You’d think that the last thing we need in New Orleans is another book about vampires and the French Quarter.

You’d be right, of course.

Nevertheless, Andrew Fox’s new book, “Fat White Vampire Blues,” is another interesting and lively piece added to the vampire puzzle New Orleans has made for itself.

Fox, Loyola alumi 1986, tells the story of Jules Duchon, who back in the day was one of the most beautiful men in New Orleans.

After all, that’s why he was chosen by his maker, Maureen, to be her companion in the afterlife.

But now, years later, Jules has lost his boyish figure and has swelled to proportions large enough to make even the most jaded Bourbon Street bouncer look twice.

To make things worse, a new young segregationalist vampire going by the name of Malice X begins stalking Jules and warns him that his days of feeding off fat black women, Jules’s meal of choice, are over.

Confused and angry, Jules turns to Maureen, whom he hasn’t seen in years, to try to find a solution to a situation that’s not only becoming a problem for him, but for the entire vampire world.

Though the characters take a little getting used to, the book is engaging.

Clearly, Fox knows New Orleans, and it shows in his writing.

Everything, from street descriptions to the accents used by many of the characters in the book, is perfect.

Only someone who lives in an area like this can read the novel and not think it’s exaggerated.

Fox first got his idea for “Fat White Vampire Blues” when his girlfriend’s landlady heard rumors of Anne Rice’s increased size. He realized that New Orleans vampires, feeding off citizens of the fat city, would become fat, too.

At Loyola, Fox was intensly involved in the Loyola University Community Action Program. He continues to be very involved in social work today.

Fox writes lightly but intensely, taking the reader from one moment to another with lightning speed.

Fortunately, it’s hard to get lost in the character relationships, because Fox writes plainly, but engagingly.

Don’t expect many long, introspective soliloquies, but expect there to be a handful of ebonics and other New Orleans slang.

“Fat White Vampire Blues” doesn’t stand out as a shining example of New Orleans/vampire literature, but it makes a great addition.