In Sol by DiVitto Kelly, Sol Hirsch didn’t expect much from retirement beyond warm weather, a quieter life, and maybe a few Mets games on TV. After decades behind the deli counter in Queens, Miami Beach seemed like the right place to slow down. But a family trip to Romania throws everything off course. One late-night walk near a misty lake leaves Sol with a strange bite on his neck and a feeling he can’t shake. Back home, something is off. He’s sleeping through the day, avoiding the sun, and craving things he never would have touched in his deli. Myrna knows her husband better than anyone, and she’s not buying the “just tired” excuse. When a peculiar Romanian shows up with answers Sol never asked for, their quiet Florida life turns into something far stranger. Sol wanted an easy retirement; instead, he’s facing a problem he never imagined.

Sol by DiVitto Kelly is a wonderfully quirky blend of humor, nostalgia, and supernatural chaos. What makes the story shine is its cast of vibrant, down‑to‑earth characters, especially Sol himself. His dry humor, Yiddish‑tinged grumbling, and unwavering loyalty to the Mets give the book a warm, familiar charm, even as the plot dips into vampire lore. The dialogue fits the Miami Beach setting, and the late‑70s atmosphere without ever feeling forced, and the characters talk the way real people would in those situations. Even when the story veers into darker moments, it is easy to follow and keeps its sense of fun. The mix of everyday retirement life and the sudden supernatural trouble gives the book a lively feel, and the more chaotic scenes are just as entertaining as the quieter ones. It’s the kind of story you read quickly simply because you want to see what Sol does next. It’s a fast‑moving, entertaining novel that proves retirement can still come with surprises, and that you’re never too old for a wild new chapter.

In DiVitto Kelly’s Sol, Andrei Popa, a former Orthodox priest in Dumbraveni, enters a boarded-up Romanian church to end the vampire threat that has bled his town for generations. The fight costs him his life, leaving his daughter in America with no idea what her father had really protected her from. Ten years later, retired Queens deli owner Sol Hirsch has settled in Miami Beach with his wife Myrna, where retirement now means shuffleboard losses and his lifelong Mets loyalty. A trip to Romania with Donnie and Barbara Falcone brings both couples to Casa de Noapte, a castle hotel run by the theatrical Laszlo under the watch of its unnerving owner, Tibor. When Sol returns to Florida, changed after a lakeside attack, retirement becomes a very strange afterlife, indeed.

DiVitto Kelly’s Sol is absolutely fabulous comic horror, and Kelly gives the vampire story the best possible weapon: a retiree with a New York mouth. Kelly's writing style is intelligently funny and totally readable. Every character is full of life, even in death, whether it is Sol as an unofficial slang teacher to locals who practice saying “fuhgeddaboudit” after dinner, or Myrna’s mother reading Sports Illustrated in Romania and still having sharp enough timing to embarrass Florin over the swimsuit issue. Kelly offers all the usual vampire repellents we expect, although borrowing a crucifix and lining the headboard of a bed with garlic was a fresh twist, as is the way Reggie Jackson’s signed baseball bat takes on a brand-new role. Well written and immersive, readers who enjoy horror with some big laughs will adore this.