A Vampire Mystery Series – Underdead
Fun to Read Murder Mystery With Vampires Rivals Twilight Series
Nov 7, 2009
Jo is twenty-two. She's just graduated college and gotten her first “real” job after moving out of her folks’ house and into her very own apartment. The exciting adult life she’d always envisioned is about to begin.
Then she gets bitten by a vampire.
So goes Underdead (Cerridwen Press, May 2007, ISBN # 9781419956863), the first novel written by Long Beach resident, Liz Jasper. Like the heroine of her story, Jasper began teaching eighth grade science in her early twenties to a classroom of rowdy ‘tweens, the latter recognizing all too plainly that the young woman behind the desk had less than a decade on them age-wise…and acting out accordingly. The faculty lounge was a whole other animal to wrestle. Teachers competing for coveted promotions, cliques, bullies, back-stabbing, gossip about little Billy’s dad and the European supermodel...not to mention irate parents throwing fits at every turn.
Not Dead...Underdead
“Then there’s this whole other level that’s making it difficult for her to just live a normal life,” Jasper said of her main character, Jo. Meaning, on top of work turning out to be harder than expected, Jo has to cope with the nastiest hickey in history and its rather unusual side-effects. If ever there was a reason not to hook up with strangers in bars, this would be it.
Unlike most victims of vampire incisors, Jo exercised self-defense and broke away from her would-be suitor’s love bite before succumbing to death and the life of the undead.
“There was a comedian who made a joke about ‘not undead, but underdead,” Jasper explained, “and something about it was funny to me.”
A Fun To Read Murder Mystery With Vampires
Indeed, this is not another overly-sexual, excessively-violent vampire tale. Jasper penned a light, fun-to-read murder mystery in which our down-to-earth protagonist emotionally devours chocolate while curled up in a fetal position.
“With most vampire stories, once the vampire enters the scene, everyone accepts that there are vampires, but Jo’s in a position where she slowly accepts that while certain things are actually true, she’s living in a world where no one would believe her. They’d think she’s crazy.”
As someone who has become underdead, Jo experiences vampire-like symptoms – scaly skin, sun sensitivity, a taste for blood – without any of the “cool” vampire perks. She still has to go to work and function normally in society, only now she’s slathered in SPF 75 for her new “sun allergy,” avoiding garlic at all costs, and trying to figure out who keeps trying to kill her.
The novel takes place in Long Beach, and although local readers will recognize a few references, the locations are “mostly based on things instead of using real names and places,” said Jasper, who recently finished writing the follow-up sequel to Underdead with the intention of creating a series.
Good Enough To Rival the Twilight Series
Even a vague interest in the vampire genre is not required, as people of any age and from every walk of life will enjoy this intelligently-written, humorous take of a normal girl’s entry into the paranormal. There is enough romance and intrigue to rival the popular Twilight series while still remaining relatable. To purchase Underdead or the sequel, Underdead In Denial, visit Cerridwen Press or Liz Jasper's Official Website.
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