Editorial Content for Blood Like Ours

BLOOD LIKE MINE was not only one of the best horror novels of 2024, it was one of the best books of the year. Stuart Neville did a superb job of keeping the secret that the mother-daughter team of Rebecca and Monica “Moonflower” Carter had concealed for as long as possible until the open-mouthed revelation. That revelation, which is what this diabolically good sequel is all about, is how two female vampires are able to survive and stay one step ahead of those pursuing them.

Though BLOOD LIKE OURS has far more overt vampire subtext from start to finish, it remains part of a vampire series that is vastly different from any other that I have read. The dialogue among the various characters is simply chilling and cuts right through you. Rebecca and Moonflower are still very much human --- if you measure being human by the ability to love and empathize with others --- and that keeps the pages turning like a work of fine literary fiction.

"This utterly original work continues to function as literary fiction meets horror and police procedural, thanks to the stunning plotting and characterization from Stuart Neville’s fertile mind."

The book kicks off with a news article from the El Paso Times about the disappearance of the body of a woman who was shot and killed in a skirmish with local law enforcement that also took the life of an agent. Rebecca drank the “true blood” of her 12-year-old daughter at the end of BLOOD LIKE MINE and now has the same resurrection powers, among others, that she possesses. Moonflower, meanwhile, believes that her mother died, leaving her to wander the deadly landscape of the American southwest on her own without any guidance.

Moonflower first befriends a pack of coyotes and other wild animals but then comes across two teens who claim to be of the same ilk as her. Jacob and Will lead Moonflower to a mortal woman they apprehended and offer her for a much-needed feeding. They also claim to know all about her and promise a home in the San Francisco area where she can live with them, and others like them, for as long as she wants. Moonflower has a secret notion that these boys may not be who they say they are. Her instincts are very correct in this case as she soon will be in deep peril.

At the same time, Rebecca is being pursued by FBI Special Agent Sarah McGrath, the partner of Special Agent Donner, who “killed” Rebecca before losing his life in their shootout. McGrath is committed to avenging Donner but first must deal with the dark and mysterious new threat in the form of Special Agent Francis Visconti, who claims to be from a top-secret division that knows all about Rebecca, Moonflower and their kind. Visconti blackmails McGrath into assisting him.

Neville throws another curveball at readers by including a running narrative that comes from the diary of an Irish immigrant who is now working as a housecleaner in America. Emma Wilson’s tale, which takes place in 1998, is a dark and compelling one that I will keep secret in this review. All I will say is that her journal entries will tie into the action of the modern-day narrative in the most brilliant way possible.

As Rebecca goes searching for Moonflower, she finds an unlikely ally in McGrath, which puts a nice spin on the story. Once Moonflower learns the truth about Jacob and Will, as well as the fact that her mother is alive and looking for her, things really get explosive. BLOOD LIKE OURS is impossible to put down, and Neville has plenty of surprises in store before we reach the last page.

This utterly original work continues to function as literary fiction meets horror and police procedural, thanks to the stunning plotting and characterization from Stuart Neville’s fertile mind. With BLOOD LIKE OURS and its predecessor, he has put together the designs for a series unlike anything else out there that crosses multiple genres and leaves the door open for much more to come.