In The Blood (Book Review)

Miranda Luna’s debut novel is a haunting look into a life of fetish, darkness and undying love.

Standing at a slim twenty-two chapters, In The Blood is a quick read but the story is one that sticks with you.  Luna paints a tragic world that draws the reader in page by page, leaving you begging for more.

The story follows the character Zoe Starr - a writer, caregiver to her niece Spider, and a fast sinking heroin addict.  With an unsatisfied love life, strange late night phone calls, and a sickness that won't stop growing, Zoe slowly slips out of the world she's built around herself.  Her thoughts are consumed with her former lover Paris, whom she left behind ten years earlier.  Paris has been calling out to her in dreams and leading Zoe back to him.  But after all these years what could he possibly want?  Zoe isn't even sure if what she is experiencing is real anymore but something deep inside her presses on.  What unfolds next yields terrifying truths, waking nightmares, and a passion greater than life itself.

One thing I find very attractive about Miranda Luna's writing is her ability to balance real life and fantasy elements.  Her sensitivity towards fetish blood play and heroin usage rings incredibly true, yet when a supernatural element is introduced, nothing seems over the top.  Luna's word usage is hypnotic and is sure to find a fan base in the Gothic community.  You can pick up a copy of In The Blood for yourself at mirandapadgett.wordpress.com.