Time for Eternity-Susan Squires

Time for Eternity
Susan Squires
St. Martin’s, Sep 2009, $6.99
ISBN: 9780312943530

In San Francisco, vampiric bartender Frankie Suchet was made during the French Revolution by Henri Foucault who deserted her soon afterward. Donna Poliziano enters the bar because she sensed a vamp inside. They discuss Henri but disagree as Donna thought he was good while Frankie believes he was evil. Donna sends her a book written by Leonardo Da Vince who built a time machine that needed the power of a vampire to work. It is under the Baphistery in Florence. Donna suggests she go back and correct the wrong as she did it to save her beloved Jergen (see ONE WITH THE DARKNESS). Frankie travels to Italy with plans to kill Henri before he changed her.

Frankie arrives in 1794 and sees naïve Francoise. Unable to stop Frankie ends up inside a bewildered Francoise. However, the young woman has no time to worry as her elderly companion Madam LaFleur was arrested and their house is on fire. She pleads with Duc Henri D’Avignon to save her life. He does by claiming her as his ward. Robespierre accepts Henri’s lie, but his companion Madame Croute is irate. Henri takes his new ward home and tells her he will place her on his ship going to England next week. Henri thinks of making love to Francois as she seems a weird mix of innocence and experience. He knows he cannot save LaFleur but foolishly tries; however, her heart gives out. Meanwhile as naive Francois sees Henri’s kindness; Frankie inside her head keeps telling her he is cruel and needs to die while Croute wants to execute both of them.

The intriguing premise of two Francoise essences sharing one body comes across as plausible while Henri is a sort of vampiric Scarlet Pimpernel although Frankie takes a long time to overcome her bitterness; in fairness she had over two centuries to build it up. Still fans will relish this exciting vampiric romance that mostly brings alive the deadly dangerous French Reign of Terror.

Harriet Klausner