Deeper than the Night is another vampire novel from Amanda Ashley, this one with two unusual aspects.  Firstly the vampire hero is in fact an alien from another race who has been banished to Earth and lives a solitary existence that gives him the reputation of a vampire.  Secondly, this novel is set in the present day and deals with the wonders of medical science and how they would react were they too have a vampire in their clutches.
 

When Kara Crawford is rushed to hospital after a car accident her nine year old sister Gail is afraid that she is going to die.  With typical childlike reasoning she decides that since vampire’s live forever she will go to the vampire’s house ask him to come and bite her sister so that she can live forever too.

Alexander Claybourne cannot believe that the child before him is asking for the vampire to go and save her sister.  Telling her that he is unable to help he waits for her to leave and then goes to the hospital himself.  Knowing that his blood could in fact have the healing properties that could save Kara’s life he gives her enough to save her and leaves again, little realising the chain of events he has set in motion.

Alexander is not a vampire who has been turned into the undead by another soulless being.  Instead he is a man from a distant planet known as ErAdona.  A peaceful planet without war or violence those who commit violent crimes are normally executed.  But Alexander’s case had been exceptional and instead of execution he had faced only banishment to the warlike planet of Earth.  Unable to bear the sunlight it was only natural that he would acquire the reputation as a vampire.

Meanwhile Kara, to the astonishment of her doctor’s began to recover but the doctors were starting to suspect that there was something abnormal about her recovery and soon she and Alex were on the run from the doctors who were determined to exploit the find.

Claiming that she was ill and needed urgent treatment they plotted a way to ferret out the information they needed about the healing qualities of her blood by keeping her a prisoner of the hospital.  Worried for her sister Gail once again approached Alex, her sister having befriended him now, and he headed over to the hospital and rescued her from the doctors.

Hiding in the mountain hideaway that Alex had created they soon found a love that would cross all the boundaries between them.  But was it only a matter of time before they were tracked down or lured into the open?

Knowing that Kara’s family was in the line of danger Alex and Kara were aware that time was running out and Alex had no choice but to confide in Kara his deepest secret…that it was not her blood they were so concerned about but his.  And in confiding his secret he must also prepare himself for her reaction.  He is not a vampire of legend but he might as well as be and although the vampires of legends are said to have no soul he knows that he has one that will be torn apart if she should leave him.

Fast-paced and entertaining this novel offers a new take on the vampire legend by bringing in the idea that the vampires were never human at all but merely visitors from another planet.

Refreshingly different this novel appeared at first like a classic vampire novel but instead it became surprisingly original as the plot thickened.
 
 

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Also by Amanda Ashley - Embrace the Night, Sunlight Moonlight, Shades of Gray and A Darker Dream.

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