Book Review: Dracula's Heir by Sam Stall

Hardcover: 88 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books (August 1, 2008)
Buy the Book:  Amazon


In 1897, Archibald Constable & Company published Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the most famous horror novel of all time. For reasons still debated by scholars, the first chapter of Dracula was cut from the book just weeks before publication. Here, it becomes the central clue in a spine-tingling original interactive mystery.

Dracula’s Heir begins 10 years after the horrificevents described in the original novel. Jonathan and Mina Harker are happily marriedand enjoying life in Bixby, England. Meanwhile, their friend Dr. John Seward is tracking a string of crimes that seems eerily familiar: A 14-year-old girl sleepwalks out of her parents’ house and disappears into the night. Two “accident victims” are found drained of their blood, yet there is no crime scene evidence to explain its loss.

When Seward shares his discoveries with the famous vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, all the evidence points to Jonathan Harker. After all, Harker spent weeks imprisoned in Castle Dracula as a guest of the Count—was he infected without anyone realizing it? Has the mild-mannered English solicitor spent the last decade lurking in the shadows as a Nosferatu? Or is someone (or something) else getting away with murder?

This chilling mystery novella features 8 removable clues, including a newspaper, a death certificate, Renfield’s private journal, and the original first chapter of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. When you think you’ve solved the crime, you can open the final signature (sealed at the printer) to test your powers of dedunction.

My Review

Normally, I'm not very interested in vampire books. I read Twilight and hated it. I read The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd and loved it. That's about all of my range in vampire novels. But Dracula's Heir just seemed so original and fun with all of the notes and pictures added to it: I simply couldn't resist.

Dracula's Heir isn't the best book I've ever read; nor is it my favorite. But it was one of the most genius mysteries I have ever read. By the end of the book my jaw had literally dropped in shock of the events that had taken place in this story. It wasn't all that captivating, but keeps you interested until the next twist in the plot. And when you see all of the twists finally coming together, you realize the cleverness of the story.

Dracula's Heir kinda brought me out of my usual reading zone: vampire books and mystery novels aren't things I usually read. But I must say I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I've never read The original Dracula by Bram Stoker, but I know the story (who doesn't?) well enough to understand Dracula's Heir. Anyone who is a fan of murder mysteries would love this book. It's set ten years after the famous events of Dracula so anyone who's a fan of the legend would enjoy this sequel. Although, I must warn you: It is not for the faint of heart.

Dun, dun, duuuunnnnn!