David Wellington's first Laura Caxton novel was impressive, but reading about her second outing in 99 Coffins was a constant struggle. While somewhat endearing in 13 Bullets, Caxton hasn't changed. She may have gotten a promotion, and embarked on a new romance, but she still lacks the confidence, or even fore sight, to be a good vampire hunter. Set in Gettysburg, 99 Coffins are found on an archaeological dig. Wellington splits the narrative between the present and the civil war, which details how the coffins found their resting place,and it is pretty much the same story different town. There's plenty of gore and a battle between a human army and 99 freshly arisen vampires through the abandoned streets of Gettysburg. I just wish there had been more character development. Also, Wellington mentioned in the previous book about Laura's susceptibility to the mind tricks of the paranormal, but this is not acknowledged. I hope there is some further elaboration in the next story as it was the plot point that I had the most interest for in the previous book. However, I still find Wellington's take on the vampire genre a breath of fresh air, and the final chapter sets up an intriguing storyline for the third book, but I may put off reading the next instalment for a couple of months.
