lag, overall Powers was able to keep my attention throughout the entirety of the novel.
Unbeknownst to me, Hide Me Among the Graves is actual a distant sequel to The Stress of Her Regard. Personally, not reading the previous book didn’t inhibit my experience or appreciation of the book. That said, I’m quite interested in getting my hands on a copy, especially when it involves poets Byron and Shelley.
Fans of dark, Gothic thrillers with a touch of the supernatural/horror will be sure to enjoy this book. Highly recommended.
Tags: Horror, Paranormal Fiction, Review, William Morrow
I got this at ALA midwinter and it looks really good. This is the first review I’ve seen and I’m excited to read it!
Twitter: jennbookshelves
Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 10:09 AM
I was surprised not to see more reviews of this book myself!
Awesome, I’m a fan of dark gothic thrillers
I definitely didn’t know there was another book that tied in. Good to know that this one stands on its own and that there’s another to seek out for the TBR stack.
I have two older Powers books from my bookseller days, one has to do with remote viewing.
I haven’t read a “real” vampire book in quite a while. This one does sound good, especially since I tend to be drawn to books with really well-developed settings.
That sounds really interesting… as soon as I seen title and cover I felt like I wanted to read it!
I have The Stress of Her Regard on my bookshelf but I admit I didn’t really LOVE my first Tim Powers reading experience and so am a little leery of picking that one up. I read The Drawing of the Dark and was fairly “meh” about it. But I have The Stress of Her Regard and On Stranger Tides on my shelf, so I should read at least ONE of them and give Powers another go!
Im so happy I read this review! I have been hesitant to read this book ever since I found out it was a sequel, but now that I know it’s not necessary to read the first book, I’m in!
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