Jack Fleming isn't the first narrator to let readers share a first-hand, trial-and-error introduction to waking up undead, but his premise is slightly different: he met a vampire years before, but he wouldn't find out whether her condition had been transmitted to him until he died. Much sooner than he expected, he learns that it had -- all because of a list that he can't even remember having possessed.
Jack Fleming is one lucky stiff, however. A layer of earth in the bottom of a steamer trunk gives a comfy place to rest during the day; an occasional trip to the Stockyards keeps his fangs from protruding. He's been vampiring for only four days (nights) when Harry Escott, private agent (he prefers the term to "private investigator") takes an interest in his condition, then in his case. And how can you turn down a guy who offers to help you solve your own murder?
On learning that "Slick" Morelli was responsible for his death, Jack poses as his own (nonexistent) younger brother Gerald. Once Morelli thinks he has snuffed Gerald as well, Jack takes advantage of his newly-acquired dematerializing abilities (among others) to amuse himself by "haunting" Morelli; wrapping himself around his "victim" in intangible form to cause a chill, or materializing as Morelli last saw him, bloodied and looking very dead. All goes well until Morelli's boss, Lucky Lebredo, figures out what's going on and uses Escott as hostage to exact what he wants from Jack -- backing his demands with a loaded crossbow.
Bloodlist's style can be succinctly described as a kinder, gentler Mickey Spillane. Elrod maintains just the right amount of tension, leavening it with light yet believable dialogue and reflection. Elrod maintains this style, in varying degrees, throughout the subsequent five (to date) other titles in the Vampire Files series. Bloodlist, like its successors, is fast-paced, highly entertaining, yet humane. It's about people as much as events, often very likeable people at that. (And for those who wonder, the author's first name is Patricia -- Pat for short.)