Christopher Jude Miller returns to New York City after 20 years of growing up with an adoptive family. Back in 1987, something happened that destroyed his family, and now he’s determined to find out just what that was. The only people standing in his way: Perenelle de Marivaux, a vampire whose attempts to maintain the peace between humans and vampires shattered on that fateful night; Stephen Johnson and Lori Martin – the two who found Christopher and know much more than they are willing to tell him; their daughter Joie, who seems to have a strange connection to Christopher that neither can explain.

On the opposite side, thanks to those same events, a new government agency, known as Clean Slate Global, arises from the aftermath of those events in 1987 with one goal: eradicate all vampires. In order to infiltrate the vampire hub, they make a deal with Claire St. Claire, a vampire who had been imprisoned for 50 years. She, however, has plans of her own, using Clean Slate to wreak vengeance of the Vampire who imprisoned her, Perenelle de Marivaux.

In "Blood Pressure", author Terence Taylor creates a sequel that can stand on its own. He strikes a balance between giving too much information and not giving enough, whetting the appetite with just enough information to keep the story moving along while making the reader want to find a copy of "Bite Marks" (the first novel) and read it just to see what happened. But it isn’t necessary in order to enjoy the second story.

Having read the first book, I enjoyed seeing how the characters familiar to me deal with the changing times: Stephen and Lori’s relationship issues, Perenelle having to once again go through the process of making her older self die so her human neighbors don’t become suspicious, and Adam Caine – Perenelle’s vampiric “offspring” – re-inventing himself as a doctor to gain access to fresh victims. But more focus is paid on the new characters, including Christopher and Joie, whose mysterious connection plays a major role in the storyline; the back story of Claire St. Claire and her “father” Tom O’Bedlam; Richmond and Lopez from clean Slate Global; and my favorite, the inclusion of zora Neale Hurston into the mix.

Her back story involving the fictitious Turner Creed, as love interest and inspiration for "Their Eyes Were Watching God" added a nice touch and tied the novel to history. Taylor used this story to introduce the Harlem Renaissance and it's influence on many of the characters within "Blood Pressure". And for me, it reminded me of her story collection "Mules and Men", when she traveled the Southern States, recording the folk tales and stories of African-Americans and dabbling in their mysticism and mythologies.

Of course, what would any horror story be without monster -- this time in the form of Tom O'Bedlam, a vampire not quite right in the head, but with a devious plan to use Christopher to take over the world. Talk about evil incarnate....

From beginning to end, "Blood Pressure" does a fine job of building tension, leaving you on the edge of your seat, your mouth watering in anticipation of what happens next. ( )