Meanwhile, Terry is playing political games trying to consolidate his power by reaching out to the vampyres in Brooklyn and he sends Joe to escort Lydia to a negotiation. But life wouldn't be the same for Joe Pitt if everything went smoothly so when things start unraveling -- all you can do is buckle up and hold on because the action is non-stop.

More Charlie Huston: Already Dead US Already Dead UK No Dominion Half the Blood of Brooklyn Every Last Drop Interview: Charlie Huston (GumshoeReview.com)

Reading the books out of sequence sort of puts a wrinkle in the review. I've already read Every Last Drop, the fourth book in the series. So, this third book finds me trying not to blur what I know of the upcoming book with this one. We have some of the characters from No Dominion showing up here to continue their bit of the overall plot thread. The Count is hooked on anathema and Terry bleeding his money away to fund his causes. Sela is now Coalition so she can live in upper Manhattan with the girl and help her with her plan. Then of course Daniel and the Enclave are still starving the vyrus to achieve some goal of being pure vyrus. Then there's Brooklyn -- a mix of semi-clan groups that Terry wants to use to shore up his power base. And Predo is leaning on Joe to learn Terry's plans.

All in all, the usual twisted mix of politics, madness, murder, and mayhem. Everyone is out for themselves. And then there's Joe. Joe is not a nice guy. He's a killer. However, it seems that he acts to some code of his own. It doesn't always make sense, but in a wacky way once you finish the book, it looks like he does the right thing, but mostly for no reason at all and against his better judgment. He doesn't even get to enjoy being a good guy because no matter what he does everyone else in the power structure sees it as the most wrong thing that could have ever been done. Strange how Joe just seems to stay with you even when he's the kind of guy you'd cross the street to avoid -- provided you actually walked the dark streets he treads.

Once again, a roller-coaster ride of a story that stands alone and yet builds on what's gone before and moves it forward to the next episode. Even though you could read just this volume, you should start with Already Dead. These vampyres are a bit different -- they're predators and sometimes they're completely controlled by the vyrus that made them what they are.