Vampires Dead Ahead

The plot of McCray’s fifth Night Tracker urban fantasy (after Zombies Sold Separately) struggles to gain traction on the clutter of character descriptions and designer accessories. Trackers, the cops of the paranormal world, are going missing, and PIs Nyx Ciar, a dark elf, and Olivia DeSantos, a human, are asked to find them. They discover that master vampire Volod has figured out how to turn paranormals into vampires, with dire implications for the balance of nonhuman power. Most of the book is taken up by eroticized nonconsensual bloodsucking and kink of a less gory type, as well as some very earnest discussion between Nyx and her would-be lover. As with an episode of a daytime soap, there’s lots of rehash, incremental change in the fundamental relationships, and one or two genuinely heart-stopping scenes amid the shouting. Only fans will really be able to follow along. (Dec.)