Changeling

Changeling, by Morgan Gallagher. 2011, ebook.
The first vampire book I ever read was Dracula by Bram Stoker. Yes, the classic vampire tale. I found it thrilling and mesmerizing. Since then, I've managed to read a few other vampire tales, from Anne Rice's Louis and Lestat and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight to the monstrous creatures hiding among us in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files... none of them prepared me adequately for Morgan Gallagher's Changeling.

Morgan takes us to a place where vampires are cruel and sadistic. They have lost their humanity, even though they still retain their human features and social skills. In fact, one can easily see how anyone could be taken in by their charm...at first. Dreyfuss, the vamp in this book, is rich, good-looking and sophisticated. He is also a sadistic monster who really gets off on beating his victims. Just ask Joanne. She was an average woman, working at an average job, until fate paired her up with Dreyfuss. At first, she's just another meal to him. When she actually dares to fight back, he is intrigued. Who will win? Even Dreyfuss is intrigued. He begins to play with her as a cat does with a mouse. How much can she take?

The author takes you into this bizarre, horrific world as Joanne is reduced to the basics of survival. Could you survive it? She is beaten, starved, punished and trained to Dreyfuss' exact specifications. The psychological horror she endures is almost worse than the physical horror.

When she is designated as his Changeling, it gets worse. It is difficult for me not to give any spoilers, but I will resist. If you like vampire books or horror novels, give this book a try. While Dracula may be the quintessential literary vampire, he's going to have to move over for Dreyfuss. And I have a feeling the rest of the trilogy that will be forthcoming will only introduce us to more vampiric characters that will go down in literary history.

Read Changeling.

You can buy it here: Changeling (The Dreyfuss Trilogy)


Disclosure statement: I was lucky enough to edit Morgan's book and have read it numerous times while performing my editorial duties.