Mitchelle's series, inspired by a vampire who has donned the legendary name of Marquis De Sade, continues in this sixth installment. This time the reader is introduced to two young lovers, a mortal woman who is admired and sought after for her beauty, and a young man who was born half mortal and half vampire.

The woman, once a lover of Sade before seeing his true self, has suddenly vanished from the apartment of Justin, the half-breed who destroys vampires. Hearing the Sade is back in Paris, he is convinced the diabolical man has captured his former slave. Enlisting in the help of another vampire to locate Sade - and of course, his beloved Madeline, he has to repay for this information by vowing to also try his best to locate the current vampire serial killing traumatizing the streets.

The books plot is no mystery, as much is given away in the beginning. The reader knows who the killer is, the details of Sade's involvements, and everything along the step of the way. While it's not a mind twister and isn't a read that makes one think, it does offer some amusing tension between the old rivals Marie and Sade.

Justin's character is convincing enough but it wouldn't have hurt to know a bit more about him besides his undying devotion to the memory of Madeleine. Pacing is fast enough and I never grew bored, although the midsection and ending of this novel was hurt by its lack of weight.

Before a Sade novel I read went into much more sexual detail, but here it was sadly amiss. Those looking for more of the same will find it a bit dry here, hinting more rather than showing. The compassion of Lilliana was a change, and welcome, but didn't make the most sense. The interesting 'family' was the more entertaining aspect. I couldn't really care about Madeline or Matthew, as they just didn't seem real and sympathetic enough. The ending was an abrupt drop, almost like the writer realized she'd reached her word limit and had to suddenly cease. A more thorough resolution - on the parts of many players - was sorely amiss.

Besides that, this was a fun little book in other ways, I was treated with a few chuckles, and it's hard to put down. Call it a guilty pleasure. Not something that's first star reading that one should actively seek out, but a book that's good enough not to be ignored if you walk by it in the library somewhere. ( )