#19 - Tanya Huff, Blood Pact (1993), Blood Debt (1997), Blood Bank (2006)
I think the series really takes off at this point. Vicki finally makes a choice between the human detective Mike and the vampire prince Henry. Also, the emotional tension gets much higher as *Blood Pact* (1993) is a zombie story - but the zombie in question is Vicki's recently deceased mother. It's a genuinely scary situation.
*Blood Debt* (1997) is also genuinely scary - it features the ghosts of people murdered so their organs could be harvested. My copy came with a complimentary edition of *Blood Bank* (2006), a collection of short stories about Henry, Tony, Mike and Vicki. I am a completist but I was not so gripped that I would have bought it otherwise.
Both novels and the short story collection show Tony, a minor character in the first few novels, coming into his own. You understand how he gets a spin off series (the Shadow books which are next on my list).
*Blood Debt* (1997) is also genuinely scary - it features the ghosts of people murdered so their organs could be harvested. My copy came with a complimentary edition of *Blood Bank* (2006), a collection of short stories about Henry, Tony, Mike and Vicki. I am a completist but I was not so gripped that I would have bought it otherwise.
Both novels and the short story collection show Tony, a minor character in the first few novels, coming into his own. You understand how he gets a spin off series (the Shadow books which are next on my list).