I liked it; it was good
I met this author through the Federation of BC Writers, and it turns out that he’s local to my city! I went to a local event he was attending and of course I had to buy a book, so I decided to give this one a try.
Read: July 15 – July 20, 2024
*Self-published author
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Supernatural
Audience: Adult
Book contains: explicit sex, strong language, bdsm, devil-worshipping, implied death of a child, satanic rituals
Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca
Carol Ainsworth is an undercover Vancouver cop at the Fairmont Empress hotel in Victoria. Her goal: keep tabs on the two Italian mob families that have flown in from New York for a wedding. She quickly realizes why Victoria lives up to its name of “most haunted city in North America” as dangerous, supernatural happenings are afoot around the city. Trouble runs deeper than she ever could have imagined.
Frank Talaber mostly writes adult books, and as such, contains topics and scenes I’m not a fan of. However, I’m interested in ghosts and the supernatural, so this was a great book for me. This book is my first real foray into the realm of crime fiction.
Written in the style of a TV show, this book is split more into scenes than into chapters. It follows numerous characters and storylines that are linked in ways that aren’t immediately apparent to the reader. It actually reminded me quite a bit of when I was watching Criminal Minds (though with a lot more sexual content).
Since there is no audiobook yet available for this novel, I read it the old-fashioned way. This was slightly difficult since my book didn’t have any page numbers for me to track my progress. (I eventually wrote them in the bottom corners with a pencil.)
Carol Ainsworth is our main character: an undercover cop posing as a hotel manager. She must deal with not only the two mob families staying at the hotel, but the colourful chaos that is running a hotel. From hot naked men to mind-reading old broads to the many ghostly inhabitants of the hotel, Carol must juggle her current case with the disappearance of her nephew and other young boys in the city.
There is a lot of sexual tension throughout this novel between Carol and several male love interests—some of whom are good picks, but most of whom are not. Her also forms a close bond with Ms. Teak, a psychic fortune teller with her crystal skull Cider, who is constantly reading her mind but is nonetheless a huge help on both of her open cases. Carol’s somewhat unique ability to see ghosts helps her find clues that are otherwise left undiscovered by the law enforcement around her.
Talaber’s plot is phenomenal, and I found all his characters on point, but as an editor and book designer I cringed heavily. As I was just casually reading, I found many spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes, and the formatting was quite a mess. This won’t be a problem for readers who value the story above all else, but for readers who hate seeing mistakes, the distractions are plentiful.
That said, I must once again reiterate that the plot was very interesting. The twists and turns of this story were surprising but fluid, and I learned so much about Victoria and the historical significance of different locations. Scenes were snappy and engaging, though I preferred to skip the graphic sex scenes.
A great read for ghost-lovers and readers of crime thrillers! Some very cool concepts in this novel!
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Tigerpetal Press is a small book press dedicated to publishing local authors and poets.