Book picks similar to
A Gift of Death by Daniel J. Volpe


horror
vampires
extreme-horror-splatterpunk
private-dick

Lost Souls


Poppy Z. Brite - 1992
    Among them are Ghost, who sees what others do not. Ann, longing for love, and Jason, whose real name is Nothing, newly awakened to an ancient, deathless truth about his father, and himself.Others are coming to Missing Mile tonight. Three beautiful, hip vagabonds - Molochai, Twig, and the seductive Zillah (whose eyes are as green as limes) are on their own lost journey; slaking their ancient thirst for blood, looking for supple young flesh.They find it in Nothing and Ann, leading them on a mad, illicit road trip south to New Orleans. Over miles of dark highway, Ghost pursues, his powers guiding him on a journey to reach his destiny, to save Ann from her new companions, to save Nothing from himself...

Sunglasses After Dark


Nancy A. Collins - 1989
      One spring night in London, heiress Denise Thorne disappears while partying at a nightclub, never to be seen again. That very same night, Sonja Blue, a tough-as-nails punk vampire/vampire-slayer, conceived in terror and blood, is borne from the city’s gutters. Saved by modern medicine before she could die, she is a living vampire who still possesses a soul and is determined to fight for what remains of her humanity. In the years since her bizarre resurrection, Sonja Blue travels the globe, hunting down and disposing of those creatures that prey on the innocent while searching for the vampire Noble who created her. But when she investigates a sleazy televangelist named Catherine Wheele, who is exploiting Denise Thorne’s parents, Sonja finds herself up against a powerful inhuman adversary. But as dangerous as Catherine Wheele proves to be, Sonja’s greatest foe remains the Other, the demonic personality with whom she is locked in a constant battle for control of their shared body. Can Sonja Blue overcome her inner demon in time to rescue an innocent man from Catherine Wheele’s unholy clutches?    Acknowledged as one of the first Urban Fantasy novels, Sunglasses After Dark burst onto the fantasy/horror scene in 1989, garnering widespread critical praise and winning the Horror Writers Association’s coveted Bram Stoker Award, as well as the British Fantasy Society’s Icarus Award.

Unbortion


Rowland Bercy Jr. - 2018
    Following an undeniable call to pursue the one who abandoned it and seek revenge the quest for retribution had begun, and nothing or no one would stand in the way.

Nocturnal Blood


Villimey Mist - 2018
    A place where people don't care if someone goes missing. A place where Leia Walker tries her hardest to hide from the world, wanting a normal life without anxiety and OCD. But Leia's bubble pops when an old friend is back in town and twists Leia’s reality . A bloody event proves what Leia is scared to learn—Sophie Gardner, her old high school friend and saviour from the bullies, is a vampire. Forced to run away with Sophie, Leia's life takes a terrifying turn when vampires and hunters come after them. The only thing preventing them from losing themselves is their friendship.. But will it be enough to escape the inevitable blood bath?

Succulent Prey


Wrath James White - 2005
    He was the only victim to survive. Now he himself is slowly turning into a killer. Can he be cured before he kills the woman he loves?

Suffer the Children


Craig DiLouie - 2014
    Soon, they return from the grave…and ask for blood. And with blood, they stop being dead. They continue to remain the children they once were...but only for a short time, as they need more blood to live. The average human body holds ten pints of blood, so the inevitable question for parents everywhere becomes: How far would you go to bring your child back?

Blood & Sawdust


Jason S. Ridler - 2012
    But nothing prepared him for Milkwood: a fat, ugly bastard who could take a beating like a government mule, but never, ever won. So when Malcolm risks his life to discover Milkwood's secret, he convinces the fighter to stop being a punching bag and to go for broke in the local tournament. Only problem? A beautiful woman called Lash who needs Milkwood for her own purposes, and a fouler creature on her heels known only as Dizzy Colt. But for Malcolm and Milkwood? Hell, it’s just another day of Blood and SawdustPRAISE FOR BLOOD AND SAWDUST!"With wicked, playful prose that blends the best of pulp with the supernatural, Jason Ridler’s Blood and Sawdust creates an unholy, hell-raising hybrid, the kind of tale Christopher Moore and Jim Thompson might swap after a long night of drinking, trying to one-up one another with acerbic absurdity." Joe Clifford, Author of CHOICE CUTS and JUNKIE LOVEPRAISE FOR THE WORK OF JASON RIDLER!"An exciting new writer." Lucius Shepard, multiple-award-winning author of HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN PRAYER. “Jason Ridler is kind of like a bull rider who’s tossed a saddle on a Tiger tank, and he’s riding that bucking sucker for all he’s worth, because, hey, no one told him that he couldn’t do it, did they? So here he is, the Man in the Barbed-Wire Straitjacket." Norman Partridge, Award Winning Author of DARK HARVEST. "Jason Ridler’s work is intense and taut, with incredible characters and plots that keep your mind buzzing long after you’ve reached the final page." Trent Zelazny, author of TOO LATE TO CALL TEXAS, and FRACTAL DESPONDENCY. ABOUT THE AUTHORJason S. Ridler is the author of BLOOD AND SAWDUST, the Spar Battersea thrillers (DEATH MATCH, CON JOB and DICE ROLL), the short story collection KNOCKOUTS, and has published over fifty stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Chilling Tales, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada. Visit him at twitter at http://twitter.com/JayRidler, Facebook ,http://www.facebook.com/Ridlerville, or his writing blog, Ridlerville, atwww.jsridler.com

The Killing Kind 2


Bryan Smith - 2014
    Rob Scott, the love of her life, has been released from prison. Roxie has spent their time apart hatching new ways of perpetrating acts of epic bloodshed, and soon it’ll be time to hit the road again. Other serial killers join them on a cross-country tour of murder and atrocity designed to make legends of them all and cement a legacy of spectacular carnage. Get on the bus and take the ride…if you dare.

