Blood Trail was my least favorite installment of the Vicki Nelson series. I'm not sure if that's because the precepts of the series work less well with this plot or because I have such high expectations for werewolf stories.
Yep! In this book, Vicki and Henry go out to London, Ontario to solve the murder of some werewolves. Henry Fitzroy happens to be a friend of the family!
Lore/Worldbuilding: This installment doesn't add anything to the vampire lore, really, other than acknowledging that Henry spent some time during World War II. Instead, Huff establishes werewolves as an independent species. The moon isn't the ruling factor in their lives. They aren't cursed. Silver means nothing. The wer are what they are all the time and they are very capable of being killed by mundane means. They just happen to turn into wolves, y'know, and have heightened senses.
As always, it's fun to see werewolves going without clothes, but it's clear that if they are wearing ANY clothes, they cannot change... I'm not sure that's realistic. But it does lead to their neighbors thinking they are nudists. Some of the details surrounding wer life are deeply uncomfortable, however. The line between Person and Animal is pretty blurry. For example, one of the teenagers in the family is about to go into heat, and therefore they have to keep her brothers and father away from her. o.O
I'm not so big on the incest, tbh. I do appreciate that Huff focuses on the family angle of the packs and avoid the B-move conceit that vampires and werewolves are natural rivals. Historically speaking, there isn't a huge distinction between werewolf mythology and vampire mythology in some of the European stories. So it's good to see that the wer and Henry are just buddies and both of them were Allies during WWII.
Also, parts of their 'dominance' ideology as werewolves allowed us to poke fun at Mike Celluci (Vicki's former partner and sometimes paramour), which is always good.
Plot: Since the wer are an alternate species and not really supernatural or magical, a murder plot against them is extremely possible. Possible, but not that terribly interesting.
Although Blood Trail repeats Huff's strategy from the first book (and the later books) of revealing the villain to the reader far before the other characters, it isn't as effective as it was. The stakes are lowered, partially because only the wer are affected by the threat. And, when the situation changes, roping in a second villain, it doesn't really amp up the tension.... The outcome would be the same either way: More family members dying. If the villains were as messed up as the ones from Blood Price, it might have still worked, but I found them a one-note with thin motivation.
Sexuality: Not a lot in the forefront here, but Henry and Tony's side relationship is still going, and later on, we have the casual reference to some elderly lesbians. :3
Sexuality: Not a lot in the forefront here, but Henry and Tony's side relationship is still going, and later on, we have the casual reference to some elderly lesbians. :3
Character: Continuing personal conflicts for Vicki involving her degenerating sight and her complicated relationships with Henry and Celluci!
I'm more or less satisfied with the continuity on the former. She's getting used to not being on the force and her disability doesn't just disappear. It's something ongoing that she just has to deal with, including how people think about her. As far as I'm concerned, this is Vicki's rodeo. She's trying to solve the murders, dealing with her expanded reality, and navigating her relationships.
Her relationship with Henry doesn't develop as much as I'd hoped in this book, though. Celluci shows up, of course, because without him, who would Vicki argue with? But it was established pretty early on that Henry wanted to be her partner and lover and to help her with her supernatural cases... While she and Henry do get it on, the timeline is constricted. A lot happens during the day when he's almost literally dead to the world. Their connection doesn't develop much. And instead of having a moment together at the end, they all head back to Toronto in Celluci's car, with Henry and Celluci fighting in the front of the car.
Okay then.
So, still happy to see Vicki in all her stubborn glory. Not wild about this version of werewolves. Very appreciative of the arguments with Celluci about how the justice system really only provides justice if you're male, straight, and white (which Celluci is on the receiving end of, but doesn't really concede to until the end). It never occurred to me that my critical race education started in the 1990s due to an urban fantasy detective series.
THE POWER OF BOOOOOKS!
On to the next installments in the series: THE MUMMY!
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