Bloodlust, by David Longhorn; Mortlake Series Book 3. ScareStreet, 2021

I seem to be reading this series all out of order. No wonder I get confused!

In this installment of the adventures of Marcus Mortlake, the professor at St. Ananias College, Cambridge, finds himself meeting a woman from his past: Cassandra. He was a young man when they met; she was way out of his league and seemed to go out of her way to connect with him. When she took him to meet the leader of the cult she’d joined, Nathanial Crowe, things go terribly wrong, and Cassandra and Crowe are presumed dead.

Mortlake, as well as his mentor, Monty Carrington, posseses supernatural powers. They are far from alone in this; the local police force knows about and uses them when cases show signs of supernatural activity. So Marcus is called in when people start being found exsanguinated, little thinking he’s meeting his old nemisis – who didn’t used to be a blood sucker.

The first part of the story moved slowly, moving between past and present. There is an assortment of supernatural talents and beings in this series and several are presented here, on both sides of the confrontation. I found the last part of the book more interesting than the first, although it went by rather quickly. I would have liked a bit more of a give and take, but I could see how it had to be presented as Marcus having only one chance.

I really like Mortlake, Monty, and the policemen they work with. I found Crowe more annoying than terrifying, but really loathed Cassandra. All as the author meant! Four and a half stars; one half star off because of the tedium of the flashback.