Review: Dance in the Dark

Title: Dance in the Dark
Author: Megan Derr
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Publication Date: 27 July 2011
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 226 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review: Johnnie is a normal--one without magical abilities or nature--who was taken in by the Dracula Desrosiers after the brutal death of his parents. A member of a vampire family yet not a vampire, he orbits the society without truly belonging, solving mysteries to pass the time. His life is further complicated by a secretive father, a cold older brother, a sarcastic bodyguard, and a mysterious lover whose face he has never seen. As the mysteries stack up and the secrets start to come out, will Johnnie be able to overcome them and be true to himself?

Johnnie is an interesting character--and I use the word interesting as I'm not quite certain I like him. He's stiff and formal, sometimes quick to jump into decisions that might otherwise bear further thought, but willing to listen to those in need of aid. He stands up for what he believes in, but is also willing to acknowledge his limitations. So why am I not certain I like him? I can't pin it down, but I could never quite get past the formality, or the vague sense of superiority; his shooting pool and silently ordering shots of vodka at the Bremen springs to mind as something that makes my lip curl. I don't dislike him, but he never became a character I was fond of.

I feel that exposing his love interest is a bit of a spoiler, so, vaguely: Johnnie has a few potential loves, including the brother he's been in love with since his childhood and the man he knows only as Eros who comes to him in the dark. Who he ultimately ends up with is fairly apparent to anyone familiar with the author's works, but it's still such a pleasant trip to get to that point that it's not a detriment. The way Johnnie plays off of his love interest is fun, both in and out of bed.

The supporting cast is varied, with a decent portion of them carrying over from Dance with the Devil. Those original to (or at least more developed in) this story are mostly appealing--I enjoyed Ontoniel, in particular, as he evolved from the stern father caricature into something so much more. I wish the patrons of the Bremen had been developed a bit more, given the importance of the bar to Johnnie, and that the villain at the end had been explored in a bit more depth, but overall the characters were appealing and made for an enjoyable read.

The story itself is broken down into chapters by case. In the beginning, they're pretty clearly delineated, but the cases started to bleed together by the end, to the point that chapter breaks sometimes struck me as unnecessary. A couple of the endings shared my complaint from Dance with the Devil, in that the ending was "Go away, and never come back," and the sixth case never really seemed to have a resolution. We know who did it, but the why wasn't adequately explained. Overall, though, there was a good flow that made it easy to keep reading.

One thing that stuck out is that there is perhaps a bit much description of clothes. Not only do we know exactly what Johnnie is wearing at all times, down to colors, patterns, and jewelry, but we're also treated to the clothing of other characters, both main and secondary. I understand that Johnnie's a bit of a clotheshorse and that the story is presented from his point of view, but, really, it still struck me as a bit excessive.

There is also a bit of contradiction between events as presented in this story and those in Dance with the Devil. Specifically, the case referred to in one of the final chapters of this story was resolved differently in the final version of Dance with the Devil; it matches the original version, but not the formally-published rewrite. It's not a huge thing, but it threw me for a second.

The writing itself was enjoyable, conveying well both formal and casual situations, although sometimes they crossed in ways that made me reread a little bit before shrugging. There were a few grammatical errors here and there, but nothing too terrible.

Reading Dance with the Devil first certainly helps in grasping and adding layers to the world, but it's not necessary. Interesting characters and cases keep everything moving along nicely even without the history, making it rather an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.