Date published: October 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-0451235015
Cozy Mystery
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained Via publisher
With the solution of a mysterious murder arising out of a party at the Winchester Mystery house behind her, event planner Presley Parker is glad to be working a party without yet another death hanging over her head. Okay, the party is for a coming release of a vampire and therefore undead dead movie, but all the guests are alive. Right?
With her cadre of friends—Dee, Raj, Duncan, Berk and Brad in tow she heads out to Colma and one of its cemeteries to create her special brand of party magic for their mutual friend, movie maker, Lucas Cruz. The party has the makings of an intriguing event, with the co-stars in a torrid yet secret relationship, a stalker pursuing one of the stars, a secret marriage and a brooding body guard. Everything is going just fine until not one, but two party crashers turn up dead. Well, actually one of them turns up dead before the party and the other after which puts Presley right in the middle of things. While she didn’t know the two victims, it looks like Lucas may be involved for more than the film. Despite admonitions from Brad and the forever spit and polished, Detective Luke Melvin, Presley is on the killer’s trail. Can she put a stop to his deadly deeds before he…or she… turns her sight on Presley, or will she be the next victim.
I’ve been enjoying this series from the first book for myriad reasons, not the least of which are the venues, the characters, and the author’s quirky writing style. I like Presley. She’s the kind of character that if she was a real person I’d love to be friends with—just not when she’s working a party if you get my drift. But, I’d love to have her putting together a party for me. Ms. Warner’s own creativity comes through Presley in marvelous twists and turns.
HOW TO PARTY WITH A KILLER VAMPIRE wasn’t quite as entertaining as the previous books in this series for me. It took me a bit to get a major clue about the title and how it related to the story. I got the feeling Presley and Brad were on the outs, and they may well break up in a future book, based on how she treated him. I’ve come to anticipate scenes with Presley’s mother and we only see her for a few pages and it came across more as an obligation than for her part of the story. There was only a brief mention of one of Ms. Warner’s other signature story elements—the charity du jour. In prior books I’ve very much appreciated her attention to various illness, diseases and other notable causes. They are woven into the story with true grace and give readers a bit of an education about each one. At times I felt the author needed to write the book but couldn’t decide where to go with it.
It was an entertaining read; just not the high calibre I’ve come to expect from the prior books. I did notice another is on its way and I’m eagerly awaiting its arrival.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.
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