Mistress of Lies, by KM Enright
The daughter of a powerful but disgraced Blood Worker, Shan LeClaire has spent her entire life perfecting her blood magic, building her network of spies, and gathering every scrap of power she could. Now, to protect her brother, she assassinates their father and takes her place at the head of the family. And that is only the start of her revenge.
Samuel Hutchinson is a bastard with a terrible gift. When he stumbles upon the first victim of a magical serial killer, he's drawn into the world of magic and intrigue he's worked so hard to avoid - and is pulled deeply into the ravenous and bloodthirsty court of the vampire king.
Tasked by the Eternal King to discover the identity of the killer cutting a bloody swath through the city, Samuel, Shan and mysterious Royal Blood Worker Isaac find themselves growing ever closer to each other. But Shan's plans are treacherous, and as she lures Samuel into her complicated web of desire, treason and vengeance, he must decide if the good of their nation is worth the cost of his soul.
There are so many good vampire books appearing this year that the challenge I face is doing the best titles justice. Because how is it still possible to write an original vampire novel? It’s all been done before, right?
This book proves that there is still a good deal of life (yes, yes, I know) left in this trope, with the vampire acting as a whole new type of metaphor for society while still retaining a strong sense of seductive threat.
Set in a land ruled by Vampires as an Elite class, blood is a form of magical ‘fuel’, with the non-gifted (ie regular folk) being tithed to keep the balance of benefits dispensed by the Blood-Worker rulers. One of the first scenes is a public sacrifice to this end, which is an ironic reflection of a French Revolution guillotine scene - only it’s a criminal being sacrificed by the rich for the good of the people.
Of course it’s not that simple, and we’re immediately in for a fantastic ride of politics and very morally ambiguous characters. How can any form of justice be found when those at the top are virtually immortal? Yes, the working classes outnumber the elites, but why would the former revolt? They should be grateful for what they have in this twisted welfare state!
The protagonists are engaging and complex, with initially clear goals that are gradually broken down as more truths come to light. Nothing is as straightforward as ‘good/evil’ here - this society reflects our own so skilfully that even as I type this, I’m thinking of the online tangles of misinformation happening in our world right now. There’s also the unfortunately-familiar idea of ‘well, if you’re rich enough to get away with something…’
Our heroine-of-sorts Shan battles with her own ethical code versus what she sees as her duty to her family, while being openly challenged by her own lower-caste brother. She finds Samuel, who in a lesser novel would be a ‘chosen one’ here to save the day… except he really does not want that job, having lived in the poverty that all are forbidden to question. And there’s Shan’s ex-lover, Isaac, perhaps this Revolution’s Chauvelin - but caught in his own prison, seeking to hold on to his true self while enslaved within the Blood hierarchy. From the ruling class to the workers, we see the need to come together against the corrupt system, but like the best mystery thrillers, for most of the book I could not for the life of me see how this would be done!
It’s never difficult to keep up, thankfully. The relatable nature and motivation of the characters was simple to follow, even if I had to juggle the pieces of who to root for based on the latest information. The twisting plot kept me guessing until the very last moments, and I was left with a huge book hangover at the end!
Incidentally, I’ve not been a fan of the often-contrived Vampire Romance Novel, but here it was a genuine pleasure to see the nature of such inhuman (and often bloody) relationships portrayed so beautifully. We have a mix of queerness and polyamory that is handled with true care - it’s not subtext, it’s just the way these people feel about each other. What if blood could help someone find their true self as a trans person? Why have a conflicting relationship triangle (I’m looking at you, Twilight) when all three participants are happy to engage together like adults?
A huge recommend for those who like their vampires smart as well as sexy.