Blood Sinister by Celia Rees

I really enjoyed the way the mystery of the book was revealed slowly through the main character Ellen Reading her ancestor's diaries. It allowed the story and the characters to be revealed at a steady pace. The use of Ellen's illness managed to create a sense of anticipation for the next clue. Overall the story was quite tame for a vampire tale. While I like the characters and the relationship between Ellen and Her grandmother, the relationship between Ellen and Andy could have used more depth And more intensity. I also really liked the character of nurse Jenny and appreciated her role in the end chapters but felt that the Swiftness with which Ellen and Andy trusted her and reveal their secrets and the ease with which Jenny accepted their story and willingly took on such great risk required more suspension of disbelief than this reader could muster. 

The cover art on this book was what grabbed my interest and it having a 'mature read' sticker from the Scholastic book fair let me to believe that it was going to be a deeper more intense and more intricate story and it actually turned out to be. Overall this was a satisfactory book for younger YA readers who may be interested in vampire mystery but who are not looking for the intensity or violence and gore that is common in this genre.