The Townshend Vampire Books in Order

The Townshend Vampire books take a darkly comic approach to an old problem, what happens when a vampire wakes up and discovers the world has changed without him? The answer is Monty Townshend, a creature of another era with an ancestral house, a long list of habits, and very little patience for modern life.

Monty has been out of circulation for 77 years.

In And Dark My Desire, a highway excavation unearths his coffin and brings him back into the world. He returns to his ancestral mansion expecting to reclaim his old position, only to find that the house and the social rules around it no longer belong to him. The woman in charge has her own ambitions, and Monty's assumptions about power, romance, and obedience don't travel well into the present.

The series gets much of its energy from that clash. Monty is dangerous, vain, and often ridiculous, but he isn't simply a monster waiting in the shadows. He has to figure out how to live in a time with different expectations, particularly around women who have no interest in fitting into the roles he remembers. His attention shifts toward Jennifer, a young neighbor preparing for marriage, while Anya, a Ukrainian maid, is one of the few people who sees clearly what he is.

That gives the story a mix of supernatural menace, sexual tension, and social comedy. Monty's hunger and predatory instincts are real, but so is his confusion. The books play with the gap between an old-fashioned vampire fantasy and a world that refuses to behave as he thinks it should.

The second novel, And Darker My Wrath, begins after Monty has spent only a few months back in his coffin. He returns angry and ready to settle scores, which keeps the focus on the consequences of his first attempt to re-enter ordinary life. The story continues to treat Monty as both threat and source of trouble, with the people around him forced to decide how seriously to take him.

This is paranormal fiction with a sly, adult sense of humor. It isn't a sweeping fantasy saga or a solemn vampire romance. Instead, it sticks close to one out-of-date vampire and the fallout created when he tries to take back the life he thinks he deserves.

Begin with And Dark My Desire. It sets up Monty, the mansion, and the people who will not make his return easy.