The Vampire of Kings Street was a thoroughly enjoyable story, with an two "outsiders," a young non-white female lawyer and a vampire, as the main characters. This was definitely a new twist on the vampire story...vampires are "wardens" to wealthy families, perpetual helpers who are somewhere between an upper servant and a pet. They are passed down from one generation to the next, can own only those possessions they had at their death, are completely dependent of their "families" for all of their needs, and viewed by the general public as monsters. When an opera singer is murdered, a vampire appears to be the logical perpetrator, but there is no real sense that anyone cares about justice, just that he be publicly executed. Radhika Dhingra, a young attorney struggling to start a practice, is the only person willing to help vampire Evelyn More. I will enthusiastically recommend this debut novel!

I am giving it 4.5 stars and I recommend it to fans for vampire fiction after something different from the standard paranormal romance fare.

I enjoy a historical mystery every now and again, but the genre isn't terribly diverse. The author has South Indian heritage and adds that here in the form of the protagonist, Radhika Dhingra, a lawyer in a time when it was difficult to be both a woman and non-white. (Arguably, it is still hard to be these things, but I, as usual, digress.)

So we've got racism. We've got sexism. We even have a vampire as a client. In this alternate history of sorts, vampires are wardens of families. They don't truly have rights. They "live" and die by the family's decision making. In this case, the vampire, Evelyn More, is accused of murdering one of his housemates. No "respectable" lawyer will take him on. Radhika is the last on his list, and the only one that gives him the time of day.

I flew through this. It's not a terribly long book, and parts of it amused more than others. I found myself getting annoyed by the restrictions of the time period, which I often have difficulties with. I also found Evelyn very frustrating. If you're accused of a murder you insist that you didn't commit, perhaps stop lying to your lawyer, the only person that can help you.

Murder aside, this is a fun introduction to this genre if you're not familiar. If you are familiar, and you're into it, perhaps check it out.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books

I love a gothic, but the genre's slower pacing can be hit or miss for me, particularly if the atmosphere doesn't draw me in. The concept of The Vampire of Kings Street was interesting enough: a vampire accused of murder and the lawyer contacted to represent him. I struggled to get into this book. I couldn't quite follow the lore regarding patronage/sponsorship of vampires. I found the metaphors on inequality a bit clunky. I felt like I was firmly in the exposition despite being a third of the way through the book. Hopefully this book will be a bigger hit for mystery lovers and vampire fans.

I really enjoyed this fresh take on Vampires! I think we as readers have grown too accustomed to the pretty boy variety of vamp with the current boom of the romance genre.

This is a very morally gray protagonist, with a fair share of actions that make me shake my head but instead of making her wholly insufferable, it just makes her human.

The prejudice against and lack of representation for vampires is integrated well into the overall mystery.

I found it thought-provoking how reluctant and easy to believe in the prejudiced beliefs the protagonist is. Also I've always found that mysteries set in realities different from our own are often the most interesting to try to crack.

While the story beats are technically par for the course, most seasoned mystery fans should hopefully find an interesting and unusual new set of rules and relationships with the premise of vampires being at the bottom of the world's class structure.

I thought this was such a great read. It is a slow burn for any readers that are just here for a quick fix this book is not for you. A great murder mystery that is unlike anything I have ever read. Also, it is such an interesting and different take on vampires overall would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a good read that does not follow the main stream route.

I received this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a solid debut! I will be keeping an eye on anything else the author brings out in the future.

I recommend this for people who like vampires and murder mysteries mysteries within an older New York historical setting.

I really enjoyed this! I really enjoyed the setting - personally it's rare for me to read about vampires in the US during an older time period - as I am so used to historical vampire settings in Europe, so that was very refreshing for me.

The lore and society aspects of the book were interesting to me. There are some familiar well loved vampire tropes, while parts of the lore and society were new and refreshing to me.

I really really enjoyed the character of Evelyn More (what a beautiful name by the way!), and I adored seeing the relationship (however the reader wishes to interpret it) between Radhika and Evelyn. Radhika was such a badass, being a lawyer during such a time period and being all for "every one deserves fair justice" even vampires!

I found the mystery interesting, even though I don't think it's possible for readers to figure it out before the actual reveal.

The book also covered topics such as terminal illness and racism which I thought were handled well and not too heavily.

