Knuckle Supper starts out interestingly enough. Right off the bat we meet RJ, leader of a gang of vampires called the Knucklers. Now, not only is RJ an undead bloodsucker he’s also a heroin addict. So is Dez, RJ’s closest friend within the gang. And they are in desperate need of a fix. The only problem is that they cannot shoot the drug straight, it has to be mixed with blood so that it can interact with their inhuman metabolisms. Good thing for them they were able to lure a local pimp back to their house, a lowlife piece of street trash who has no problems selling the services of a twelve-year-old girl who’s been brought to the Knuckler’s abode along with him. RJ and Dez make short work of the pimp, ignoring his pleas for mercy as they use their superhuman strength to literally rip him apart while satisfying their simultaneous needs for blood and dope. They lock the girl in the bathroom during the attack and leave her there while they ride the high they’ve been so desperately craving. When they finally come down and release the girl from her makeshift prison, RJ shows mercy, offering to take her in and protect her, much to Dez’s disgust who thinks they’re better off just killing her right then and there. It isn’t long before the vampire gang leader discovers it’s tough work controlling the underage streetwalker (referred to throughout the book as “Bait”—and I’m sure you can guess where that endearing little nickname came from), who’s got more than enough attitude for a hundred messed up little girls just like her.

Another area of RJ’s life—un-life?—that he’s finding difficult to control has to do with his leadership over the Knucklers. There’s dissension among its members, questions as to whether RJ is the one who should still be in charge of things. It isn’t long before he discovers that his good pal Dez is behind what seems to be a movement toward outright mutiny. No doubt, Dez has always been a bit jealous of RJ’s position in the gang, has made it apparent that he's wanted to wield more power himself. After the Knucklers come into possession of a major stash of heroine which in actuality belongs to the Battlesnakes, the baddest and most feared of the local vampire gangs, RJ (in an act of solidarity) goes against his own better judgement and agrees to Dez’s plan of selling the heroine and keeping the money for themselves. Of course, this turns out to be a terrible idea for which the Knucklers—RJ in particular—end up suffering greatly. When the shit hits the fan, when the blood starts to flow and the body count rises, RJ finds himself in the very unenviable position of trying to save his own ass as well as those of his fellow gang members and the terribly abused young girl he has promised to protect.

Knuckle Supper is not the sort of vampire novel that’s going to win any fans among the Twilight crowd. In fact, it takes more than a few shots at the whole overly romanticized vampire genre. It’s fairly dark and gritty throughout and features no small amount of gratuitous violence. Some readers will undoubtedly find certain scenes involving the underage Bait more than a little distasteful and I can only assume that this was the author’s intent. My one complaint about the book is that there is a bit too much bickering and trading of insults among the main characters for my liking. Overall, though, Drew Stepek’s Knuckle Supper is consistently entertaining enough to be sought out by readers who like their bloodsuckers a bit more down and dirty than the usual fare being offered these days.