The Family by Layton Green

The Family by Layton Green

Will the source of an ancient mystery finally be revealed?

On a cobblestone street in Prague, a murder victim is found with two puncture wounds resembling bite marks on her wrist. The cause of death is ruled as exsanguination-severe blood loss.

Worried the chilling crime will ignite a media firestorm, the Czech police call on Professor Viktor Radek, renowned professor of phenomenology. Like the authorities, Viktor arrives at the only rational conclusion: the murderer is mimicking a vampire.

Yet during the investigation, Viktor uncovers a suspect with a connection to the Order of the Dragon, an ancient organization dedicated to keeping the Ottomans out of Europe. An organization whose membership once included Vlad the Impaler, long thought to be the historical basis for Bram Stoker's infamous count.

In a dual-timeline narrative that keeps the reader guessing at every turn, Grey and Viktor follow a trail of clues across Central and Eastern Europe that draw them deeper and deeper into a mystery involving the origins of the vampire mythology, as well as a modern-day crime family with secrets they will go to great lengths to keep hidden. Secrets that might be more terrifying than Viktor and Grey could ever have imagined-and which draw them ever closer to a seemingly impossible realization.

Layton is the author of the Dominic Grey trilogy, as well as other works of fiction, and is a bestselling mystery/suspense/thriller author. His books have been optioned for cinema, nominated for various accolades (including a finalist for the prestigious International Thriller Writers award), and have topped genre lists in the US, UK, and Germany. His most recent novel, The Shadow Cartel, debuted at #2 on Amazon UK. In addition to writing, Layton went to law school in New Orleans and worked as an attorney for almost a decade. He's also worked as a UN intern, an ESL instructor in Central America, a bartender in London, a street vendor selling cheap blades in Brixton, a door-to-door phone book deliverer in Florida, and the list goes on and on.

Layton resides in North Carolina with his wife and children. You may find him on Facebook, Goodreads, Library Thing, and his website (www.laytongreen.com), among other places.