The Substitute by Holly Barrington

“The Substitute” is set in an alternate Britain, where Vampires and Mortals co-exist more or less in harmony. However, that may soon be about to change . . .

Emily Brown starts her new job at Pathway Software, and at first everything goes well. She makes new friends there and her bosses are impressed so things are really looking up for Emily. Until her friend is killed. Murdered. The official account said it was a gang hit gone bad, and rumours suggest she had drugs in her possession.

However another, unofficial, report suggests that the bullet wounds were all post-mortem, and the drugs were planted on her in the morgue. It also says that she suffered multiple broken bones, cuts, contusions and…vampire bites. Everything suggests that her friend died a brutal and vicious death at the hands of a number of vampires.

Vampire and Mortal relations are, on the whole, very good. Ever since The Compact, there have been eighty five years of unprecedented peace between the two worlds. But there are some dissenters, the foremost of which are the sinister Circle of Ixiom. And Emily is about to become their bitterest enemy . . .

The world built here is similar to the True Blood series, the vampires are out and about in normal society, living amongst humans. But it is set in Britain which gives it a little bit of a new take on the subject matter. As well as the fact that the vampires do not only come out at night!

This particular story focuses on Emily. It is told from current day point of view as well as several flashback scenes to fill in the storyline.

Emily is getting recruited for a software company that is run by vampires. There is an overall mystery to the story that Emily is trying to find answers for. She has recently had a very close friend die, and there are several things regarding her death she wants to find answers to. The reader is kept in suspense right until the ending, curiosity drove me forward. I just really wanted to know what Emily was searching for and how the author approached humans working alongside vampires.

Emily is a very smart, determined and likeable main character. The story wasn't very long at 194 pages and I sped through it in one day.

There are several angles to the story. A murder mystery along with some political aspects of the different groups that have differences of opinions on the way of the new world since the vampires have come to live among us.

This book is currently only available in kindle ebook format and I would love to offer a copy to a lucky commenter to this post. Please just let me know how I can contact you in the comment box below and I will pick a winner on August 25th.