Sunglasses After Dark, by Nancy A. Collins

(hb; 1989, 2012: first novel in the Sonja Blue series)

From the back cover:

"Erotic dreams, blood-soaked nightmares.

"She could lead a man to heaven or deliver him to hell. A beautiful vampire of consummate, immortal power. . . lust beyond the warmth of blood. . . revenge beyond desire. . . the world lay at her feet. The extraordinary power of unnatural life breathes behind Sunglasses After Dark."

Review:

All thriller, no filler take on the undead gig - damn near impossible to set down, this roughshod-toned, not-for-the-squeamish novel about a vamp-raped and -murdered vampire hunter (Sonja Blue) who ruthlessly exterminates the evil undead.

In Sunglasses, Sonja must kill a powerful televangelist named Catherine Wheele, a "Pretender" (supernatural being) who had Sonja sent to an insane asylum.

Loaded with wry humor, unrepentant gore and sexuality, character-intrinsic twists and so-crazy-it's-sometimes-funny violence, this is one of the best vampire books I've read - it blows away most fangster hunter-themed offerings, a landmark work.

Worth owning, this.

Followed by In The Blood.

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The first three Sonja Blue novels (Sunglasses After Dark, In The Blood, Paint It Black) were republished in a paperback omnibus edition, titled Midnight Blue: The Sonja Blue Collection, in 1995.

Sunglasses was also recently republished in Kindle form, as well.