When veterinarian, Nina Parker returned to a hometown she escaped from twenty years ago, and hoped to never see again, she had only weeks of sobriety. Distance and time had diminished the twenty-year-old memories that forced Nina to run, but she couldn’t escape the pain, only bury it. Rehab taught her denying pain enabled her escape down the “rabbit hole” of alcoholism. In the first blush of recovery, she now acknowledged her pain but didn’t feel equipped to handle the rush of fears and questions sobriety brought.
Would her return be the first step towards redemption and freedom? Or would facing the demons that chased her away force her to question her sanity, and threaten her sobriety. Could she engage in a two-week relationship with her angry teenage daughter Megan, and Megan’s memories of her shameful drunken behavior? Reunite with her parents, her sister Jill, now the town Sheriff? Nina’s questions gave fuel to her anxious feelings. But, even her worst imaginings couldn’t conceive of the dark terror that waited her in her hometown of Abbey Mills.
Tracey Bateman’s supernatural, cutting-edge mystery puts a human face on addiction. With gifted storytelling she uses vampirism as a story device, both literally and metaphorically to portray the subtle nuances and seduction of alcoholism. I’ve not seen it done in the Christian marketplace before. Does it work and will it cost Bateman her conservative readership? I believe that depends on the reader. The author’s metaphorical use of vampirism and addiction enables readers to understand the struggle, the cost, and the compulsion behind addiction’s disease. The book’s strength lies in the portrayal of addictions cost, and Nina’s personal struggle to gain sobriety and redemption in spite of the cost.
A subtle thread of virtue runs throughout the story and the book’s spiritual focus comes from 1 John 4:4. “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Chapters begin with brief diary-like entries from Nina’s past that show Nina felt God never “showed up” for her when she endured childhood abuse and neglect.
Told from multiple viewpoints, the distinctive voices and excellent dialogue create a striking intimacy and insightful look at addictions development, from Nina’s first drink to full-blown alcoholism. The story, wrapped in a mystery of ritualistic murders, voodoo and grisly, but never graphic animal killings, keep the pages turning.
After reading Thirsty, I understood why Random House Publishers made it an editor’s pick upon release. Her unique, conservative vampire story is a blend of popular themes, both supernatural and human, with metaphors that make it a cutting-edge thriller readers won’t want to miss. If you aren’t a Bateman fan already, you will be when you finish reading Thirsty.
