Nobody writes popcorn fiction like Charlie.

I absolutely love all of the Joe Pitt novels, with their fresh and original depictions of vampire crime families carving out their territories in New York City. Fast-paced and extremely gory. There are no 'good guys' in these novels - only 'less nasty' protagonists who fill in for heroes. Highly recommended.

Charlie Houston writes like the most action-fueled action film. The break-neck pace of his stories make his books hard to put down, and fun to read. I'm so in love with the Hang Thompson trilogy, that I want to read everything he writes. When I learned he had a vampyre series, I admit I was somewhat skeptical, but boy was I wrong!

He's taken an old legend, and breathed new life into the genre. Instead of sparkly pretty boys, or vamps that write in their diaries, we get gangster vamps that drink, party, kick-ass, and battle for control of Manhattan. It's like The Godfather meets Dracula. But not really.

The first book was so different from anything I had ever read before, that I was afraid that the second would fall short, but it lived up to my expectations. Charlie Houston is one author I always recommend to by book-loving friends when they are looking for new authors/series.

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Good, entertaining, vampire noir pulp. However, I think this really suffers for Huston's dialogue for black characters. Some of what he writes reads as though he's never met a black person in real life, and some of it comes of as straight up racist ("sheit", "biznezz"). The little bits of transphobia sprinkled in seem to be a product of the time in which it was written, and he does do a good job denouncing it in book 3. Still enjoyable, but those bits really took me out of the story and had me wondering how Huston felt about his early 2000s fiction writing. I do enjoy the Hank Thompson trilogy more than the Joe Pitt series, at least so far.

So far I seem incapable of reading these books in less than a sitting or two, which is kind of nice. I think I actually liked this a little bit better than Already Dead; you get to see more of Joe's world, and with a lot of the scene-setting accomplished by the first novel Huston stretches out a little. The revelations about the virus that causes vampires (Huston's dumb-ass alternate spelling of both terms is just about the only thing I DON'T like about his work so far) skirt the edge of making this world just a bit more science fiction-y than I'd prefer, but for now we're on the right side of that line. Can't wait to get my hands on #3.

There’s a new drug on the street that can get Vampyre’s high. After one of them flips out inside of Joe Pitts hang out Terry Bird sends him out to find who’s making it. Joe goes up North to The Hood to investigate where he’s introduced to some hardcore dogfighting Vampyre’s, DJ Grave Digga and Papa Doc.

The second book in the Joe Pitt series is a fast paced hard boiled asskicker of a novel. We meet some new faces and get to know some old ones a little better. There’s more heart in this one where we see more of Pitts’s girlfriend Evie’s medical issues. We also get to know a little more history about the big players in The Society, Coalition, and The Hood.

At first I didn’t think I would like this as much as I remembered because it didn’t seem like there was as much going on. A big chunk of the book is Pitt finding a way to travel Uptown, and then the actual traveling, then meeting the new characters one by one. Once he gets to the root of the problem with the new drug, things go haywire and there’s plenty of action. Finally, at the end I found my heartstrings getting pulled when Pitt goes home to Evie. It really is a good story that ends with a ton of action and reveals. An old school noir story with new school blood.

(Review from 2023)

Of the three Joe Pitt books I read in middle/high school I think I liked this one the most. Still tried to be dark, edgy and cool but I think I preferred the main conflict here (i.e., a drug that can get even vampires high) compared to the first as well as its exploration of the vampire society secretly living in and fighting over NYC.

If you asked me last night - when I read the last 60 some pages in one or two sittings - I would have said this was an awesome book and had lots of great urban noir style that The Dresden Files can only dream of. Even as late as this morning I was recommending this book as a great addition to the growing vampire (spelled vampyre in this book for no good reason at all) collection.

But right now, I don't remember much of it.

So, yeah, we have our Joe Pitt - cooler-than-thou vampire PI without any work - investigating a new drug that not only affects vampires, but can also make them uncontrollable. This investigation takes him through most of lower and upper New York City (don't listen to the editorial remarks, this is NOT near-future), interacting with the various head honchos of different Vampyre (man that's annoying to spell) clans.

All to lead to a giant conspiracy twist that ... I'm not sure.

And while I enjoyed this book and found it well written and gripping (I especially liked the way dialogue was handled ... think Hubert Selby Jr split into paragraphs with Elmore Leonard's voice), I'm not sure that I can remember enough of it to justify the time it took to read it. Of course, I was reading a few other books at the time and so there could be that.

Meh, if you're into the noir genre and you haven't given Joe Pitt a try, grab Already Dead and take it around the block. Chances are, you will be like me and a few months/years later find another Joe Pitt book and say, "Hey, I liked that one way back when. I'm gonna read this one too."

In another few months, I'll probably say the same thing and read the third in the series. I just hope I remember it better than this one.

Joe Pitt is at it again, another case (kinda), another novel chock full o' grit, hard times, and Joe wondering how he's going to make ends meet. As the novel begins, Joe's stash of blood and money are running low, he has no jobs lined up, and his HIV positive girlfriend is pushing hard for him to donate blood for her eventual medical needs.

Joe needs to figure things out in a hurry. A lead almost literally drops in his lap in a bar, when a high-as-a-kite vamp freaks out, requiring Joe to jump in and deal with the mess. The problem is, due to the vyrus, vampires are NOT supposed to be able to get that high, from any sort of drug. With nothing else to do, Joe decides to see who's pulling the strings--leading Joe into a confused tangle of underworld connections, double-dealing, and intrigue.

If you are into the whole noir/vampire combo, the Joe Pitt novels are a lot of fun. At times, the characterization is a bit two-dimensional, but I suppose that's often the case on noir novels. But if it's your thing, it's worth the read--just make sure you've read the first Joe Pitt book or you will be lost figuring out the relationship of many of the characters.

Joe Pitt is Charlie Huston's noir-ish, smart talking, tough, vampire private eye. Of sorts. He's asked to find out what drug new vampires are taking that makes them freak out in a completely destructive way (to them and to anyone or anything nearby). Personally, he's also grappling with his girlfriend Evie's request that he donate blood as her HIV infection is taking on a new, dangerous level of activity. She's not a vampire and doesn't know that Joe is ... so things are naturally a bit strained from Joe's point of view.

This is the second installment in the series which I am reading so I'm up-to-date for listening to the review copy I received (via SFFaudio). I listened to the first book of the series, via the same source, and actually think I prefer listening to these books, especially as Huston (oh, so stylish and a la mode) doesn't bother using quotation marks for conversation. Annoying. Anyway, the story is good thus far and I am "hearing" Scott Brick's voices from the first book in my head as I read. Which is almost as good as the real thing. :-)

Good but not as good as book #1, hoping #3 is solid...