Many Bloody Returns

Review by Vicky London

Many Bloody Returns is an anthology of short stories edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner. The editors chose two concepts, vampires (the dead) and birthdays (celebrations of life) to see how different authors combined the two. The result is a fabulous collection of short stories ranging from funny to heart-breaking.

Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris
Sookie Stackhouse is invited to a celebration of Dracula’s birthday and almost ends up on the menu herself. This is a nice little Sookie story that is necessarily faster paced than the books. A tidbit to tide over fans of the Southern Vampire Mysteries series.

The Mournful Cry of Owls by Christopher Golden
A girl on the cusp of womanhood discovers her mother is keeping some scary secrets. Poignant and frightening.

I Was a Teenage Vampire by Bill Crider
Funny and wry, think: Napoleon Dynamite becomes a vampire.

Twilight by Kelley Armstrong
Cassandra, a vampire from Kelley’s women of the otherworld series, finds herself unmotivated to make her annual vampire birthday kill. Oh, the trials of being a vampire.

It’s My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher
From the Dresden Files series, Wizard Harry Dresden gets more than he bargained for when he tries to deliver his brother’s birthday present. It’s nice to see Harry get out of a jam in less than 300 pages.

Grave-Robbed by P.N. Elrod
A young woman comes to a vampire private agent for help with a shyster conducting a seance for her sister’s dead husband. Vintage 1930’s noir drama with a paranormal twist.

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life by Rachel Caine
Part of the Morganville vampire series, this is the story of how Eve Rossiter came to live with Michael Glass and made enemies with the vampires of Morganville.

The Witch and the Wicked by Jeanne C. Stein
Sophie, a witch finds a new secret ingredient for her magical face creams and gets a terrifying surprise from a vampire client. Very creepy.

Blood Wrapped by Tanya Huff
Henry ponders what to get Vicky for her 40th birthday. Warning: if you haven’t read any of this Tanya Huff series and have only watched the Blood Ties series on Lifetime there are some major spoilers here in this story.

The Wish by Carolyn Haines
A desperate woman gets revenge on death for cheating her out of her family. Total tearjerker.

Fire and Ice and Linguini for Two by Tate Hallaway
Garnet Lacey tries to make her vampire boyfriend’s birthday special but finds he’s right when he says it’s cursed. Freaky and made me thankful I no longer live in snow country.

Vampire Hours by Elaine Viets
A Miami wife gets delicious revenge on her cheating husband with the help of a gorgeous vampire. A great desperate housewife fantasy.

How Stella Got Her Grave Back by Toni L. P. Kelner
Someone is in Stella’s grave and it sure ain’t her since she dug her way out after becoming a vampire. A serial killer gets more than he bargained for with this undead sleuth on his trail.

There’s something for everyone in Many Bloody Returns and you just might discover a new favorite vampire author.

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