Prisoner of Midnight (James Asher #8)

This darkly witty eighth novel (after Pale Guardian) in Hambly’s WWI spycraft and vampires James Asher series features James’s wife, Lydia, a doctor and investigator in her own right, in a lively international travel mystery with outcomes that modern readers will find morally satisfying. Lydia follows a tortured dream sent to her by her dear friend, Spanish vampire Don Simon Ysidro, who has been kidnapped and may be forced to use his powers for the war—or for private industry. She looks for him on the America-bound ship City of Gold, understanding that she may need to kill him herself to keep his abilities from being misused. Lydia uses her social status to access the likely villains among the industrialists and royalty in first class, and her medical and investigative skills to understand the xenophobic fear spreading through the third-class decks. At home, James leverages his Parisian vampire network to identify the kidnapper and research ways to save Don Simon. The amount of explicit racism and anti-Semitism depicted on the immigrant ship—although probably realistic for the period, relevant to the story, and placed in the mouths of unsympathetic characters—may be off-putting to some readers. Fans of Lydia and Don Simon will love the focus on their connection, and James’s fans will find enough of him in his usual mode to be content. Agent: Fran Collin, Frances Collin Literary. (May)