At a three star rating this wasn’t a bad read. It was a nicely tied up mystery with a lot of fun red herrings and some great character writing.

But despite that it jumped around in ways that made following the plot tricky at times, and the inclusion of a set of specific vampires close to the end of the book was just a touch on the ridiculous side.

There’s not a great amount of depth outside of the two main characters and the setting itself is somewhat two dimensional. I would have loved a little more detail, you forget quickly that it’s set in New York and it was only a small mention 80% of the way through about a relocation from England to America that reminded me we weren’t in regency England.

That said, I enjoyed it and would recommend for anyone who like crossovers of vampire stories and gentle mysteries.

This was an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Vampire of Kings Street occupies a pretty unique space in fantasy publishing. Early reviews are calling it "cozy", but what I believe they mean to say is "quiet". This book addresses oppression, slavery, racism, addiction, etc...quietly. It isn't nonstop blows of trauma and horror, but it presents a dark world to the reader, and one ambitious and kind girl navigating her way through it. To me, The Vampire of Kings Street is in a profoundly bleak world that does not get less bleak, it only has a main character who is plucky and graceful despite the setting.

Vampires are basically indentured servants and considered less than people- owned by the ruling class and abused wherever they go. Radhika's mission is to essentially defend someone who lacks personhood despite being a marginalized woman of color herself. She faces many challenges along the way, for the world she lives in, as we have discussed, is not kind. Radhika is a delightful character and we learn so much in so few pages about this world through her eyes.

Then you have Evelyn and the Frost family- the vampire and those he serves. You get some Succession style drama with a bit of a gothic twist here, and even within 300 pages, so much about this family is explored. I was very impressed with how quickly and sharply the author was able to introduce us to this somewhat dysfunctional family and the vampire who lived among them. All of the descriptions and world building were quite vivid and impactful. I found myself constantly wanting to know more, though often the background was quite sad.

The mystery is a bit limited...its a very short book. My only issue with the book itself is that a lot of time is spent talking about if Evelyn the vampire COULD be the murderer and not a whole lot of time advancing the murder mystery. By the time we get to the reveal, its stumbled on more than its investigated..but that does not detract from the great character work done in those 300 pages.

The thing about this book, and I CAN'T STATE THIS ENOUGH. It is not a cozy mystery. It has elements you may find in a cozy (minimal plot just vibes, a quiet storytelling style and muted fantasy elements) but it truly has enough darkness to interest fans of 'edgier' forms of storytelling as well.

Though this is being marketed a certain way, I think its not niche, but rather, a book perfect for anyone who loves gothics, mysteries, vampires, and fantasy. I loved it and will be tuning in for sequel(s).

4. This mix of genres pleases me immensely. Those who love historically set mysteries will enjoy this one. However, with the additional element of ‘vampires’ as indentured (enslaved?) servants, there’s an extra nod, not only to the paranormal, but to the societal implications of the marginalized. Our lady lawyer has to wade through what it means to help someone who is in deep need, at potential great cost to herself. Even though this is not a YA book, there is nothing to prevent a high school student from reading and enjoying it. That age group will find kinship with the main character’s journey to independence and friendship. The only flaw in the book is that the rising action seemed a bit long, but minor revisions could tighten it easily. The characters are excellent and unexpected. One hopes we will see a second installment!

This starts out and feels almost comic. I'm not sure it is actually supposed to be funny, but the feeling hint of tongue in cheek persists and does lead into a comfortable enjoyable read that is very palatable and certainly goes down well. It is a tale of vampires, seen as subordinate at retained by rich families, Mr Evelyn More is one such and is falsely accused of murder. Requiring the services of Radhika, daughter of immigrants and trainee lawyer to help him as she struggles to find herself with all the usual hurdles and a few extra. This is a great, fun read, it flows along nicely and the characters are well formed and interesting, if a little stereotypical. Overall it lacks real oomph, but is a good easy read.

The Vampire of Kings Street was a very enjoyable, cozy and historical murder mystery. This is definitely one of those books that is a little bit more vibes than heart-pounding plot, so if you are looking for a book that is more action-filled, this might not be for you. However, I thought it was a very enjoyable read that was very well-written and, while not full of fast-packed action, is also never bogged down with seemingly unnecessary scenes that don't add much to the plot. Every scene seems intentional and helps the reader learn more about the world and its characters.
I also really liked this book's take on vampires. I think it was interesting to portray them as these almost weak creatures that are more often than not servants to humans. The fact that they were also seen as less than by humans was very well explored in this book and really made sense for the time period it took place in. It was a very refreshing take compared to the super sexy super powerful vampires we usually see.
I don't know if I would necessarily say that this is gothic, just because it doesn't have a lot of those spooky vibes I really look for in the gothic genre, but the setting, time period, and supernatural elements do lean towards that genre--so maybe a lighthearted gothic. However, I really don't think this is a bad thing. Again, it was really refreshing to see vampires portrayed in this time period/setting without being these super scary monsters haunting the main character.
Honestly, I really only have two criticisms about this book. First: I got confused about the relationship between all the Frosts. This could have just been me missing/forgetting something, but I was very confused by the end where everyone fit in that family. I know that Michael is Sarah's son, but every time Henry and Meredith were brought up I could not remember what role they played in the family. This wasn't a big deal because they weren't super important characters, but it did irk me a little. Second: I didn't feel a lot of emotion in this book. There were definitely some technically emotional elements, considering the murder victim is someone very important to one of the main characters, but I never really felt that emotion through the pages. There was something about the characters was just a little one-dimensional. Normally, I don't think books could be better if they were longer, but I think this book could have benefited from spending a little more time letting the reader really get to know and connect with the main characters. The potential was definitely there, but needed to be improved and expanded upon.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable and well-written read, and even though I don't think this story hit all the emotional beats I like in a book, I would really love to read more from this author, especially if it takes place in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Vampire of Kings Street.

