Eleisha Clevon has been alive since the mid-nineteen century ever since she was turned into a vampire by Julian Ashton who wanted her to take care of his crazed father, William, who he also changed into a vampire. Eleisha and William were sent to the states and have been living in Portland, Oregon since then. Eleisha has a special power that allows her to overpower her prey and suck their blood and lifeforce out of the bodies. She is able to look vulnerable and very young to those she targets. She has also has a close vampire friend, Edward Claymore, who helped her when she first came to America and they have remained close friends ever since. Edward decides he can no longer live as an undead predator and kills himself by running into the sun, while Eleisha watches. Eleisha is not the only one to witness Edward's suicide, as two police officers arrive on the scene.

Soon Eleisha is running for safety, with William. She hides with another vampire, Maggie, in Seattle, Washington where they hunt together. For a short while Eleisha feels safe, but then she and Maggie are found by the two men who witnessed Edward's death. One is Dominick, a police officer who can read people's thoughts, and that of Wade who through Psychometry, the touching of objects where he can know all about a person. Dominick wants to get rid of Eleisha, while Wade wants to know more about this mysterious woman, because for the first time in his life, he feels as if he belongs. Eleisha and Wade are able to touch each other with their minds and when Wade finds out about Eleisha's past and how she turned and why, he wants to protect her. But Dominick has become delusional and will stop at nothing to kill Eleisha and all like her.

Barb Hendee's BLOOD MEMORIES will appeal to fans of vampire lore who like a bit of a twist on the legend and myth of these bloodsuckers. The story jumps from the present and then to the past as we are privy to these character's lives and their motivations. Eleisha voice does rivet you to the pages, even though the writing tends to be a bit too fast in some passages as if Hendee was trying to put as much information as she can in order to move the story along. There were some scenes that weren't descriptive enough and things tend to move a bit too quickly to keep the reader engaged.

There are many characters that pop up and have a very distinctive voice that add to the story. Eleisha's relationship with the men in her life, including Julian, the one who changed her, that of Philip who wants a new hunting partner, and Wade, a possibly love interest for Eleisha make for some interesting interactions. BLOOD MEMORIES is a graphic and seductive tale of those vampire predators and how they live day to day and those who unfortunately are their prey.