In Dhampir, Magiere learned who she was, a half human, half vampire - dhampir. That heritage gave her unique gifts enabling her to be a type of Buffy in a Middle Earth sort of world. With her partner, Leesil, an elf, and their magical canine, Chap, they were the most feared Undead slayers.

Now, they plan on retirement, running a tavern in peace. If they had read Karen Taylor's Deirdre series, they'd know that leaving the undead behind for inn keeping does not work out well. Instead of peace, Magiere finds herself and her cohorts drawn into a murder investigation. Someone has killed a local young woman, and it looks like the work of a vampire.

However, Magiere suspects it could be something else, and the investigation stirs up trouble among the culturally elite in the town. There are other problems. One of the vampires from the last book escaped and wants to make trouble. There are mages who have their own agenda for the trio, and the relationship among herself and Leesil is strained because Magiere can not trust herself. And what secrets is Chap hiding?

If it's been a while since you read Dhampir or you haven't read it, then do not read this until it's fresh in your mind. The storyline relies heavily on the first book, and without knowledge, you will be forced to say huh more than once. This is a very complex story, with aspects of many genres interwoven.

Having defeated the vampires that inhabited the village of Miiska, Magiere and Leesil believed that they would be able to spend the rest of their lives quietly running their tavern. But the village was struggling to rebuild the warehouses and other buildings that were destroyed during the defeat of the vampires. When they received a request to travel to the capital city of Bela to investigate an apparent vampiric murder they really didn’t want to get involved however the bounty being offered by Bela town council would definitely enable the people of Miiska to get back on their feet.

As the pair began their investigation Magiere started to suspect that although there was considerable vampire activity in the city, the main murders were not the same. For one thing, the killer seemed more concerned with making the death seem vampiric than with actually feeding on his victim.

Soon the pair found themselves in the midst of a mystery that not only threatened their lives but was also beginning to drive a wedge between them. Would Magiere and Leesil be able to discover the truth about the serial killings before the body count became too high?

Thief of Lives is the second novel in the Dhampir series and follows the lives of Magiere and Leesil as they try to live an ordinary life without anyone discovering the truth about their origins. Whereas, in the first book, we get to know the two main characters and their personalities, in this second book we learn more about their past.

As they start to investigate the murders you can almost feel the internal conflict in the characters minds. They are keen to discover the identity of the murderer but they also do not want the townspeople of Bela to find out the truth about them and each character has secrets that the do not want the other to know. A fact that threatens to tear them apart.

Once again the writing is exciting and energetic and drags you into the middle of their world. There is a wonderful counterpoint between the investigation into the murders and the emotional tensions between Magiere and Leesil as each of them struggle to prevent the other discovering their true feelings.

The actual vampires are wonderfully vivid, almost technicolour and definitely reminded me of Spike, Drusilla and Angel (of Buffy fame) in their early years. Sapphire, the female vampire, seems more concerned with her appearance and having fun at the various inns and casinos of Bela.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Thief of Lives and I cannot wait until the next instalment in the lives of Magiere and Leesil.