INNOCENT BLOOD

TITLE: INNOCENT BLOOD
AUTHOR: GRAHAM MASTERTON
Pages: 281
Date: 30/01/2010
Grade: 4-
Library

This book goes to show that sometimes it does pay to read both the blurb AND the author information if you want a good idea as to what sort of a book you're picking up.
I had never read anything by this author when the title made me pick it up while checking the shelves in the library. Curious I read the blurb and came to the conclusion that this was a mystery, maybe with some super-natural elements, and decided to bring it home.
It was only when I was about halfway through the book and found it was far more gruesome and graphic then I expected that I checked the author blurb and discovered that Masterton is "one of the world's bestselling horror writers".
This story though is not so horrific that I was tempted not to finish it. But, this is not a book for the feint-hearted; a lot of children (as well as adults) get killed and the sex scenes, although quite brief, do get graphic.
The book also suffers from another problem, one I encounted quite a lot when reading horror; I had to take too much on faith. Too much is unexplained and/or suddenly sprung upon the reader. 
Yet, despite all of that, I did find the story and characters interesting enough to keep turning the pages. Graham Masterton definitely knows how to write a story that draws you in.
This is the story of Frank Bell, a successful Hollywood comedy writer. When he brings his young son Danny to school, Frank witnesses how a white van drives into the school grounds and blows up, killing both Danny and several other pupils and teachers.
The bombing is claimed by a group called Dar Tariki Tariqat, and the authorities assume they're dealing with Muslim extremists.
But, as Frank teams up with Astrid, a mysterious girl he first meets immediately after the blast, and Neville Strange, a celebrated psychic detective and while the devastating attacks on Hollywood's entertainment industry continue, a different and tragic picture starts to emerge.
Frank is entering a world where terrible abuses from the past are being avenged and the dead are much closer than he could ever have believed.