Tandem by Tracey Bateman

Six months ago, brutal murders shook the small Ozark town—murders that stopped after a house fire reportedly claimed the killer’s life. Lauryn McBride's family auction house has taken responsibility for the estate sale of one of the victims—the enigmatic Markus Chisom. Submerging herself in Chisom’s beautiful but strange world, Lauryn welcomes the reprieve from watching Alzheimer’s steal her father from her, piece by piece. She soon realizes that centuries-old secrets tie Abbey Hills to the Chisom estate and a mysterious evil will do anything to make sure those secrets stay hidden. Even the man who grew up loving her may not be able to protect Lauryn from the danger.

When Amede Dastillon receives an unexpected package from Abbey Hills, she hopes it might be the key in tracking down her beloved sister, long estranged from her family. Visiting Abbey Hills seems the logical next step in her search, but Amede is unusually affected by the town, and when mutilated carcasses begin turning up again in the small community, the local law enforcement isn’t sure if they are confronting a familiar evil or a new terror.

Two women brought together by questions that seem to have no answers. Can they overcome the loss and darkness threatening to devour them—or will their own demons condemn them to an emotional wasteland?

My review:A Christian book about vampires? Seems like a weird idea, but it works. I read the book that precedes this, Thirsty, several months back and found it an intriguing. This is not a review for that book, but vampires coupled with alcoholism made for a very interesting read.

This book, Tandem, picks up where Thirsty left off. The mysterious killings of animals had stopped, but now they have picked up again. Some reviewers have stated they didn't like this one as well. I disagree. I liked it as well. There was a lot of suspense in it, twists and turns, and romance. And like Thirsty, it raises an interesting question - is anyone beyond redemption? Sure, vampires are not for real, but there is a lot of evil in our world, and evil people. A novel like this shows that even the worst are not beyond redemption.

I did have a little bit of a hard time knowing who the book was talking about a few times throughout the book. It was written in the first person, going into the third occasionally, and in my opinion, it would have flowed better and been easier to keep up with the who if it had been written completely in the third person. Regardless of that, I really enjoyed this book, and yes... Christian vampire books might seem out of the realm of normal reading, but it was worth my while. I recommend it and Thirsty for those who like to read something not so normal occasionally.

About the author:

TRACEY BATEMAN is an award-winning author of more than thirty books including Thirsty. Tracey has been a member of American Christian Fiction Writers since it began and served as its president for nearly two years. She lives in Missouri with her husband and four children.


Tandem is available from Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishers.

Thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for the review copy.