Review: The Rogue Hunter

The Rogue Hunter by Lynsay Sands

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Garrett Mortimer has been immortal for a long time - 800 years. In all that time, very little has been able to draw him away from his duty as a Rogue Hunter for the Argeneau clan. Until, that is, he and his partner are search cottage country outside of Toronto for a rogue vampire and he finds the one woman he cannot mentally influence - Samantha Willan, also know as his life mate. Sam is at her family cottage with her sisters, while Mortimer is staying next door with another member of the clan. As Sam and Mortimer get closer, more obstacles seem to be thrown in their way, finally ending with Mortimer telling Sam about who and what he really is, asking her for commitment. What will Sam decide? And will they ever find the rogue biting mortals in the wilds of cottage country?

My Thoughts: I'd read a few of the Argeneau short stories (or, I think I have. I've read so many anthologies that it's hard to remember what I have and what I haven't read!) I saw this book at my library's month book sale and thought, "You know, I've heard a few good things about this, so let me pick it up." Yes, I'm following my trend of starting somewhere in the middle of a series rather than at the beginning. But in this case, it wasn't a hindrance. Sands wove the vampire mythos into the story very well, along with giving other bits of information that long time readers of the series may have known by newbies needed to know. I'll admit, that's something I relish finding in a book that I'm reading. It makes me want to read what's come before and not feel completely lost in what I'm reading now. I loved the characters - especially Bricker. He's the youngest of the vampires in that group and still has a lot to learn about being an older vampire like Mortimer and Decker (the vamp who owns the cottage). It's a shame that he isn't life-mated with Sam's sister, Jo. They would have made a great couple.

There was also a lot of humor in the book, and that is something I love to read. The interactions between the sisters and the vampires got incredibly comical - particularly when the vamps were trying to come up with a cover story of what they did with a living and Bricker blurted out that they were in a band together, formerly called Morty and the Muppets. The band bit led to some humorous moments throughout the rest of the book. And the poor luck that continually happened to Sam and Mort whenever they tried to get it on was just... definitely chuckle worthy. One of those stories you tell your kids so you can embarrass them when you're older.

One of the highest kudos, however, goes to Sands for the world that she built. I love the vampires-as-products-of-science so much more than the vampires-as-products-of-cursing so much better. Yeah, you need to stretch your imagination a little to make it work (premise: the vampires have nanotechnology inside of them that keeps them in top physical condition. The nanotechnology runs off of the blood in the body and that is why they need to replenish themselves by drinking blood. The Argeneau clan has been around a long time - the first people to have this technology implanted were part of the highly-developed country of Atlantis.), but it's something that doesn't cause the immortals to be evil creatures. And I've never liked vamps as absolute evil. Sometimes you need to do what you have to do to survive, right?

If you like your vampires a little different than the norm, check this series out. I don't think you'll regret it. It's one of the best.



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