In "Badge of Horror," Kevin B. DiBacco crafts an atmospheric supernatural thriller set in the shadowy streets of New Orleans. NOPD detective Angelo Dubois harbors a centuries-old secret?he's a vampire, turned by the ruthless Sapphira LeCroix during the aftermath of a historical battle. Using a magical lapis lazuli ring that allows him limited daylight tolerance, Angelo maintains his human facade while solving crimes that cross between the mortal and supernatural worlds.
The story begins with Angelo investigating a series of brutal murders bearing vampiric markings. When the killing of a young woman leads him to a remote cabin, he confronts the perpetrator only to discover the crimes are connected to his maker, Sapphira, who has returned to New Orleans with deadly intentions. The murders are part of a larger pattern that threatens both supernatural and human communities.
Angelo's investigation leads him to Andrea Deveraux, a gifted witch running a flower shop in the French Quarter. Their initial wariness?born from centuries of vampire-witch animosity?gives way to respect and eventually deep attraction as they realize they share a commitment to protecting innocents. As they collaborate, flashbacks reveal both characters' complex histories, including Angelo's struggle for redemption after centuries of predatory behavior and Andrea's own mysterious family connection to Sapphira.
The stakes escalate dramatically when Sapphira begins targeting children, leaving ritualistic markings to taunt Angelo. After a particularly horrific child murder, Sapphira confronts Angelo directly, threatening Andrea and making it clear the killings are punishment for his defiance of her authority. Meanwhile, Captain Rhemann, Angelo's superior at the NOPD, reveals himself as another vampire with complicated ties to Sapphira, forming an uneasy alliance with Angelo.
As Angelo and Andrea's professional partnership blossoms into romance, they discover Sapphira rules through a powerful vampire council with rigid hierarchies. Andrea uses her position and family connections to challenge Sapphira's authority in a witch tribunal, narrowly preventing Angelo's execution through supernatural legal maneuvering.
The narrative builds toward a confrontation in the mysterious Versailles Mausoleum, where supernatural factions gather to put Sapphira on trial for her crimes. When the trial erupts into chaos, Angelo, Andrea, and their allies?including the enigmatic witch Lenore?engage in a cataclysmic magical battle against Sapphira. Their combined powers eventually banish her, though at great cost to many supernatural beings of New Orleans.
In the aftermath, Angelo and Andrea begin rebuilding supernatural society along more egalitarian lines. Their work is punctuated by a deeply romantic subplot culminating in Angelo's marriage proposal, which Andrea joyfully accepts. The epilogue reveals they face ongoing challenges from conservative factions in both vampire and witch communities who oppose their union, setting up the conflict for the sequel, "Blood and Magic: Forbidden Desires," in which a Supernatural Council threatens them with exile unless they renounce their engagement, fearing their union could create a dangerous hybrid "Shadowborn."
Throughout the novel, DiBacco weaves rich New Orleans history with supernatural lore, creating an immersive urban fantasy where romance, detective work, and magical confrontations merge against a backdrop of jazz, voodoo, and centuries-old supernatural politics.