I actually think it's a shame this is a stand alone, as I would very much love to know what happens next in Radhika and Evelyn's lives - I also wouldn't mind a prequel for Evelyn too.

Unfortunately, the formatting of this galley made it too difficult for me to read. I downloaded it twice, but something's wrong with the copy itself. Hope to read a finished copy once released!

This one is an utterly delightful paranormal mystery that kept me riveted to the end. Greyling deftly creates a lovable heroine in Miss Radhika Dhingra and situates her in an intriguing and compelling world in which vampires and mortals live in the open, side by side. Readers who crave a dash of the supernatural with their mysteries will devour this one!

Loved reading the entertaining and engaging story. Rahika, a lawyer, gets a visit from a vampire, Evelyn Moore, who needs her to make a will for him leaving his belongings to an opera singer, Agnes, but when Angnes is murdered, Evelyn is the prime suspect. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written full of suspense and mystery, and a must read riveting story.

Very gothic and dark, but I LOVED it. It is a slow burn mystery and I ate it up. This is a short book but I couldn't not put it down. I hope there are sequels!

Overall this was fine. It didn't do anything new with the vampire mythos or use it to explore inequality in a new way (see the Stories of Gilda for that). So this was entertaining but it suffered from poor structure and doesn't really hold up to the finer examples in the genre.

At a three star rating this wasn’t a bad read. It was a nicely tied up mystery with a lot of fun red herrings and some great character writing.

But despite that it jumped around in ways that made following the plot tricky at times, and the inclusion of a set of specific vampires close to the end of the book was just a touch on the ridiculous side.

There’s not a great amount of depth outside of the two main characters and the setting itself is somewhat two dimensional. I would have loved a little more detail, you forget quickly that it’s set in New York and it was only a small mention 80% of the way through about a relocation from England to America that reminded me we weren’t in regency England.

That said, I enjoyed it and would recommend for anyone who like crossovers of vampire stories and gentle mysteries.

This was an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Vampire of Kings Street occupies a pretty unique space in fantasy publishing. Early reviews are calling it "cozy", but what I believe they mean to say is "quiet". This book addresses oppression, slavery, racism, addiction, etc...quietly. It isn't nonstop blows of trauma and horror, but it presents a dark world to the reader, and one ambitious and kind girl navigating her way through it. To me, The Vampire of Kings Street is in a profoundly bleak world that does not get less bleak, it only has a main character who is plucky and graceful despite the setting.

Vampires are basically indentured servants and considered less than people- owned by the ruling class and abused wherever they go. Radhika's mission is to essentially defend someone who lacks personhood despite being a marginalized woman of color herself. She faces many challenges along the way, for the world she lives in, as we have discussed, is not kind. Radhika is a delightful character and we learn so much in so few pages about this world through her eyes.

Then you have Evelyn and the Frost family- the vampire and those he serves. You get some Succession style drama with a bit of a gothic twist here, and even within 300 pages, so much about this family is explored. I was very impressed with how quickly and sharply the author was able to introduce us to this somewhat dysfunctional family and the vampire who lived among them. All of the descriptions and world building were quite vivid and impactful. I found myself constantly wanting to know more, though often the background was quite sad.

The mystery is a bit limited...its a very short book. My only issue with the book itself is that a lot of time is spent talking about if Evelyn the vampire COULD be the murderer and not a whole lot of time advancing the murder mystery. By the time we get to the reveal, its stumbled on more than its investigated..but that does not detract from the great character work done in those 300 pages.

The thing about this book, and I CAN'T STATE THIS ENOUGH. It is not a cozy mystery. It has elements you may find in a cozy (minimal plot just vibes, a quiet storytelling style and muted fantasy elements) but it truly has enough darkness to interest fans of 'edgier' forms of storytelling as well.

Though this is being marketed a certain way, I think its not niche, but rather, a book perfect for anyone who loves gothics, mysteries, vampires, and fantasy. I loved it and will be tuning in for sequel(s).

4. This mix of genres pleases me immensely. Those who love historically set mysteries will enjoy this one. However, with the additional element of ‘vampires’ as indentured (enslaved?) servants, there’s an extra nod, not only to the paranormal, but to the societal implications of the marginalized. Our lady lawyer has to wade through what it means to help someone who is in deep need, at potential great cost to herself. Even though this is not a YA book, there is nothing to prevent a high school student from reading and enjoying it. That age group will find kinship with the main character’s journey to independence and friendship. The only flaw in the book is that the rising action seemed a bit long, but minor revisions could tighten it easily. The characters are excellent and unexpected. One hopes we will see a second installment!

