Thirsty by Tracey Bateman - REVIEWED

ABOUT THE BOOK: (back cover copy)

There's no place like home, they say.

"Hello, I'm Nina Parker…and I'm an alcoholic."

For Nina, it's not the weighty admission but the first steps toward recovery that prove most difficult. She must face her ex-husband, Hunt, with little hope of making amends, and try to rebuild a relationship with her angry teenage daughter, Meagan. Hardest of all, she is forced to return to Abbey Hills, Missouri, the hometown she abruptly abandoned nearly two decades earlier–and her unexpected arrival in the sleepy Ozark town catches the attention of someone–or something–igniting a two-hundred-fifty-year-old desire that rages like a wildfire.

Unaware of the darkness stalking her, Nina is confronted with a series of events that threaten to unhinge her sobriety. Her daughter wants to spend time with the parents Nina left behind. A terrifying event that has haunted Nina for almost twenty years begins to surface. And an alluring neighbor initiates an unusual friendship with Nina, but is Markus truly a kindred spirit or a man guarding dangerous secrets?

As everything she loves hangs in the balance, will Nina's feeble grasp on her demons be broken, leaving her powerless against the thirst? The battle between redemption and obsession unfold to its startling, unforgettable end.

MY REVIEW:

“Am I who they think I am? Will I always be?” (p.305)

Thirsty. The title of Tracey Bateman’s latest novel was intriguing. The fact that the story had something to do with vampires was kind of creepy. The combination was irresistible, so I agreed to tour the book. It was interesting. Tracey Bateman has cleverly written a story that combines two very unlikely themes – vampires and addiction. Perhaps though, by the time you reach the end of this story, you will realize they aren’t such an unlikely combination after all.

The main character, Nina Parker, is an alcoholic. The hellish chaos she has brought upon her family finally reaches a breaking point, and she comes out of rehab with the most incredibly weak hope of survival that your heart aches for her struggle. With no where left to go, Nina moves in with her sister, initially taking along her teenage daughter, Meg, in an attempt to reestablish some sort of relationship. What should have been a week of mother-daughter emotional/hormonal clashes ramps up into an unbelievably creepy tale, and all I can say is I’m glad I read it in broad daylight!

Bateman captures the heartache, the pain and struggle of a recovering addict very well in this story, and in some ways, I guess the vampire angle mirrors the addict’s struggle to finally be free from the overwhelming thirst for something that will ultimately prove deadly. The vampire story wasn’t overpowering, but instead just plain out creepy throughout. By the end of course, things got pretty dangerous, but the ending itself left the reader hopefully optimistic without tying things off in a neat little package.

The spiritual message was a bit mixed to me though. Nina kept waiting for God to “show up” when in fact, He had mercifully allowed her to survive as long as she did without killing herself or some innocent bystander. God had “showed up” in Nina’s life a multitude of times, but she was just spiritually blind to His presence. Spiritual maturity is a process. Salvation is not. Bateman was a bit fuzzy on this. However, this was a vampire tale, meant to be sensational, not deeply spiritual. It is highly entertaining.

I’m glad addicts can be redeemed through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I’m even more thrilled that His love never leaves me Thirsty.

Pick up your copy here today!