Dracula's Castle, need I say more

I feel like at this point we are all a bit obsessed with the concept of vampires....

As I catch up on my backlog of reviews I get to revisit these books all over again and it makes me so happy. If you've been following along for awhile you know I am a grade A chicken. Scary? I can't do it, murder mystery, nope on a freaking rope. I will get nightmares and be terrified. Until very recently I was scared to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night because I was worried I was being followed by a ghost or a bad guy...funny I think that stopped once I started anxiety meds...Anywho

I found a gruesome mystery series I can actually get behind without getting the pants scared off of me...mostly, this second book was a bit more terrifying and I definitely had moments where I was getting very anxious, but it was totally worth it!

I stumbled across Kerri Maniscalco's "Stalking Jack the Ripper" series last year. At this point I can't even tell you what drew me to it. Maybe the fact that Jack the Ripper is infinitely fascinating, to this day we still don't know who he was and he is infamous. I may have also watched way too many episodes of "Murder Mystery and Makeup" last year so that may have factored in. 

The second novel in the series "Hunting Prince Dracula" follows Audrey Rose and Thomas as they embark to Transylvania, to none other than Dracula's own Castle to attend a medical school that has taken up residence there. But they are unprepared for the massive amounts of murders that begin taking place, murders that mimic the legendary deaths caused by vampires and vampire hunters. 

Of course Audrey Rose and Thomas are on the case and begin trying to unravel the mystery. The end, oh that threw me for a loop. Along the way Maniscalco also goes into a bit of background about the real Vlad Dracula or Vlad the Impaler. A real warlord that lived in the 1400s in Transylvania. Was he really a vampire or a vampire hunter? We will never know, but it sure makes for a damn good story. 

I try very hard to not spoil here so that is all I'll say about the plot. But, ugh it was so good. I mean vampires, mystery, that weird sexual tension and flirting between Audrey Rose and Thomas....sign me up. 

One of my favorite things about this series is of course Audrey Rose. She is a woman before her time, her brain is clearly brilliant and she is drawn to science and the inner workings of humans. It makes me sad and a bit angry when I give myself a chance to think over how most women in her position would never be given the chance to study medicine or forensics simply because of her biological sex. 

I've also just realized in typing this that the dynamic between her and Thomas (sexual tension aside) reminds me of Watson and Sherlock Holmes, it probably also has a little to do with the fact that Thomas calls her Wadsworth. I loved Sherlock Holmes as a kid. He was one of my favorite fictional people, I loved reading about how he solved mysteries. I also really enjoyed the dynamic between him and Watson, every badass character needs their trusty sidekick. The problem is I can't decide if Audrey Rose or Thomas is the sidekick, I think they both think they're the main character and the other is the sidekick and that makes it all the more endearing and hilarious. 

My point, if you enjoy mystery novels and urban legends, not to mention simply unique ideas because I have yet to stumble upon anything similar. You should read this series. I can't wait to eventually get around to reading the third book in the series.