For some of us, vampires warm the blood, ghosts deliciously haunt our waking moments, and the spirit realm glows with such intensity it overwhelms the mundane.
A few select authors can bring such experiences to life for those who focus on the everyday humdrum facets of existence. Naomi Clark is one of them.
Afterlife is an intriguing first novel from the 26-year old Brit. It provides a tasty treat for those who love monsters and the paranormal.
Clark’s heroine, Yasmin Stoker, is a bit like an otherworldly Stephanie Plum or Kinsey Millhone. Yasmin is a 600-year old wraith with the ability to turn into mist and feed upon souls. She is sexy and sassy as she fights, kills, and doles out one-liners. She frequently gets herself in over her head, yet manages to stay alive with a bit of luck.
Despite her inhuman nature Yasmin has very human longings for physical affection, friendship, and love (such as she can experience). Her attraction to the human, Alex, and the vampire, Durante, is executed with sensuality, humor, and realistic emotion.
Clark draws the reader into the action from the first line of the story and quickly establishes a sense of history and experience for Yasmin. So it is intriguing when she finds herself up against a type of being she’d not encountered before.
Out after a feeding, Yasmin witnesses a young girl lure a man by pretending to be lost. She is stunned as she watches the child drag the helpless man down into the underworld. As she investigates this, Yasmin is soon enmeshed in the deaths of several teenage girls, including one that went missing from Shoregrave.
Complicating matters is a private investigator called Ethan who is getting uncomfortably close to pulling back the veil from Shoregrave’s paranormal beings as he looks into the killings.
By the time the mystery is solved, Yasmin will end up questioning her very essence and genesis. She will be forced to re-evaluate her perception of her mortal enemies – vampires – and partner with one.
Throughout the book, the imagery of Yasmin’s paranormal abilities is particularly intriguing and well done. She certainly is a fresh version of a wraith. Clark’s creatures may have some standard names, but she makes them her own creations. Vampires don’t quite get birthed in the traditional sense and she’s created her own lifecycle for them.
The city of Shoregrave is an enjoyable setting. The place is a very active haunt for ghosts and all manner of supernatural beings. Clark’s love for ghost stories comes across throughout the novel. She employs a device of often starting a chapter with a piece of Shoregrave’s ghostly history. This further draws the reader into the world she’s woven.
Though the novel isn’t perfect, it does succeed in being very entertaining. These characters were enjoyable to spend time with. Clark has a pleasing and engaging rhythm to her writing. Her use of language is very organic. Her imagery is often unique and immersive. This book holds promise of even better work to come from Clark.
In the end Afterlife is a breezy, light read that would be a perfect beach book for those who love the paranormal or just want a good supernatural story to cuddle up with at night.
Sounds like something I might enjoy, Lark. Good review.