Bold and brazen, Baby Roxton is the Queen of New Orleans in more ways than one. Her flashy dress style is more suited to a woman half her age, but she doesn’t care. She’s completely comfortable with what she is, the dominate female vampire in the city. She takes what she wants when she wants it. And she’s set her sights on Jack.

For a first novel from a new author, Dancing in the Dark is a wild ride through the underbelly of New Orleans. The book is as dirty and gritty as the city itself; so achingly real that this reviewer could easily picture her vampires trolling the city seeking new prey or new playmates. There’s a surprise on every page – be it the realism of yet another crime scene or the paranormal delights of the vampires. The mystery is as solid as the ground it’s built on. Ms. McKinney takes you into both sides of the investigation, the criminal’s dark mind and the profiler’s determination to hunt him down, with a skill and ease I’ve only seen in well-established authors. While those seeking a hot and heavy romance may be disappointed by the lack of explicit detail, Ms. McKinney’s writing is such that I never missed a beat of what was happening between the characters and never noticed the lack. Dancing in the Dark is a multi-genre novel that truly defies convention and leaves the reader wondering what kind of trouble Jack Niemczyk will find next as he falls further and further beneath the spell of Baby Roxton.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual

Reviewer: MB
January 21, 2005