John Matsui

Late Bite John Matsui

A series of assaults on people in their homes sends a wave of panic across Toronto. Anxieties soar when police capture a suspect that the media declares is "a real vampire."The prisoner identifies himself as Dragul Mangorian, the sole survivor of the Homo Sanguinus, a once-mighty subspecies that split from humanity 30,000 years ago. Mangorian is 6'-6", thin and pale as a cadaver, has fiery yellow eyes, and admits to using three-inch fangs to suck blood from his victims. When rumours race through the legal community that, unarmed, Mangorian nearly took out a full squadron of tactical police, all the usual public defenders suddenly come down with the flu. Mangorian's defence falls to down-on-his-luck lawyer Al Hamblyn. After settling his fears, Hamblyn sees the case as an opportunity to revive his career and win back his wife and family. The news of a "vampire" in police custody attracts media from around the world for the Trial of the Century. Toronto, a city that promotes itself as a place that champions minority rights, finds itself at the epicentre of a media circus and an ethical debate whether human rights protections apply to someone who's not quite human. Late Bite is a vampire story where the initial battleground is in a courtroom before morphing into a psychological thriller with dramatic twists, humour, and ultimately violent battle scenes. This is not a book for the faint at heart. Mangorian is not Bram Stoker's supernatural Dracula. He has not been infected by The Strain. He is not a sparkly vampire from Twilight. Mangorian and Late Bite have been described as a "pathbreaking" departure from the traditional vampire tale. The sole surviving Sanguinus is a fearsome, dark, and yet charming anti-hero who's twisted morality has been compared to Hannibal the Cannibal - Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.