Dracula & Daughters

This is the start of a new gothic adventure series, in which three cousins who are descendants of Dracula form a vampire healing company.

In true Emma Carroll fashion, this story has the reader on tenterhooks throughout, with chases through the dark streets of Temstown, the spine-tingling threat of attack from vengeful creatures and the need for the three brave heroines to complete their dangerous mission before the new moon deadline.

It’s all the more gripping because the identity of trustworthy good guys and shifty villains is obscured. What’s more, as the plot thickens, the readers’ perception only gradually clears, spotting connections between different characters. The way Carroll weaves numerous strands together is extremely satisfying: there’s the scene-setting, which has the reader picturing London in the late 19th Century; the kinship felt by the main characters; the power plays of ambitious, dangerous men; and the knowledge that might lead to both cure and restoration for the wronged.

This is a book that will be devoured by those with an appetite for gruesome fantasy with a historical flavour. Librarians will not need to recommend it for copies to quickly fly off the ‘horror’ shelf.