By: Jeff Gunhus
Mystery/Thriller/Horror
Synopsis:
When Corbin Stewart, a down-on-his-luck writer living in Paris, witnesses the brutal attack of an old gypsy man, he rushes to help. He chases off the attackers, three albino men wearing porcelain tragedy masks, but not before they stab the old man repeatedly. While Corbin tries to keep the man alive until help arrives, blood gets on his skin, in his eyes, into his mouth. The old man dies, but Corbin soon discovers that death isn't the end for the powerful gypsy, and that the blood in his body carries part of the man's soul with it. Soon, he's dragged into a bizarre world of the T'acho Rasa, an ancient splinter tribe of the Romani that lives secretly in the labyrinth of the catacombs beneath Paris, and the Fantomes de la Nuit, a maniacal group dedicated to stopping them. Corbin finds himself at the center of the blood feud between the two groups, desperate to find a way to destroy them both. If he fails, the T'acho Rasa, seeking revenge for the persecution of the Romani people, will release an unspeakable horror onto the world.
Review:
When I first came across the synopsis of Gypsy Blood, I was immediately intrigued, but not really sure what to expect. With so many twists listed right in the description, I was curious to see if the story could live up to the hype and still have more surprises in store. Let me tell you, I was not let down.
The style of writing and the type of plot twists reminded me a lot of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series (The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons, etc.). The way that Gunhus describes the Romani community is a nod to a secret society with it's own hierarchy, traditions, and governances. But it doesn't stop there. The conflict between the T'acho Rasa and the Gantomes de la Nuit is nothing short of intoxicating. It makes you step back and question who is in the right and who is in the wrong constantly. Through the course of the story, I found myself switching my support back and forth between the groups until the very end.
All in all, it was a fascinating read and I simply was not able to put it down. It is beautifully twisted and keeps you on the edge of your seat right until the last page. Even though it got a little too intense for my taste at some points, I still enjoyed the book.
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