Review: Spiral X by J. J. Westendarp

ASIN #: B004A14QAA (Kindle Edition)

Page Count: 201

Copyright: 2010

About the Author:

(Taken from last page of ebook)

J. J. Westendarp lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with his wife, two kids and two basset hounds.  He is an unapologetic Dallas Cowboys fan, loves to play games (video and board) when he gets a chance, and has an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars.

You can connect with the author by clicking here to visit his Facebook page, or by sending him an email at jjwestendarp@verizon.net.

Summary:

(Taken from Amazon.com)

Cheryl Erikson is a Vampire Hunter with a problem. A dangerous new drug named Plast has found its way onto the streets of Dallas. She would prefer to let the DEA and local law enforcement handle everything, but since the dealers also happen to be vampires, she has no choice but to step in and put a stop to it.

With the help of her best friend Virgil and a fellow Hunter named Tank, Cheryl must work to eradicate Plast from the streets of Dallas. It's a task that becomes more difficult as she comes under the gun, quite literally, from a contract out on her head. Coupled with a nosy police detective looking to peg her for a triple homicide, and a sudden interest in her activities from a powerful vampire recently arrived in the area, it's enough to force her to accept help from the least likely of sources, a mysterious Hunter named Rev. Through him, everything she thinks she knows, and everything she stands for, is challenged in ways she never imagined.

My Review:

Like the majority of readers, I am drawn to vampire related stories.  Most of the vampire stories I read have a human love interest for the main vampire.  While a story about a dark and dangerous vampire becoming romantically involved with an unsure and hesitantly willing human is interesting, it can sometimes become a little boring.

This story was not like that at all.  First of all, the kickin'-butt takin'-names main character was a non-vampiric female.  I enjoyed this fact.  She had male sidekicks, assistants, etc. but she was definitely the one that was in charge of her domain.  She could handle tough situations ... sometimes showing emotion, but not being too girly.

I also enjoyed the fact that the vampires had another mission besides feeding on humans.  There was actually a purpose for their presence in this story.  Now, I can't tell you what their purpose is or I'd be spoiling the story for you ... just know that their presence is a nice change from the whole 'feeding on the human race' worn-out story line.

While reading the story, I noticed one slight discrepancy:  There was a club owner mixing a drink for Cheryl.  He pulled out vodka and orange juice.  It was then mentioned that the club owner made a drink called a Fuzzy Navel.  Now, for anybody who has drank liquor concocted drinks in their lifetime, the mixture of vodka and orange juice is not known as a Fuzzy Navel, but a Screwdriver.  A Fuzzy Navel is a combination of orange juice and peach schnapps.  Vodka, orange juice and peach schnapps is called a Hairy Navel.  I know, I know ... this isn't a major story element, but I feel that if you're going to put something based in real life in a story, it needs to be correctly depicted.  Just my own OCD behavior speaking here ...

Overall, I rather enjoyed reading Cheryl's adventures with vampires, police, FBI, priests, gang bangers, etc.  It was a great mix of adventure and self-preservation.  The story flowed extremely well and I did not want to stop reading it once I started it.  I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys action-adventure with a vampiric twist.