Mario Acevedo has taken a risk with this title. Certainly, some people will be put off by it. (It is difficult to imagine the New York Times Book Review printing a critique of any novel with the word "Nymphos" in its title) But potential readers should put such misgivings aside and look past the title, or perhaps embrace it, since Mr. Acevedo has given us a story with some of the best dark humor in recent years. Both the book's title and cover are signposts for an incredibly amusing tale that sets a new standard for vampire stories.

It is actually difficult to categorize Nymphos as strictly a vampire novel. The plot follows Felix Gomez, who has the misfortune of being bitten by a vampire while he (Felix) was fighting as part of a military unit in the first Iraq war. Quite a concept; now soldiers have to wear strings of garlic and Celtic crosses while in battle in addition to their body armor. When Felix comes home and recovers, he performs his vampire duties with reluctance; he didn't ask for this new career. Besides, he is saddled with tremendous guilt for having accidentally caused the death of a young civilian while in the war. But Felix decides that he has no choice and has to find a way to get on with his life. Or death. Or being undead.

So, naturally, Felix becomes a private eye, and a hard-boiled one at that. He wears over-the-counter make-up and sun block so that he can venture out of doors in the daylight. And, to make the character more appealing to those of us who might think of vampires as evil creatures, Felix refuses to feed on human blood. A sauce of animal blood, which does sustain his vampire nature at least to some degree, often supplements his meals. But with a price. Little by little, Felix is losing his vampire powers. Apparently, it is human blood and human blood alone that truly empowers a vampire's nightly abilities.

Felix already has enough to deal with in his personal life before his is hired (as a detective, not as a vampire) to investigate some strange happenings at Rocky Flats, a real nuclear energy testing site near Denver, Colorado. It seems that something has turned three military employees of Rocky Flats (female employees, of course) into nymphomaniacs. Now Felix has to investigate and find out what has caused this overtly sexual behavior. This is the dream job for a private eye and I am frankly surprised that other authors have not thought of this before. Perhaps Spenser and Hawk should investigate the Nymphos of Boston. Lots of possibilities here.

Mr. Acevedo takes us along on this ride with a wink in his eye and a jesting elbow to our ribs. For example: "There was no formal program in becoming a vampire, not even a correspondence course, and I had learned 'on the job', so to speak." Or, "He squinted at me. 'Your complexion looks almost human. You use a Dermablend foundation?' 'It's a vampire's best friend,' I replied. 'That and Maybelline.'" Funny stuff.

The story has a little of everything; vampires, detectives, military-governmental conspiracies a la X-Files, and even a visit to the Roswell mythos. Take the author's humor from the narrative and we are left with something fairly ordinary. Keep the humor and we have a tale that brings a smile with each new page. It is that funny, even when told through some fairly serious plot lines. Nymphos will be on my Ten Best list this year. Get this one and have some fun.