Andrews has created an interesting protagonist in Adrian. He doesn’t shy away from showing the grittier aspects of his adolescence and early adulthood, namely drug use and addiction. While some of the scenes with his substance use are tiresome, the descent into full addiction is something that’s rarely seen in fiction of this ilk, and it’s a welcome dose of reality. However, for all of the facets of Adrian, many of the secondary characters are sparsely-drawn. A past girlfriend and his current wife are both more memorable in their physical descriptions than their personality characteristics, e.g. both have “slender hips” but no mention of their attitudes or personality traits aside from “kindness”. Additionally a male supporting character disappears (with good reason) for a span of years that makes his character development difficult to see.
Interestingly, despite the fact that the main conceit of the books involves a paranormal threat, the appeal of the book is actually the real world tension created by the overlap between a past life and a current one. The frenzied chases, information gathering and struggle to keep these two sides of himself separate are reminiscent of a Harlan Coben novel. Andrews’ breathless narration has its pitfalls (hints and clues at background are scrapped in favor of a large exposition flashback via Skype) but the action rarely flags. That less exposition and detail is given to the genesis and lifestyle of the paranormal characters is a strength, overall. It makes the book more accessible to a reader who might be less interested in vampires than in a good mystery novel.
Though there are some weaknesses in character development, WHITE RABBIT is an engaging fast-paced thriller that will satisfy both mystery readers and fans of the paranormal.
Reviewed by Erinn Black Salge for IndieReader.