This is a masterfully well crafted vampire story set in the remote and forbidding landscapes of the seventeenth century. This book breathes new life into the living dead genre of horror. The well paced story moves the reader dramatically towards resolution. This is a very well written book with a wide appeal. Anyone who is able to read maturely should read this. This book is based on the very first stories of vampire folklore, where the living dead where more like zombies with a blood lust. This is bone-chilling and with transfix readers. It is a relatively small book, with only around two hundred pages. In the story a strong woodcutter named Peter lives with his drunken father Thomas on the edge of a very superstitious town, where the people keep themselves to themselves. The story really begins when a body is found in the wood, with his heart pulled out, though they bury him as a suicide. Peter feels something is wrong, though dismisses it. Until the Gypsies come in their beautiful painted wagons, that brighten up the white of winter. A young girl, Sofia, realises something is not right as well, and together, by strange circumstances, investigate. A magnificently well written book by an author with six other books under his belt, this must be read if possible. A haunting novel in which Thomas holds the key. An intriguing Gothic tale, this must be read! A modern masterpiece!