Vile Blood by Max Wilde

When Skye Martindale unleashes the darkness within to rescue her from a group of rapists, she finds it’s difficult to put the demon back in the box.

Living in a dying town on the border between the US and Mexico, Skye has always kept her head down in an effort to keep the Other sleeping within her. Once awakened, she not only has to fight her inner demon, but also her adopted brother and chief deputy sheriff, Gene Martindale, and a whole band of other people. These include the corrupt sheriff of the next county, Dellbert Drum; drug dealer and pimp, Reverend Tincup; and an old enemy who has just awoken from a long sleep.

A quote at the beginning of the book sums up Vile Blood perfectly: “What does it matter if, by chance, a little vile blood be spilled?” Jean Racine. All the characters are irretrievably flawed. There is no redemption, only punishment, and you can’t even pity their fates, as they rush so happily into wrongdoing.

The author crafts the story well, hooking the reader’s attention from the very first sentence and not letting go until the last. Not a horror book so much as a dark drama about perverted criminals who prey upon others in a variety of ways, and the flawed, corrupted people who try to keep them in check – with some demons thrown in. The characters are well written; each depraved, yet retaining enough humanity to keep them interesting.

My problem with this book is that it contains two incidents of pedophila. I know this occurs in reality, and I’m not against this subject being discussed in fiction, but when it is an aside to show how wicked a couple of characters are, it comes very close to being exploitative.

I award Vile Blood…

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