First Published: 2014
Contains spoilers
The Blurb: After a woman in white is encountered along a lonely highway in Jackson County, West Virginia, an unusual number of vampires begin to turn up. Once their mysterious maker is discovered, Janiss Connelly must confront those she left behind in life before she can stop the sadistic murderer once and for all.
The Matriarch: Guardians continues the undead saga of one-time coed Janiss Connelly, now the executive administrator of the Cedarcrest Sanctum, as she learns that while dealing with the living is harder in death than it is in life, the undead are more difficult - and deadly
The review: For full disclosure Kevin Ranson is a Facebook friend and his Matriarch series of books were provided for review.
When I looked at the first book of the Matriarch series I was impressed, I think mostly, by the small focus of the book. The fact that this wasn’t a world changing vista made it feel refreshingly personal and drew one in. When it comes to the second book, whilst things stretch out a little more, the focal area is still reasonably small, still intimate.
It’s not that a larger stage is bad (at all) but that it was nice to be on that smaller stage, it helped a focus on character. I can see the scope for the stage to expand book on book, and again that is no bad thing – Ranson has nicely rounded the main character Janiss and, whilst one of the interconnections, with another vampire being associated with mortal’s from her former life, was a tad convenient it didn’t feel unnatural.
When I reviewed the last volume I expressed a slight criticism about narrative used for exposition feeling a little forced but I got no sense of that in this. I also said that the last volume kept me interested, this volume kept me glued and I devoured it. 8 out of 10 and a sincere hope that the series continues to grow from strength to strength.
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