Whiskey chugging, gun slinging, monster killing done Old West style! 
 I've been in the mood for books with a bit of western flare to them and The Dead of Winter did not disappoint. The site of a fresh gorey killing pulled me in right away and the mystery of it along with the brash characters had me hooked. 
 Cora the main character is one rough and tumble bounty hunter that specializes in paranormal creatures. She is snarky and the type to rush into a situation before really thinking it out. She isn't your typical lead female. I say this because she isn't pretty or sexy, and has a drinking problem. I have to guess she is probably in her early 40's, so there isn't alot of change to her personality or habits through the course of the story and any character growth we do see for her is at the end of the book. The one gripe I have is that any supporting characters were not very well developed at all. Almost all of the focus was on Cora. 
 Luckily, there is just enough action in this one to keep the pages flipping. I was engrossed and didn't want to put it down much until I was finished. 
 It seemed to me that the author was going for a more classic take on vampires. You know the whole crucifixes, garlic and holy water bit. I found it all rather comical and had a good few laughs. Normally, I wouldn't find that type of vampire very entertaining cause, I mean garlic? Really? I never did understand that one, but it didn't bother me so much here. Thankfully, Collins did throw in enough new traits to his vampires that I was still interested...and of course I mustn't forget the monster from the first part of the book. But I'm not telling you what that one is!