ARC Review: Turned by Virna DePaul

“If you like PNR with a strong romantic suspense element, I recommend giving Turned a try.” ~ Under the Covers

I’ve read Ms. Depaul’s Special Investigations Group aka SIG series and enjoyed it. Just like her SIG series, Ms. Depaul executed the mystery and suspense in this book with precision. The FBI, police, and gang involvement were quite realistic. Certainly, the vampire sides of things are not practical but the connection between the vamps and FBI was interesting. As usual, the FBI is trying to keep the existence of vampires a secret, but not so shy in using them to their advantage. Unfortunately, some secrets come back to bite them in the ass. Now, they bring in the Belladonna agency to fix their problem.

FBI agent Ty is a newly turned vampire. Though still a baby, in vampire terms, his next mission is to catch rogue vampires responsible for human trafficking. But before that, he will need to build a team that can withstand the dangers of dealing with rogue vamps. That’s when he meets Anna, an ex-gang member also the ex-girlfriend of their first targeted perpetrator.

Though, it started out on false pretenses, Ty and Anna had cute beginning. I thought they were sweet and definitely hot together. I love that Ty trained Anna to be a better fighter. Not that she can’t kick ass; after all, being in a gang requires some fighting and survival skills. It was just a matter of honing those skills.

Turned had a fascinating plot. The rogue vamps had started a nonprofit organization recognized by the government to help Hispanic immigrants. Of course, that is all just in the surface and that is what the Belladonna agency is trying to uncover. The idea of rogue vamps starting a nonprofit organization to use immigrants and gangs intrigued me. The conspiracy and the drama were all very entertaining. The only thing I noticed is that the world building, as far as the vampires were not clear cut. I felt that the book was more focused on the rom/sus part of the book. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it but I would have like to know more details of the vampire society. I’m betting there will be more revealing of their world on the next installment.

Turned is a great start to a new series. If you like PNR with a strong romantic suspense element, I recommend giving Turned a try.

*Review copy provided by publisher.

Did you like this review? If so, please tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

[about-author author=”Virna DePaul”]