Vampire Shift by Tim O'Rourke

Vampire Shift is the first book in the Kiera Hudson UF series by Tim O’Rourke.  Here is the blurb.

When twenty-year-old police recruit Kiera Hudson is posted to the remote town of The Ragged Cove, her life is changed forever. Investigating a series of horrific murders, grave desecrations and missing persons, with her unique ability of ‘seeing’, Kiera soon realises her life is in danger.

But when Kiera is crewed with Police officer Luke Bishop, not only is her mind and heart opened to a terrifying new world, she comes to suspect that Luke might be involved in the killings.

In a race against time to unearth the truth, Kiera must discover the identity of who or what is behind the gruesome deaths on the ‘Vampire Shift’.

I am in a bit of a quandary about my review for this book.  I really enjoyed the start, it was like an old British horror version of the film Hot Fuzz, and then it started to get a bit silly for me.  You see Kiera who is just out of police school turns up to The Ragged Cove for her first position as a police constable investigating a serial killer.  All is well it is interesting, scary and mysterious but then Kiera finds out that vampires exist and without question she just believes and accepts it, and it is this where I have a problem with the story. The premise of the book is really good and but I feel that it requires a bit of polishing and I would like events not to be so rushed.    

I enjoyed the characters and I really liked the setting of the story in an English seaside town.  There is a bit of a love interest going on between Kiera and Luke however I didn’t feel that this added any value to the book.  I didn’t feel any chemistry between the two characters and within two days they are declaring their love for each other.  I did like the ending and it has enticed my enough that I want to read book 2.  I would like to give Vampire Shift 3 fangs.