This one got quietly put aside. I guess the goal is for the protagonist to come across as a just regular guy doing an irregular job. Unfortunately for me, the character just comes across as 2 dimensional and none too clever. The author spends a lot of time explaining how the world works, but the protagonist doesn't seem to have the kind of savvy that a veteran police officer working a supernatural crime squad would have picked up just to survive. I lost interest.

The narrator is a little uneven in his voices, sometimes allowing one voice to bleed into another character. Still, a fun (re)read as usual. ( )

I received this copy for free from the author in exchange for review. That being said, why have I not read this author before?!? I was drawn into the story, and found it hard to put down.

Markowski is a Sergeant on the Scranton, N.J., Police force, the Occult Division. In this alternate plane, supernaturals (vampires, werewolves, fairies, wizards, etc.) are common, though society may not embrace them. When the case gets weird, the Occult Division gets called in. This time, it is someone killing off vampires ... and there is something big at stake (pardon the pun).

Gustainis has done a great job in building character and plot in this first installment to the Occult Crimes Unit series. I found myself liking the main characters, with their human failings (love for family, desires to be loved, etc). I am avidly looking forward to reading the next book. ( )

Very quick and engaging read that spins far closer to cop-noir than the typical urban fantasy.

It struck me as the cops' end of Law & Order with vampires and assorted horror types...and I could easily see the POV cop played by Jerry Orbach.

Well worth the time to read if you like urban fantasy and police procedurals. No major surprises but a fun melange of elements that make for a fast read. ( )

My name's Markowski. I carry a badge.

As you might expect from the hard-boiled detective novel cover, not to mention his deadpan introduction, Stan Markowski, the hero of Justin Gustainis' Hard Spell, is a Detective Sergeant of the Stranton PD.

Also a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9 mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.

What makes this such a fun story, however, is the fact that Stan is a Detective Sergeant for the Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit. Part Joe Friday and part Agent Mulder (with a little Gil Grissom mixed in), he's the kind of man who commands immediate respect. Meanwhile, his partner, Karl Renfer (a hotshot cop with James Bond aspirations) makes a perfect foil. Their relationship borders on the clichéd, but that's intentional - the entire book 'borders' on it, but cleverly challenges every cliché it comes across.

This was just a fun story. The narrative style worked perfectly, and the dialogue was consistently strong. It's not often I pay so much attention to dialogue, but this was the kind of book I wished I could 'watch' in a serialized TV format, just so I could hear the sarcasm. The supernatural elements are handled beautifully, coming across as entirely plausible, and not at all comic or surreal. In many ways I was expecting a Men In Black kind of approach, but this is much closer to The Night Stalker - assuming, of course, that the show was filmed a few decades later, uncensored and granted the kind of budget that cable TV can command.

Much to my surprise, this was a story that worked well as both an urban fantasy and as a police procedural. Take away the supernatural elements, and there is still a good detective story here, but it's the mix of the two that make this such a great read. It's not often you come across a group of goblins, addicted to meth, who have to be apprehended for robbery . . . and even less often that you need to dial 666 to summon help from the Sacred Weapons And Tactical (SWAT) unit.

A quick read, this is also a good one - definitely one of the most pleasant surprises I've encountered in a long time. I really hope Justin continues with this world, and gives us more adventures with the Scranton PD.
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