Book review
Written by Suzanne McLeod
Gollancz hardback/paperback
Release date Out now

Genny Taylor isn’t just your average spell-cracker. In fact, she’s so good at finding magic and cracking it, that everybody wants to get a bite of the action. Forced into helping in a murder enquiry, Genny is plunged into London’s deadly underground vampire scene, with potentially disastrous consequences…

The most dangerous part of Genny’s day job usually involves tackling minor spells and mischievous brownies, so it’s little wonder that she bites off more than she can chew when she becomes embroiled in a murder enquiry against her will. It’s not just the truth about the murder that could destroy her, but also the dangerous discovery of her own dark demons.

Genny plummets into the underbelly of London and discovers a place where giant trolls, gremlins and killer revenants rampage, as Suzanne McLeod peels back the glitterati façade of some of the city’s hottest nightspots to reveal a world where blood-sucking and dark magic meet erotica.

At first glance it seems as if The Sweet Scent of Blood has all the elements of a pulse-racing paranormal romantic thriller, but the pieces never quite fall into place. What should have been a gritty, sexy vampire sleuth story is instead a surprisingly dry read. The plot starts off slower than a dead troll, while the simmering sexual tension between satyr Finn and slinky Genny never quite reaches climax.

Though the first in McLeod’s Spellcracker series contains a scattering of laughs, the story is fatally lacking in action, not helped by the fact it’s far too long. Not one of the year’s best British urban fantasies. Cassandra Zoro

VERDICT: 5/10
It has its moments, but this thriller is more likely to frustrate than satiate your desire for vampire romance.