C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp: Touch of Madness

Review by Vicky London

Touch of Madness is the sequel to C.T. Adam’s and Cathy Clamp’s first Thrall book, Touch of Evil. Kate Reilly is just trying to live her life with a successful courier business and landlord of her own loft building in lower downtown Denver, Colorado. She survived an attack by the vampires to make her the next queen and she now has the dubious distinction of Not Prey. Now Kate is on trial facing charges in the death of a young man that she tried to save and she’s next on the hit list of a serial killer. The Thrall vampires also want her to investigate the theft of their eggs and will use any means necessary to get Kate to cooperate. To top things off, her boyfriend’s werewolf pack is trying to break them up so that Tom can mate with a female werewolf to ensure the survival of his people. What’s a girl to do? Kate will fight for her man and her own survival.

The Thrall series is one of my favorite vampire series. These vampires are much different than your average vamps. Their parasitic nature and ability to communicate telepathically really raise the creepiness factor. The characters are also unique and interesting. Kate doesn’t have any special kick ass powers but she manages to use the gifts she has to keep herself and others alive. She’s flawed but realizes it and tries to change where she can. I’m also a big sucker for books featuring smart, independent women who can take care of themselves. Kate’s boyfriend Tom is a werewolf but not the typical ass-aholic alpha male. He manages to trust Kate to take care of things when she knows better than him what to do. One of the new vampire queens also adds some shades of gray to the villains when Kate discovers that she actually likes him and there may be more to the Thrall than she knows about. The plot is also tightly written, slowly revealing the mysteries all the way to the very satisfying ending. Loved it.