Review: Red, White, and Blood by Christopher Farnsworth

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (April 26, 2012)
• Source: Publisher

In the third Nathanial Cade, President’s Vampire book (after The President’s Vampire and Blood Oath), the country is in the midst of a Presidential race. A political operative and campaign volunteer are found slaughtered, in a compromising position. At the crime scene, written in blood, is a message: “It’s Good to be Back!” This message is from a centuries old creature, only known as the Boogeyman. The only creature Cade as been unable to stop.

A bit of history on Cade for those unfamiliar with the series: since the days of President Lincoln, Nathanial Cade has been sworn by a blood oath to protect the sitting President and anyone acting on his behalf.  He is the creature the American public no nothing about, fighting a supernatural battle kept hidden from the country. He resides in a lair built under the White House, using the infamous hidden passages beneath the nation’s Capitol during the daylight hours.

The Boogeyman is essentially the being that serial killers worship as their god. Several killers that have been captured reference him specifically as the inspiration of their actions. The killings they perform invite the Boogeyman into our world, his actions spinning dozens of urban legends.

The murders continue, all involving individuals caught in a sexual act. Cade and his human sidekick, Zach, must find a way to stop the Boogeyman before he reaches his next intended victim, the President himself, all the while trying to keep the press from connecting the murders. Using human bodies as hosts, he is unstoppable. In his presence, cars malfunction, doors unlock. He is unstoppable.

Preventing them from succeeding is a former member of a covert group with a mission to bring down the U.S. government using supernatural means, the Shadow Company. They are set on doing what they can to allow the Boogeyman to follow through on his mission to kill the President, the first step in bringing the country to its knees.

As with the previous books in the series, Red, White, and Blood is rich with memorable one-liners. Farnsworth succeeds at painting a completely plausible, albeit supernatural, scenario. Unlike the others, this novel has a bit more political side to it, the Presidential campaign playing a key role in the storyline. Other reviews indicate that this takes away from the main storyline but in my opinion it doesn’t detract, but instead adds to the story, allowing Farnsworth to adequately pace the action and intensity throughout the novel.

While this is the third novel in a series, Farnsworth excels at providing just enough back story to bring a reader up to speed. That said, I do recommend starting from the beginning if you can, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.  Red, White, and Blood is an exhilarating and intense novel, the ending is completely stunning and had me begging for more. A long-time fan of Cade (he truly makes vampires sexy), I highly recommend this novel.