Nick frowned, staring around at the alley floor.It hit him again.There was something wrong with this blood.It smelled too good.It smelled way, way too good… vamps, he gets his food delivered to his door, lives in government housing, and basically can’t sneeze without the U.S. government knowing about it.
More than anything, he just wants to be left alone, to endure his immortality in peace, but he’s barely in New York two weeks when things start to go sideways.
It all starts with his new case––a case involving dead hybrids, graffiti that tells the future, a kid who shouldn’t exist at all, and a possible conspiracy involving the richest humans in New York.
That doesn’t even get into the school principal, a woman with secrets of her own, who has a deeply unsettling effect on him.
Nick finds he can’t get personally uninvolved with any of it. Instead, he gets sucked in even deeper, until he’s pretty sure he’ll end up forcibly reprogrammed by his human owners––assuming they don’t just rip his heart out of his chest and be done with it.
VAMPIRE DETECTIVE MIDNIGHT is book #1 of a gritty, romantic new series set in a futuristic, dystopian New York populated by vampires, humans and psychics trying to rebuild their world after a devastating race war nearly obliterates the previous one.
A spinoff of the Quentin Black Mystery series, it features vampire with a past and homicide detective, Naoko “Nick” Tanaka, who gets transferred to the NYPD after a bad incident in Los Angeles forces him to start a new life. Nick works as a “Midnight,” or vampire in the employ of the human police department, but when he arrives in New York, he really just wants to be left alone to work, surf, and deal with his immortality in peace.
Life, and the residents of New York, clearly have other ideas.
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This was a good read, with stand-out worldbuilding and an interesting bunch of characters from the straight-talkin’ Kit to Jordan, the buddy cop, and of course, Nick, himself, the vampire detective and NYPD new “Midnight”. I’m a sucker for complicated male characters and this book ticked all my boxes. There’s little to no romance, so I’m not sure where the romantic element comes in. In fact, Nick’s strange relationship with Wynter comes out of left field and feels pretty sudden. Maybe it’s a hybrid thing? I’m not sure, and as I haven’t read the main series (this is a spin-off) perhaps I missed something? Despite that, I found myself intrigued by Nick, and I’m looking forward to the next book.
A “futuristic, dystopian New York populated by vampires, humans and psychics”, a case involving dead hybrids, graffiti that tells the future, “a kid who shouldn’t exist at all”, and a possible conspiracy involving the richest humans in the City, JC Andrijeski’s Vampire Detective Midnight: A Science Fiction Vampire Detective Novel has it all, and it is all pretty darn spectacular. Perfectly written and with a fantastic lead character (Naoko “Nick” Tanaka, the eponymous Vamp detective), superb supporting cast, and exciting plot (which even has romance), “it” is also pretty darn wonderful reading fun. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend.
I am loving this book.
Naoko “Nick” Tanaka is a vampire homicide detective recently transferred to the NYPD where he works in the employ of the human police. Described as a “Midnight” he gets his food delivered to the government housing he lives in. His wish is to be left alone and be able to work in peace but after just two weeks it all goes sideways when paintings start to appear on the street predicting murders with great accuracy before they happen. He becomes embroiled in the artist, dead hybrid-humans, a school principal who unsettles him and a conspiracy involving a very prominent and rich New York family. As he gets sucked into it all further will he survive or get re-programmed?
I absolutely loved this brand new series from this author which had a lot of grit, determination, drama, danger and raw emotions from the characters. I can’t wait to find out what happens to Nick next and see where the stories take him. You can tell from the way he behaved in this story that he is going to be right there in the thick of anything happening in the future. Well written this was really enjoyable and I think would appeal to those who have enjoyed the Bridge and Sword series as well as new readers to the author.
Awesome read!
Holy cow, I really want to know what happened in the last 100 years or so, like now! This is more like the Nick we knew before the change, I knew he was still there just waiting to come back. I love when this author takes on a journey in her worlds & now that they overlap it’s like we’re getting caught up with old friends. This series is great on it’s own but especially enriched if you’ve read her other series & of course if you’ve read Black, you have to read the first one too.
