This book is a splendid mix of vampires, sorcery, and alternate history, set at the beginning of the 20th century, mostly in the English colony of New Amsterdam. I thought I had gotten over vampires about ten years ago, but really, I was just looking for well-written ones. Sebastien, an eccentric ancient vampire who likes to be friends with his humans, is the best vampire character I've met since Queen of the Damned, if not better than that lot. The star of the book, however, is Detective Crown Investigator Abigail Irene Garrett, a woman who does what she wants to do within the framework of her own moral code. She and Sebastien work together to solve supernatural mysteries, despite the limitations imposed by vampirism being illegal where they live.
