This is the fourth in the series of historical fiction novels taking place during the late Napoleonic years and featuring a small town magistrate turned detective. Known for its vivid depiction of late 18th and early 19th century Prussia, this novel yet again sucks you right into a believable world. Starting with the very first novel: Critique of Criminal Reason, the author(s) Michael Gregorio does not shun away from describing life as it truly was around 1790, dark, dirty and crude. A style such as Gregorio has developed is quite novel in the fictional historical novel genre and only few other works exist that do not hide and cover up the stench that must have seeped out of everything in those days. Other comparable novels are The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clarke and Quincunx by Charles Palliser. Unlike those novels Gregorio is persistent in the delivery of a certain couleur locale. Frequently authors start off quite disciplined in their usage of archaic language and descriptions but rapidly turn to more acceptable styles of writing. A good example is the Benjamin Weaver series in which the Victorian language lasts for about a chapter.

As with the previous books in this series, Procurator Hanno Stiffeniis is confronted with ghastly murders with no clear motif. This time however the town of Lotingen believes Vampires to be responsible which starts with the death of a young maid, found at the bottom of a well with two small holes in the side of her neck. Together with a French Army investigator and long time 'collaborator' Lavedrine, Hanno will have to figure out who exactly is behind this murder and others like it.

Utterly absorbing and realistically portrayed, this novel delivers complete immersion into a world no longer in existence. It does not however deliver a detective mystery as is announced on the backflap of the hardcover. Since the first installment of the series and continued in every other Stiffeniis novel, the Procurator does not actually solve anything. In the case of Unholy Awakening it is Lavedrine who casually explains and reveals the final mystery. Hanno in the course of the book stumbles upon truths, learns interesting facts about Napoleon's Army and gains some insight into the nasty happenings of his hometown of Lotingen. That's as far as it goes for our protagonist detective and I do not think that calling Hanno an anti-hero is far from the truth. When reading the novel it feels as if Sherlock is informed by Watson as to the best way of solving the crimes and when Sherlock is unable, presents the answers. Nevertheless, the delivery, description and immersion of this novel adequately compensate for what would otherwise have been a chaotic murder mystery with no clear clues or facts.

As a side note, the cover design for Unholy Awakening is quite bad. If you click on the included image above you should see a larger version. Compare the size of the person standing in the center to the rest of the building and you should realize that the figure shown would be a giant. Even though this is a minor detail from the very moment I unwrapped the book it stood out as a disturbing detail. ( )