A lot of people nowadays are into reading books that deal with paranormal subjects, psychics, ghosts, vampires, etc. which you don't find very much of in Christian fiction. From what I have seen in looking through catalogs and other sources there are Christian fiction authors who are beginning to write stories along these lines and Tracey Bateman is one. As her book Thirsty dealt with vampires, so does Tandem. I have not read Thirsty as of yet so did not realize that Tandem takes place in the same town with some of the same characters. However, it does not read as a sequel and just mentions in a few places what took place previously along with an explanation so that you aren't left scratching your head and wondering huh?

To be honest, when I started reading the story I did not like the format that it was written in. The story is coming from four different aspects which I was finding very confusing. Two of the stories come from Lauryn McBride with one being in the current story and then at different times in the book you will read what has happened to her in the past. The other two are told through Amede Dastillon and her sister. By the time I had read to about page 75, I didn't think that I would even finish the book. I have always had the habit though of reading the end of a book when I am also reading the front. If I am iffy about the book anyway and don't like the way it ends, I don't bother to finish the book. However, if the ending intrigues me, I will keep on reading to see how they got to the ending. In this case, reading the ending helped me to understand the four different stories and increased my interest in the book.

Lauryn McBride is one of the main characters but I did not care for her very much. To me she appeared very stand offish and almost self centered. She was focused on her little part of the world and the problems that she was dealing with. I could understand why she appeared that way but it didn't help me to like the character any better. At the very end, she seemed to be wanting to take a chance and step out but a little too late for me. My favorite character in the book was Amede Dastillon, a vampire. What that says for me, I'm not sure but she is the type of character that I enjoy reading about. She knew who she was, very self assured, and wasn't prepared to be anyone's victim. She was also honest with herself. Even though she was a vampire, she was also prepared to believe in God at the end and hope that there was redemption for her.

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Did not like the way this story was presented! Not into the whole Vampire thing.....but gave it a try.

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As I have read, reading other reviews. This book does carry a big theme of vampires. I almost put the book down also. But I did finish reading it. I have been known to throw books away for their content. I like the story of the struggles the young woman has with her Dad. And getting to know her old boy friend.
The vampire part could have been left out and still been a great story.
Having said that, if you are a person as I who does not appreciate overly mythic anomalies I just want to warn you there is a lot of graphic vampirisms.

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Christians. Vampires. Blood. Murder. Justice. Suspense.

I wasnt sure it could be done. Tracey Bateman proves it can. Ill be honest when I first picked up this book to read it, I had no idea that it contained vampires. The cover intrigued me and I thought I was sitting down to a good mystery.

Well, it was a good mystery, but it also contained vampires. Several of them, in fact.

The story follows a young woman, Lauryn McBride who is an auctioneer/realtor of old estates. She works full time in the family business and also juggles the care of her father who seems to be losing more and more of his memory every day.

When she uncovers some old letters, strange things start happening and before she even realizes whats happened shes sucked into a mystery so old and bizarre she can scarcely draw breath. Cross all of this with a cocky sheriff, a Bible believin missionary, a wacky blogger, and a sophisticated guest and youve got something that borders on paranormal all on its own.

The story bounces back and forth from first person to third person. I had no trouble following it, but I think it deserves a mention.

Im still on the fence with this book. Ms. Bateman does not in any way condone vampires and for that I like the book. However, in so many ways they are so unrealistic that I have a hard time buying into the hype that they have created the last several years.

Im going to give it 3 stars. It wasnt the worst story Ive ever read, the writing was good, but the content is so controversial. Perhaps I should give Ms. Bateman a big thumbs up for daring to write something as controversial as Christian Vampires. :)

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I can't believe I LIKED a book with vampires. I try to stay away from such. But, with recommendations in the cover like "redemptive" and "deftly delivering truth" I started it. I can't recommend it for everyone; but, it does deliver truth and in the end is redemptive. I finished it quickly and will pass it on through paperback swap. Recommend.

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