Descent Into Dust by, Jacqueline Lepore~~Review

Descent Into Dust by, Jacqueline Lepore
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 006187812X, Paperback)
The Extraordinary Adventures of Emma Andrews, Victorian Lady and Vampire Hunter

"Though it is many decades later, it all comes back to me; back to those early days when the terror was new and I was dangerously untrained. When I was young and did not yet know I had a secret . . ."

Twenty-five-year-old widow Emma Andrews grew up in the shadow of her mother's madness, so when she arrives at Dulwich Manor in the midst of a mysterious plague and soon thereafter begins to see specters, her family fears fate has finally caught up with her. But one guest among them knows Emma's visions are more than a trick of the mind. Valerian Fox has hunted the great vampire lord Marius through time and across continents, and he knows Emma has a remarkable destiny. She is Dhampir—a vampire hunter.

Surrounded by those who would use her powers for their own ends, Emma does not know who to trust or what she can believe. But when her young cousin is marked for death, she must embrace the terrible inheritance that lies in her very blood to save those she loves.

An extraordinary saga of courage, love, duty, and honor, of darkest destiny and ancient evil . . . and of the shadow of the Dracula himself. It begins.

My Review
There are no sparkly vampires here! This is a good old-fashioned vampire story. Set in Victorian England Emma lives with the stigma of her mothers madness, she has been told her mother went mad and died but events take place that will make Emma question everything she has known and believed.

The cast of characters in the book was a nice mix from Emma’s needy sister, the rouge Sebastian, the secretive Mr.Fox, and the even more mysterious Father Luke. As they work together to save Emma’s niece Henrietta from what her parent’s believe is an imaginary friend but is actually something far worse he is a vampire. Not a beautiful fall in love with vampire but an evil presence that threatens everything they hold dear.

I enjoyed this book it had a nice mix of Victorian propriety and gothic mystery. Emma was an interesting character as we watch her grow into the person she must become which is a Dhampir a vampire huntress. We see her inner turmoil as everything she believed of her life is wrenched away from her.

I look forward to the next installment in this series.

Thank you Librarything Early Reviewers for the chance to review this book!

4 Stars