Today is my stop on the Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace, by Olga Wojtas, hosted by Love Book Tours

@OlgaWojtas #bookreview @SarabandBooks @LoveBooks

247 pages

Purchase links:

Hive Books                       Waterstones                    Amazon

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Vampire Menace by Olga Wojtas (Miss Blaine #2) @OlgaWojtas @SarabandBooks @LoveBooksGroup #MissBlaine’sPrefect

The intrepid librarian Shona McMonagle, erstwhile Marcia Blaine Academy

prefect and an accomplished linguist and martial artist, finds herself in an isolated French mountain village, Sans-Soleil, which has no sunlight because of its topography. It’s reeling from a spate of unexplained deaths, and Shona has once again travelled

back in time to help out.

Forging an uneasy alliance with newly widowed Madeleine, Shona is soon

drawn into a full-blown vampire hunt, involving several notable villagers, the world-renowned soprano Mary Garden – and even Count Dracula himself. Will Shona solve the mystery, secure justice for the murder victims and make it

through a deathly denouement

in the hall of mirrors to return to present-day Morningside Library?

Praise for Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Golden Samovar

“A delightful addition to the ranks of comic crime.” Laura Wilson, Guardian

“Jane Austen stylings and Stella Gibbons satirical wit.” Scotsman

“Like being trapped inside a Marx Brothers’ film.” David Robinson

“The crème de la crème of crime fiction debuts.” Al Guthrie

“Absolutely delightful … perfect for fans of Jasper Fforde.” Library Journal

“Marvellous… [a] laugh-out-loud farce.” Publishers Weekly

“Anna Karenina written by P.G. Wodehouse.” Linda Cracknell

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Shona McMonagle is an enchanting heroine, a middle aged time-travelling librarian, who happens to be masterly trained graduate, of the Marcia Blaine School For Girls.

Shona McMonagle newest adventurous assignment will involve a little time traveling from her present job at Morningside Library. McMonagle to the 19th century Russia, to solve a crime case.

Upon Shona, arrival in tiny French village of Sans-Soleil, named perfectly because it lies permanently in the shadow of the surrounding ominous mountains.

Right from the start she realizes there is definitely something afoot and she is presented with her first mystery. A local police man has been reported missing, he may or may not be dead. His wife Madeline is under the impression that he is definitely dead. Shona with the help of the vivacious widow Mrs Madeline seek to uncover the facts and clues that surround the policeman disappearance.

As the tale unfolds the mayor and townspeople are continuous acting strangely suspicious. While trying to sort out what her true mission is, Shona soon discovers a good many people have recently been torn to death by wild animals. Intriguing

Local legends and drummed up fear of vampires might just be sufficiently justified..

I was captivated from page one. I found this story to be wonderfully creative and engaging, well thought out, well paced, Stunning comic timing adds mirth. You find yourself laughing out loud at various points within the book. The book has inventive, lovely well developed characters that were immensely entertaining! There just amount of action that keeps the storyline flowing perfectly.

The plot is engaging and keeps you turning the page; and the conclusion is completely satisfying.

★I have found a new author that I absolutely adore, I highly recommend this delightful book to my family and friends ★

Olga Wojtas is an unconventional – and very witty – writer of postmodern

crime fiction whose surrealist humour has been compared to the likes of PG Wodehouse, Jasper Fforde and the Marx Brothers. Her debut novel,

Miss Blaine’s Prefect and the Golden Samovar,

has been published in the UK and US to great critical acclaim – being longlisted for the inaugural Comedy Women in Print Prize 2019, shortlisted for a CrimeFest Award, and named as one of the best mysteries and thrillers of the year by Kirkus.

A journalist for more than 30 years, Olga was Scottish editor of the

Times Higher Education Supplement before she began adding creative writing to her portfolio. She won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2015 and has had numerous short stories and several novellas published. Olga lives in Edinburgh, where she once

attended James Gillespie’s High School – the model for Marcia Blaine School for Girls, which appears in Muriel Spark’s

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,

the novel that inspired the Miss Blaine’s Prefect series.