Book excerpt: "A razor-sharp protagonist headlines this gripping tale of mythical vampires and scarier humans."--Kirkus Reviews "...charming, compelling, and satisfying--everything a reader wants in a light romance or a two-century-old mystery."--IndieReader An IndieReader Best Reviewed Book of the Month Folklorist Leah Gerard travels to Purgatory Island, Rhode Island, to study the two-hundred-year-old legend of the Vampira Mercy Randall. Aided by Randall family descendant Adam Randall, Leah hopes to learn how Mercy, like the Salem witches, became a tragic victim of scapegoating and community hysteria. To solve the centuries-old mystery, Leah must discover what happened in 1815 to make down-to-earth New Englanders start believing Transylvanian folk superstitions about vampires. The answer may lie in Adam Randall's hidden family history, and Leah finds herself increasingly drawn to him despite the rumors about his mysteriously missing wife. Leah's efforts to find the truth behind the legend make her the target of a violent cult of vampire worshipers who have descended upon the island. Cult members are willing to go to any lengths to stop her and Adam from committing heresy against their Exalted Mother Vampira Mercy Randall. What began as scholarly research becomes a desperate battle for truth and love on Purgatory Island.