“Saltwater Vampires” by Kirsty Eagar.

This is not your run of the mill teen vampire book. Kirsty Eagar has mixed Australian history, vampires and surfing and rolled out a fast paced thriller that I couldn’t put down. I had to finish it last night, even though I only received it in the mail yesterday morning.

If you’re anything like me you like a story to keep you on your toes with vampires that don’t profess their undying love for you while skipping through the meadow. If you’re into a regression back to proper blood thirsty fiends of the underworld, Saltwater Vampires is for you. Kirsty has layered her story and you never get a chance to put the book down. Using a little bit of her vast surfing knowledge (she’s a skeg from way back) Kirsty’s book definitely keeps you hooked.

Here’s the blurb:

He looked to the sky, praying for rain, a downpour, some sign from the heavens that he should refuse the abomination contained in that flask. But all he saw was the bloated white face of the moon smiling down on him …

And the sky around it was cold and clear and black …

They made their circle of blood. And only the moon witnessed the slaughter that followed.

For Jamie Mackie, summer holidays in the coastal town of Rocky Head mean surfing, making money, and good times at the local music festival. But this year, vampires are on the festival’s line-up … fulfilling a pact made on the wreck of the Batavia, four hundred years ago. If their plans succeed, nobody in Rocky Head will survive to see out the new year.

Saltwater Vampires is a distinctly Australian vampire thriller.

I liked the depth of Jamie’s problems, it’s not just that he’s a guy who has family issues, he’s also dealing with the after effects of a boat explosion that was sort of his fault. The vampires in this book aren’t nice, they certainly don’t sparkle – one guy has to borrow teeth to be able to feed, they have no redeeming qualities that I can think of. Yep they’re the real deal and they’re out to perform an ancient ritual that will start a bloodbath the world has never seen.

Saltwater Vampires is released in September by Penguin. The cover art is wicked, those inhuman blue eyes staring at you, yeah it’s a winner for sure. I’ve said it before but really, I love this book trailer.