My Goodreads review: Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

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Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Vengeance takes a road trip in this historical (mid-1970s) vampire thriller with a side order of splatterpunk. Starting off in Portland, OR, the novel follows Duane Minor, a Vietnam vet coping with PTSD and temper issues. He's trying to make a go of life post-Nam with his wife Heidi, her parents, and her thirteen-year-old niece Julia. All he wants is to tend bar, stay sober, and make some sort of connection with Julia, who is living with them after her own mother shot her stepfather and got sentenced to life in prison.

Unfortunately -- at least partly due to Duane's temper -- this isn't going to happen. Instead, he gets crosswise with a vampire whose fuse is even shorter than his own. John Varley wasn't a nice guy before he got turned somewhere back in the Old West, and fangs haven't improved him. In the bloody chaos that follows, Duane manages to get Julia safely away from Portland. His niece, however, is determined to avenge everyone they've lost; and she'll do anything to accomplish this.

The rest of the novel follows Duane as he tries to keep Julia safe, John Varley as he tries to escape what he's done (not for the first time), and Julia herself as she works toward her vengeance. This makes for suspenseful reading, but also for a good bit of confusion as points of view shift and blend. The novel is solidly character-forward, but Rosson devotes nearly as much time to background as he does to keeping the plot flowing. Though his vampire mythology is well structured and violent, it doesn't offer much explanation past that absolutely required. A lot happens in this short (320 pp. in hard copy) novel, but I for one was left wondering why. Or, in the tradition of some bleak films of the era, if why was even a question worth asking.

Coffin Moon is a reliable thrill ride, recommended for vampire fans who prefer their sub-genre gritty and graphic. The ending may not completely satisfy, but it's true to the 1970s film feeling.

[My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for supplying me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.




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