Think CSI with vampires, werewolves, etc.

The whole giving the Otherworlders their own [closely guarded] city smacks of apartheid but get past that and the story is a good one. Fairly fast read.

Valorian Chronicles
1. Blood Secrets (2007)
2. Dark Lies (2007)
3. Veiled Truth (2008)
4. The Vampire's Quest (2009)

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There has been a ritualistic murder in Necroplis and the Otherworld Crime Unit (OCU) has been called in to solve it. The head of the unit, Cain Valorian realizes right away that this is investigation is going to be different than any he has ever seen. The young woman that was murdered was human; Cain and his unit are not.

When it became known that lycanthropy and magic are real the government decided to make the Otherworld city, Necroplis. The city is well guarded behind a facade of a military base that does not show up on any map. Cain is ordered to work with a human, Eve Grant from the nearby San Antonio crime lab to help solve the case. Every member of the OCU has been wronged by a human before and therefore do not trust humans. Cain realizes that he needs Eve's help to solve the case and stop any turmoil between Necroplis and the humans.

Eve was scared and wondering why she volunteered to work this case as she was entering to meet the chief of OCU, a vampire. Once she sees Cain, she is instantly attracted to him and has carnal thoughts about him. She had read about the OCU before she came, but was not prepared for what it meant to meet and work with vampires, witches and a lycan. While Cain and Eve try to fight their growing attraction; Eve and the rest of the OCU team must learn to work together and trust one another in order to find the killer in time.

Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton (early work), Kim Harrison, and Charlaine Harris now have a new name to add to their must read list, Vivi Anna! She has composed a fabulous world in Blood Secrets with a smooth flowing story line, excellent primary and secondary characters, action and romance. After reading this book it will have you asking Vivi Anna, to please write more about the OCU. I for one would love to read about Lyra (especially more about her grandmother) and Jace.

Cat Smith
PNR Reviews
2/13/07

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Debut novel in Silhouette Nocturne's new Valorian Chronicles. Based on a CSI-like crime unit in Necropolis, a city of vampires, werewolves, witches, and who-knows-what, disguised as a restricted army base near San Antonio, Texas.

Vivi Anna has fun giving us the details of crime scene analysis, paranormal style. Crime Unit leader Caine Valorian tries to find a serial killer while hampered by vampire politicians who force him to accept a temporary addition to his edgy team. Eve Grant is eager to succeed but must deal with almost complete ignorance of the Other World, suspicious and frightening team-mates and a powerful attraction to her vampire boss.

A fun start. Be prepared to buy the next book because this story clearly is not over.

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If you like to watch CSI and you like vampires, you may enjoy this book. It's written like the author is a fan of the show with so much attention focused on the CSI aspect that the characters and the love story felt completely flat (as in 2-dimensional.) I would not recommend this book.

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CSI vampire style; if you enjoy watching CSI and like other creatures of the night, you wil enjoy this book. It is a first in a series and I am planning on reading the others.
It is a light book, not an angst series full of dark, dominating alpha males and submissive females. Caine is the leader of the team, a vampire over 200 year old. He is a complex person that I hope to learn more about over time. When Caine sees Eve, a human assigned to help with a murder, he thinks Barbie doll and isn't looking forward to working with her.
Eve seems to be the typical heroine, blond, blue eyes, cute; but the author has given her some backbone that she shows to the other members of the team and in her professional behavior. In some scenes, however, she becomes the typical herione; in tears after being attacked. The secondary characters are interesting and I am looking forward to meeting them in other books.
The world the author has created is unique, different from the normal paranormal world. This makes the city and story interesting, yet stays true to some of the normal aspects of roles (vampires drink blood; werewolves eat meat, witches cast spells).
It is a mystery and the author does a good job in keeping the reader in suspense of who the murderer is, although you know why it is happening before the OCU team does. They typical red herring and ending, but enjoyable. It definitely has room for improvement, but the potential is there.
For those who enjoy an erotic book, full of steam and graphic details you will not find it in this book. The sexual tension, the love scenes are perfect for those who don't enjoy the erotic stories. Very enjoyable but not over the top.
The negative aspect that really bothers me and I hope are explained in the future are how the vampires kept from overunning the world with vampires if a bite caused the person to turn into a vampire. The story had it weak moments and showed there was room for improvement, but the begining of a new series is always weak to some extent. What is important is that it has potential and I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
I would give it a 3.5 due to the mistakes in the book, contraditions in some areas, but the good of the book outweights the bad.
So far, a keeper for me.

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great book

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The Otherworld CSI team consists of two vampires (Caine and Kellen), a werewolf (Jace), a witch (Lyra) and a human liason (Eve Grant). The sparks fly immediately when Eve is introduced to Caine and boy do they fly. The romance between these two almost eclipses the murder they are investigating. Though, of course, the team does solve the mystery and rescue Eve from the bad guy.

This is the first book in the Valorian Chronicles and what a terrific start to the series. I really like Valorian, Jace, Lyra and even Kellen (though he's a bit of a jerk).

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