When a young women persuades her father to let her join him on his next tour of Europe it is just to get the chance to see new parts of the world. But during the trip he father becomes increasingly distracted. Eventually she persuades him to tell her what is wrong but she could never have imagined what kind of story she was about to hear; a story that would span decades and cover countries from Turkey and Eastern Europe right across to the USA. Part way through the journey he asks her to return to their home in Amsterdam while he continues onwards. Curious, she decides to follow him to find out what is going on. Soon she finds herself in the middle of an unbelievable story revealing new truths about her family and shedding new light on an ancient mystery.

If someone offered you a book saying the story was about people carrying out historical research in libraries across the world you would be justified in thinking it sounded just a little dry. You couldn't be further from the truth. The Historian is the story of a young woman reading her father's journals and discovering how he travelled across Europe looking for his university professor and chasing an ancient mystery. But despite the apparently dusty premise this book is possibly one of the finest stories I have read in a very long time.

I suppose it helps that the story is written in the form of a journal (a format that I have always enjoyed) and that it revolves around the legend of Dracula (another favourite of mine) but to be fair to the author, it is the skill of the writing that really makes this such a superb novel. Kostova brings you into the story from the very beginning, switching seamlessly between the three main plot lines.

Although one of the cover quotes of this book refers to sleepless nights the majority have grasped just what makes this story so compelling – atmosphere, subtlety and hypnotic. The inclusion of an intelligent main character (and a female one at that) just increases the appeal. You don't have to be a fan of horror stories to enjoy this. If you love well constructed, fascinating intelligent writing then give this one a go. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised. This book gave me everything I was looking for – and more! Astounding when you consider this is Kostova's first novel!!!

Readers are invited to join a young woman on a journey around the world to discover the truth about vampires, in particular, Vlad Dracula. Following a trail of clues in old journals, books, and letters, the narrator tracks down the undead. Somehow, this legend is the key to her own past, but how? Learning the truth could be the death of someone, or worse.

After all the hype surrounding this novel, I had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, it is as dry as dust. The characters are virtually devoid of personality, with truly interesting events only happening in the final few pages.