The Vampire Memoirs


Traci Briery - 1991
    When Zebra originally published "The Vampire Memoirs", the sell-throughs were excellent and they attracted a dedicated following. Now, to satisfy reader demand, Zebra is bringing back this remarkable saga, told in the voice of Mara McCuniff, whose life spans 1600 years from 4th century Britain to modern-day LA.

Dark Dance


Tanith Lee - 1992
    Rachaela worked in a bookstore, a conventional young woman, living a conventional life. Then they beckoned, using a variety of ruses to lure her to the house by the sea. Now she is a prisoner, part of a family of creatures she cannot escape, lover to a demon who thirsts for her blood.

Necroscope


Brian Lumley - 1986
    And what they tell him is horrifying.In the Balkan mountains of Rumania, a terrible evil is growing. Long buried in hallowed ground, bound by earth and silver, the master vampire schemes and plots. Trapped in unlife, neither dead nor living, Thibor Ferenczy hungers for freedom and revenge.The vampire's human tool is Boris Dragosani, part of a super-secret Soviet spy agency. Dragosani is an avid pupil, eager to plumb the depthless evil of the vampire's mind. Ferenczy teaches Dragosani the awful skills of the necromancer, gives him the ability to rip secrets from the mind and bodies of the dead. Dragosani works not for Ferenczy's freedom but world domination. He will rule the world with knowledge raped from the dead.His only opponent: Harry Koegh, champion of the dead and the living.To protect Harry, the dead will do anything--even rise from their graves!

Vile Things: Extreme Deviations in Horror


Cheryl MullenaxAngel Leigh McCoy - 2009
    Authors include John Bruni, Garry Bushell, Ramsey Campbell, Randy Chandler, Tim Curran, Ralph Greco, Jr., C.J. Henderson, Z.F. Kilgore,Sean Logan, Graham Masterton, Angel Leigh McCoy, C. Dennis Moore, Stefan Pearson, Brian Rosenberger, and Jeffrey Thomas.Witness the history of a sexually rapacious zombie . . . A starving soldier descends into insatiable ghoulism . . . A concentration camp SS guard gets a taste of his own medicine . . . Recycling takes on a whole new grisly meaning when a man obsessed with going green discovers a regenerative serum . . . A man buys his alcoholic mother a bottle of tequila-with the wrong kind of worm . . . An occult detective moves to a town in the Pine Barrens and discovers its sinister past-and his own . . . A tenant gets revenge on a self-centered landlord-with irritating results . . . A fisherman discovers his rival's secret of always getting the biggest catch . . . and much more!The fisherman / Brian Rosenberger --Fungoid / Randy Chandler --Tenant's rights / Sean Logan --Again / Ramsey Campbell --Maggots / Tim Curran --Going green / Stefan Pearson --Coquettrice / Angel Leigh McCoy --The fear in the waiting / C.J. Henderson --The worm / John Bruni --Sepsis / Graham Masterton --What you wish for / Garry Bushell --The devil lives in Jersey / Z.F. Kilgore --Rat king / Jeffrey Thomas --The caterpillar / C. Dennis Moore --"Poor Brother Ed" or the man who visited / Ralph Greco, Jr.

Violin


Anne Rice - 1997
    But Triana sets out to resist Stefan, and the struggle thrusts them both into a terrifying supernatural realm.Violin flows abundant with the history, the drama, and the romantic intensity that have become synonymous with Anne Rice at her incomparable best.Anne Rice is the author of eighteen books. She lives in New Orleans.

Fear


Ronald Kelly - 1994
    a hideous, flesh-eating creature - part snake, part earthbound demon - that feasted on the blood of innocent children in the cold black heart of the Tennessee backwoods. But ten-year-old Jeb Sweeny knows the horrible stories are true. His best friend Mandy just up and disappeared. He also knows that no one has ever had the courage to go after the monster and put an end to its raging, bestial hunger. Until now. But Evil is well guarded. And for young Jeb Sweeny, who is about to cross over into the forbidden land of Fear County and the lair of the unknown, passage through the gates of Hell comes with a terrible price. Everlasting...FEAR!

The Suicide Motor Club


Christopher Buehlman - 2016
     Did his greedy eyes shine silver like a coyote’s? Did he make you feel like prey?  You can’t remember now.   You just saw the founder of the Suicide Motor Club. Be grateful his brake lights never flashed. Be grateful his car was already full.   They roam America, littering the highways with smashed cars and bled-out bodies, a gruesome reflection of the unsettled sixties. But to anyone unlucky enough to meet them in the lonely hours of the night, they’re just a blurry memory.   That is—to all but one...   Two years ago, they left a witness in the mangled wreck of her family car, her husband dead, her son taken. She remembers their awful faces, despite their tricks and glamours. And she’s coming for them—her thirst for vengeance even more powerful than their hunger for blood.   On the deserted highways of America, the hunters are about to become the hunted...