by John Marks
First published 2007
Evangeline Harker travels to Transylvania on assignment for The Hour, a television newsmagazine. Her mission is straightforward: investigate Ion Torgu, an Eastern European crime boss who might make for compelling television. But Torgu's activities prove far more sinister than any criminal enterprise she could have imagined. Evangeline disappears without a trace, leaving her colleagues in New York scrambling with guilt and confusion. Months later, she surfaces in a Romanian monastery with no memory of her ordeal. Strange events begin plaguing The Hour's offices. Someone sends emails from Evangeline's account. Mysterious coffin-shaped packages arrive from Romania. The studio's sound equipment develops an eerie malfunction, coating recordings with whispered chants of foreign place names. Rumors circulate that a correspondent has secured an interview with Torgu himself, now somehow in New York. As an ancient darkness infiltrates their modern workplace, the staff must confront a supernatural threat that makes corporate politics seem trivial. This vampire tale unfolds through diary entries, emails, and therapy journals, revealing how Old World evil adapts to contemporary professional life.
Genres: mystery, horror, supernatural, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New York, Romania, Transylvania
Period: Contemporary
Audio CD · Tantor Media Inc
Content warnings: violence