I need to figure out how to reprogram the system so that I can rate something at greater than 5/5 stars. This book had me twisted in knots trying to outthink it. I failed miserably since I didn’t see any of that coming. There’s just something about Nick that I have adored since the very first book in the Quentin Black universe I read. I’m not quite caught up on that thread, so this was a little bit of a spoiler for me. I loved this book. I really don’t know what else to say. I’m caught in my usual place: the more I loved a book, the fewer words I have about it. The characters are complex with multi-faceted motivations, and emotions that are far too real at times. The setting is a gritty, ‘1984’ feeling world that I hope never to live in, in spite of the fact that our own societies are starting to look all too much like the one where we find Nick. And now, after reading the teaser for the next book, I’m completely rabid to get my hands on it.
I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book from the author.
Murder . Mystery. Mayhem.
This series is set in a post war apocalypse world.
It’s a dark gritty world he is in now, trying to adapt and not feel used and abused for what he has become.
Nick, Naoko Tanaka is a vampire detective.
Working with the blues of New York, where he is called a Midnight, the night shift detective.
Trying to work his way through his past, he gets embroiled in a case that is far closer to his past then he thought possible.
As clues come to him he goes deeper into the case, breaking policing rules set in place for his kind (vampire).
A new series by JC Andrijeski that will not disappoint.
After reading the first chapters of this book I thought, if that is the world Nick has to deal with, I don’t want to know about it!
But, being a longtime addict to Ms Andrijeski’s stories, I plodded on. And what do you know, she did it again!
When my stomach started to rumble, I realized I had skipped dinner and it was time to sleep. Let me tell you, I wouldn’t skip a meal on purpose for anyone! As she does seemingly effortless, Ms Andrijeski sucked me into this story. Leaving, artfully, little hidden hints. A sentence, a couple words to spread a whiff of things to come, while developing a tale of who-done-it that will keep you guessing until the bitter end.
And at the last page I was left with the usual question: what, that’s it? I want to know more!
I always fall into her fascinating word-traps!
I received Vampire Detective Midnight, book 1 of a Nick Tanaka spin-off of the Quintin Black series, from the author/publisher (via BookFunnel). The gifting did not determine the review/rating, which reflects my honest opinion. Unlike the original QB series, this storyline seemed more focused on the detective work than the society of the vampires and seers, which was a nice change from the QB and Bridge & Sword books. I’m sure we’ll see more societal background as the series progresses, but I really enjoyed the direction the Midnight series is taking. I can’t wait for book 2.
Nick Tanaka just wish some peace… and falls right into mayhem
Naoko “Nick” Tanaka, also a recurring character in the “Quentin Black Series” by JC Andrijeski, has just been transferred to the NYPD, where – as a vampire – he works the night-shift as a so-called “Midnight”, a state-regulated vampire who assists the human police with “special” cases. Nick just want to be let alone, but unfortunately fate has other plans and his first case proves to be almost more that he can chew. As the plot develops, he drifts deeper and deeper into a chain of events he can hardly fight.
I was somehow skeptical about this book, I adore Quentin Black and expected to miss him page by page. Furthermore, the Nick Tanaka I already knew (from the Quentin Black Series) is a very complex character, who to be brutally honest was often more dislikable than not, until it became somehow likeable. Nick “Midnight” Tanaka is a very different Tanaka, or should I say, a more evolved Tanaka. Somewhere along the pages I learn to not only like him, but almost more than like him . I must confess that, much to my embarrassment, I even forgot to miss Quentin, just please do not tell anyone, I will vehement deny it, while I read the next books in the series.
JC Andrijeski has the rare ability to create whole new worlds, alien and familiar at the same time with interesting characters, that captivate our attention page after page. Her writing style is delightful as always, fluid, fast paced and vivid, which helps to get across the action elements without disregarding the more subtle romantic aspects of the story.
A wonderful series for mature readers that appreciate multidimensional characters and new perspectives.