"An intoxicating chillfest that's sharper than a vamp's incisors." ~Daily Record

The Radleys: A Novel by Matt Haig

"The Radleys Peter, Helen, and their two teenagers, Clara and Rowan live outwardly in domestic bliss, but it comes at a price: Peter and Helen are abstainers, vampires who view blood drinking as an addiction, and keeping up the facade has strained their marriage. They've kept the truth from their children, but this backfires when Clara's vegan diet (dangerous for abstainers, who need meat) causes uncontrollable blood lust, culminating in her ripping a boy to shreds. Enter Uncle Will, an unrepentant vampire, whose subtle and dangerous charm brings even more trouble. This is a dark domestic drama about a loving but dysfunctional family that just happens to be vampires, though delicious moments of gore maintain its horror connection. Excerpts from The Abstainer's Handbook, which the Radley's rigidly follow, cleverly mimic self-help manuals, and Haig's sly digs at suburbia's forced banality and conformity are on target. As Rowan says, Everyone represses everything. . . . We're middle-class and we're British. Repression is in our veins. A white-picket-fence-style happy ending caps off this unusual blended story."

--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2010 Booklist