The Stoker File

Medieval Europe is grim and harsh. The age of the plague, gothic fortresses, and lost monasteries—where, alongside monks and knights, those you won’t meet by day emerge at night. Here, vampires are almost allowed to roam with impunity… as long as they observe the law. And the law is simple: one vampire must not kill another. Unless the reason turns out to be truly convincing.

Meet Judge Di. Ancient. Immortal. A stern ascetic. His icy logic reaches for any secret, and he won’t stop until the truth is uncovered—wherever it may be hiding.

His mortal assistant, Jonathan, however, dreams of far more down-to-earth things: a piece of cheese. Preferably with bread. And maybe with a salted cucumber. Living among bloodthirsty vampires isn’t easy, especially when you’re more often considered a snack than a partner in investigations…

Their strange, yet irresistible adventure carries this odd pair from sunny Italian valleys to the peaks of the French Alps, and then—on to foggy London. Along their path await tasks of devilish complexity, and one of them—of course—is the riddle of love.

“Sink your teeth into this novel! This book is a charming and playful treat about the vampire detective everyone loves.” — Silvia Moreno-Garcia

“The novel refreshes the medieval detective genre with fresh, funny, mysterious, clever—and even subconsciously scary—things, simply by adding vampires to it. I highly recommend it.” — Kim Newman

“Judge Di is my favorite vampire, and watching him at work is a real pleasure: he reminds us that even a monster should have principles, or there will be consequences. Together with his reluctant but loyal human servant, Jonathan, he unravels unique crimes of the undead and delivers justice—or at least its closest equivalent. Vampires are rarely this smart, and never before have they been this funny. The author has breathed new life into the genre, and I’m grateful for it.” — Christopher Farnsworth

“If I had to describe the feeling of this book, I’d compare it to Arthur Conan Doyle, who got drunk on absinthe and started dancing with Edward Gorey. And yet it still showcases the author’s own style—the funniest and most witty one. The book is packed with vampires of all kinds—betrayers, ‘‘impalers“‘, shocked victims who are always ready to take a bite—and the number of corpses is absurdly large.” — Daryl Gregory