Blue Murder

A Sonja Blue Collection

By: Nancy Collins

Narrated by: Petra Sylvan

Since her first appearance in the award-winning Sunglasses After Dark, Sonja Blue--the leather-clad female punk vampire/vampire slayer--has stalked the Undead who prey on an unwitting humanity at the cost of the lives of those she loves, her sanity, and what hope she might have to one day reach eternal rest. Blue Murder is the first collection of short stories and novelettes in over 20 years to feature the iconic vampire slayer and includes two never-before collected tales.

In Search and Destroy Sonja hunts down the undead horror preying on a homeless encampment.

Cold Turkey deals with her attempt to rid herself of The Other--the demonic personality within herself she must constantly battle for control of her body.

Tender Tigers has her fighting to rescue a human girl from a family of ogres.

Vampire King of the Goth Chicks involves her investigation into a rumored blood cult operating out of an abandoned church. Some Velvet Morning tells the grim fairy tale of the mysterious Countess who must bathe in blood to maintain her youth and what happens when she crosses paths with Sonja Blue.

In Rancho Midnight, Sonja travels to Sin City to make sure what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, as she battles undying evil with her trademark balls-to-the-wall panache.

And Last Know Photo sees her help a mother find her missing son.
No Sparkling Allowed.

©2025 Nancy A. Collins (P)2025 Nancy A. Collins

Critic reviews

“Collins’ debut novel [Sunglasses After Dark] infuses the ancient myth of the vampire with a modern beat, embedding elements of the horror genre in a compelling psychological thriller.” —Publishers Weekly

Excellent first introduction to Sonja Blue

I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This collection of short stories had a lot of action as we follow Sonja Blue as she chases down vampires and other creatures. Nancy Collins does a great job with mixing in humor with the action and story telling. I found each story to be entertaining and satisfying. This was a great introduction into the Sonja Blue world. This was a character I had never heard of and I will be looking into more.

The narrator did an excellent job with the story.

I did have a couple hiccups with the audio, however, I reached out and they are being reviewed.

Cultured Horror Action Comedy

Very enjoyable, a foreword from the author helps set the mood and expectations where she relates her love of the 70s brand soulful Blade (Marvel Comics) and you can see a lot of cool modern parallels. Sonja Blue is a punk twist on horror tropes often filled with dastardly ghouls getting comeuppance in a spirited way. The collection here is varied and I appreciated small nonsequential tales from stuff as varied as a Bathory tale, self inflected banishments, a twisted look at orc motherhood and coupling, or one of my favorites was a pretender getting some character defining justice among other things. The narrator does well with the material even tacking a fun accent for one of the stories; for my taste the narrator fit the feminine energy of the lead but maybe at times felt too motherly. I've added Sunglasses After Dark, In the Blood, and other Sonja Blue novels to my wishlist and look forward to checking out more of the urban modern spunky vampire character.