This starts out and feels almost comic. I'm not sure it is actually supposed to be funny, but the feeling hint of tongue in cheek persists and does lead into a comfortable enjoyable read that is very palatable and certainly goes down well. It is a tale of vampires, seen as subordinate at retained by rich families, Mr Evelyn More is one such and is falsely accused of murder. Requiring the services of Radhika, daughter of immigrants and trainee lawyer to help him as she struggles to find herself with all the usual hurdles and a few extra. This is a great, fun read, it flows along nicely and the characters are well formed and interesting, if a little stereotypical. Overall it lacks real oomph, but is a good easy read.

The Vampire of Kings Street was a very enjoyable, cozy and historical murder mystery. This is definitely one of those books that is a little bit more vibes than heart-pounding plot, so if you are looking for a book that is more action-filled, this might not be for you. However, I thought it was a very enjoyable read that was very well-written and, while not full of fast-packed action, is also never bogged down with seemingly unnecessary scenes that don't add much to the plot. Every scene seems intentional and helps the reader learn more about the world and its characters.
I also really liked this book's take on vampires. I think it was interesting to portray them as these almost weak creatures that are more often than not servants to humans. The fact that they were also seen as less than by humans was very well explored in this book and really made sense for the time period it took place in. It was a very refreshing take compared to the super sexy super powerful vampires we usually see.
I don't know if I would necessarily say that this is gothic, just because it doesn't have a lot of those spooky vibes I really look for in the gothic genre, but the setting, time period, and supernatural elements do lean towards that genre--so maybe a lighthearted gothic. However, I really don't think this is a bad thing. Again, it was really refreshing to see vampires portrayed in this time period/setting without being these super scary monsters haunting the main character.
Honestly, I really only have two criticisms about this book. First: I got confused about the relationship between all the Frosts. This could have just been me missing/forgetting something, but I was very confused by the end where everyone fit in that family. I know that Michael is Sarah's son, but every time Henry and Meredith were brought up I could not remember what role they played in the family. This wasn't a big deal because they weren't super important characters, but it did irk me a little. Second: I didn't feel a lot of emotion in this book. There were definitely some technically emotional elements, considering the murder victim is someone very important to one of the main characters, but I never really felt that emotion through the pages. There was something about the characters was just a little one-dimensional. Normally, I don't think books could be better if they were longer, but I think this book could have benefited from spending a little more time letting the reader really get to know and connect with the main characters. The potential was definitely there, but needed to be improved and expanded upon.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable and well-written read, and even though I don't think this story hit all the emotional beats I like in a book, I would really love to read more from this author, especially if it takes place in this world.

The Vampire of King Street is a cozy murder mystery with vampires. The vampire take is rather different and lends a new vision to the general folklore, giving it an "Upstairs Downstairs" twist, as vampires are types of house servants in only the richest homes.
The plot is good and the writing style is very clear... but sadly the tone of the book was very monotonous. The whole emotional range of the main character through the novel seems to hover somewhere between mild surprise and mild annoyance - which didn't make for a riveting read, though it was rather relaxing. But while stuff was happening, it felt all slow and not exciting, and I kind of wanted to shake things up a bit and felt very restless throughout. Maybe that was just not for me.
I would recommend it to fans of cozy fantasy mysteries, especially if you like historical settings.

I read The Vampire of Kings Street while grappling with neck pain, but even the discomfort while reading didn't stop my enjoyment of this book. It feels like there's been a bit of a dearth of good vampire fiction in recent years, so it was great to come across such a fun vampire tale. The mystery element to the story worked well and held my interest throughout, and both Radhiki and Evelyn were engaging characters I could really get behind. The pacing of the story was good and the prose easy reading. I would definitely read more by this author in the future, especially if it's another vampire tale like this one. I am giving it 4.5 stars and I recommend it to fans for vampire fiction after something different from the standard paranormal romance fare.

The Vampire of Kings Street was a well written mystery. I would disagree with the perfect for Gail Carriger fans. The book did not have that feel at all. Still was a good read.