Overview

Immortality's a bitch. Veronica is eternally fifty-one years old with a proclivity for problematic drinking. Like most hormonally challenged women negotiating the change of life, she is a hot mess. To retain her sanity, she attends weekly AA meetings and adheres to a strict diet of organic, locally-sourced, (mostly) cruelty-free human blood from the hospice facility where she works. Her life stopped being fun about a hundred years ago, right about the time her teenage daughter stole her soul and took off for California with a hot, older guy. These days, Veronica's existence is just that - an existence, as flat and empty as her own non-reflection in the bathroom mirror. When her estranged daughter contacts her via Facebook, Veronica learns that she has one chance to escape her eternal personal summer: she must find and apologize to every one of the people she's turned into vampires in the last century. That is, if they're still out there. With raging hormones and a ticking clock, Veronica embarks on a last-ditch road trip to regain her mortality, reclaim her humanity, and ultimately, die on her own terms.

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9781945419621

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In this darkly comic novel, a vampire's chance to become mortal again requires tracking down all the people she turned into the undead. As a vampire, Texan Veronica Bouchard keeps a low profile. She's a hospice nurse who typically feeds on terminally ill patients. But when there's a chance authorities will link her to two recent deaths, Veronica flies to California to see her daughter, Ingrid. As she was the one who turned her mother into a vampire in the 1800s, Ingrid apologizes to Veronica. Not only does this make Ingrid mortal, the act also returns Veronica's soul. For the first time in over a century, Veronica can see her reflection. She can be mortal, too, but she will have to make amends to everyone she turned into a vampire. She's more than willing to do this. At the perpetual age of 51, Veronica endures never-ending menopause. She consequently takes a road trip, bringing along her new friend Jenny Pearson, a struggling addict who discovers what Veronica is. Veronica's vampire victims are a motley assortment, some more dangerous than others. And the possibility of arrest back in Texas isn't even Veronica's biggest threat: Jenny's politician father puts someone on his daughter's trail. Skjolsvik's fanged hero is profoundly complicated. For example, Veronica has an aversion to men who hurt women, but she has killed many people and not all of them were hospice patients. This novel's vivid journey is a learning experience for her. She acknowledges some of her flaws and realizes certain vampire fundamentals, like things that can kill the undead, are simply untrue. Jenny is a strong supporting character, earning Veronica's sympathy (the vampire regularly attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to help control her own addiction). Jenny's hemochromatosis tempts Veronica with delicious, iron-rich blood. And much of the catchy, often humorous dialogue involves Jenny, whose incessant insults- douchebag is an unquestionable favorite-are especially entertaining. Complex characters propel this diverting vampire tale. - Kirkus Reviews

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