“A scent, a tingling in her bones. There was someone coming. And like her, he was hungry.”

Decisively not about Juggalos, “The Gathering” was CJ Tudor’s deranged love child of “Fargo” and “30 Days of Night.” Tudor did what Tudor does best: exhilarating mystery, skillful character building, and perfectly detailing the stark horrors that only humankind can create. I’m not one for vampire novels but I knew I if she was doing it, it was going to be anything but boring. It was refreshing to have a full action vampire/cop drama without romance. There’s a sensuality to vampire canon that’s inescapable, but sometimes it’s nice to set aside supplemental plot lines and go for the kill (get it.)

There’s an important and obvious undercurrent conversation about inclusivity, diversity and race discourse at play here, however, I don’t think likening a fake hate symbol of make-believe vampires to an actual swastika and ethnic genocides was in great taste. It heightens the dramatics, sure, but that kind of reality blend during our current political climate was difficult to appreciate.

3.5/5 CJ Tudor, what can’t she do?