“Sun-Kissed” is a well-written story about a dhampir living in modern Helsinki.  Dhampir are the children of a vampire and a mortal, and they’re very rare.  Interestingly, they usually become vampire hunters.  Anastasia has hunted vampires in the past but she’s been living a quiet life for the past few decades.  However, when a beautiful, blond escort with a vampire for a client hires her as a bodyguard, her life gets interesting again.

Anastasia was born in Russia in the early 1800’s but she has now has homes and friends all over Europe.  Her father was a vampire and she inherited some of his abilities and limitations.  She can go out during the daylight hours, but not on bright, sunny days.  She’s very strong, she can sense other non-mortals, and she is aging very slowly.  As a short and attractive woman, people tend to underestimate her, which she uses to her advantage.  Anastasia’s an interesting character, with a wry wit, a very nice lifestyle, and a very anti-social cat.  She’s also a romantic who swings both ways. 

Keilo, the escort, is beautiful, sexy and well-dressed.  She’s trouble, of course, but that’s what she’s paying Anastasia for.  Her helplessness brings out Anastasia’s strong side and our poor heroine finds herself falling badly.  Can you imagine Bogart admitting to walking around with a silly grin on his face?  The other characters in the first part are mostly toughs and informants, although Alby is fun.  He’s a randy informant who likes the nightlife. 

The novel is written in first person, with a slow and easy pace.  The writing is solid, with a nice balance between dialog, action and description.  Anastasia gives enough of her background to explain who and what she is, without generally resorting to infodump.  She’s observant, so we get good descriptions of people and places, but it feels like part of her personality or part of her skill-set as a vampire hunter.  The action scenes are short but generate enough tension to keep things interesting.  What starts as a simple bodyguard job gets complicated as Anastasia begins to sense that things aren’t what they seem.  I would almost call this noir, but the pace is a bit slow, and the tone is a bit soft and romantic for the genre.  Anastasia’s more of a soft-boiled detective.  However, I enjoyed the style and the twists, and was surprised at how the first part ended. 

All in all, “Sun-Kissed” is a light, supernatural detective story.  The writing is good, the characters are engaging, and the pace is balanced, if a bit leisurely.  Unfortunately, the story is currently on hiatus, but the first part is complete and the second part is off to a good start.  If you like vampires, detective stories or urban fantasy, you should definitely check it out.

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