I love the author's premise on the popular vampire storyline; in her world, vampires are not sparkly, cool, and the dominant species but indentured servants.

When a vampire is falsely accused of a murder, it's up to Radhika, a young, inexperienced lawyer to discover the truth. But will it be at the cost of her own life?

I like the historical, gilded-age like setting, and the old school feel,

Radhika is a likable, relatable character; the child of immigrants who don't fit into the typical mold the patriarchal society expects of her.

She's educated, unmarred, living in a not so great part of the neighborhood, and an entrepreneur, And she knows what it's like to be looked down upon.

Evelyn More was less interesting, which was disappointing, since he's the vampire in the title of the book. He didn't come across as compelling or interesting.

He doesn't have to be incredibly charming or alluring, but interesting would be nice. I can't say I wanted to know more about him after I finished this.

I wished I liked the story more but it was more cozy than I anticipated.

The pacing dragged, it was mostly exposition, and I wasn't a fan of the diary excerpts, which is all telling and no showing.

Also, I realize my expectations were very different.

When I saw 'vampire' in the title, I thought of horror and true terror, but the narrative was pretty tame.

This wasn't bad, but I expected more bite (pun intended).

The Vampire of King Street is a cozy murder mystery with vampires. The vampire take is rather different and lends a new vision to the general folklore, giving it an "Upstairs Downstairs" twist, as vampires are types of house servants in only the richest homes.
The plot is good and the writing style is very clear... but sadly the tone of the book was very monotonous. The whole emotional range of the main character through the novel seems to hover somewhere between mild surprise and mild annoyance - which didn't make for a riveting read, though it was rather relaxing. But while stuff was happening, it felt all slow and not exciting, and I kind of wanted to shake things up a bit and felt very restless throughout. Maybe that was just not for me.
I would recommend it to fans of cozy fantasy mysteries, especially if you like historical settings.

I read The Vampire of Kings Street while grappling with neck pain, but even the discomfort while reading didn't stop my enjoyment of this book. It feels like there's been a bit of a dearth of good vampire fiction in recent years, so it was great to come across such a fun vampire tale. The mystery element to the story worked well and held my interest throughout, and both Radhiki and Evelyn were engaging characters I could really get behind. The pacing of the story was good and the prose easy reading. I would definitely read more by this author in the future, especially if it's another vampire tale like this one. I am giving it 4.5 stars and I recommend it to fans for vampire fiction after something different from the standard paranormal romance fare.

The Vampire of Kings Street was a well written mystery. I would disagree with the perfect for Gail Carriger fans. The book did not have that feel at all. Still was a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of The Vampire of Kings Street by Asha Greyling.

This is a solid debut cozy 19th century mystery based in New York. Our main character is lawyer Radhika Dhingra, a now orphaned young woman of Indian parents, trying to get her law firm off the ground in a time of racism and sexism. When she is the last choice for a desperate vampire worried he will be accused of murder, Radhika steps up to try and help. When the murder actually does occur and Radhika is removed from the case, she continues to attempt to solve the murder on her own.

In this version of our world, vampires are mainly house servants and considered a detriment/fearsome element to polite society. They own nothing and are reliant upon their family sponsors for all ability to remain alive and safe. Radhika, also an outsider based on her race, her gender and her single status, has sympathy and empathy even in the face of fear or danger. It is easy to make the connections between the place of both in a world that is blatantly obvious in its rejection of beings that are different.

The mystery in the book is fast paced, but I feel like we never dive deeply into Radhika or Evelyn. Perhaps it's that the motivations for both seem a bit opaque as the story progresses. We spend the entirety of the novel with Radhika and we meet her acquaintances, but even though she knows many people she also seems to be utterly alone in all things. I wish we had seen more introspection on that or more scenes of what friends she does have - like her time in the college or how she came to have a friend as a reporter (are they even friends?). We have a whole chunk of the book that is a flashback for Evelyn, but without it being fully absorbed by Radhika it is difficult to tell how it affects and impacts her. With the book being fast paced and shorter, it makes sense why it doesn't have this - it's just something that I wish we saw more of.

The book summary mentioned comparisons to Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate, Rebecca Roanhorse's Tread of Angels, and Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell. I think those are all very light comparisons (and not in a negative way!). Carriger has vampires, but is too comical in tone and has a lot more romance elements; Roanhorse is the opposite - Tread of Angels is actually pretty dark, and Greyling's work is just more serious than anything, and Raybourn isn't paranormal - just written in the same time period. Maybe sort of similar to JR Dawson's The First Bright Thing? I must have read something that would make more sense here, but it's not quite coming to mind.

Such a good book omg!!!! The feels I got during this book omg. So so amazing. This plot is perfect and I rated it 5 stars.

I've read a lot of vampire books and this was a pretty different take. I really enjoyed that the author didn't make them like the leaders in the world or whatever but something as simple as a housekeeper.