Author(s): Sam Stall

Sci-fi & Fantasy

In 1897, Archibald Constable and Company published Bram Stoker's "Dracula", the most famous horror novel of all time. For reasons still debated by critics, the first chapter of "Dracula" was cut from the book just weeks before publication. Here, it becomes the central clue in a spine-tingling mystery - published in the same format as Quirk's "The Crimes of Dr Watson". "Dracula's Heir" begins ten years after the horrific events described in the original novel. Jonathon and Mina Harker are happily married and enjoying life in Bixby, England. Meanwhile, their friend Dr. John Seward is tracking a string of crime that seems eerily familiar; a 14-year-old girl sleepwalks out of her parent's house and disappears into the night. Two "accident victims" are found drained of their blood, yet there is no crime scene evidence to explain its loss. When Seward shares his discoveries with the famous vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing, all the evidence points to Jonathon Harker.After all, Harker spent several months imprisoned in Castle Dracula as a guest of the Count - was he infected without anyone else realising it?