Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Dead Man’s Tale
SERIES: Supernatural Investigations #1
AUTHOR: Riza Curtis
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 69 Pages
RELEASE DATE: January 15, 2018
BLURB:
Police Detective Andrew Holden has a secret; he can see ghosts. It’s a pretty handy skill considering he works in the homicide department. His solve rate is at an all-time high and has attracted the attention of higher ups. His latest case—a kid found with fang marks on his neck—can only cause more issues. With a ghost that won’t talk, one that talks too much, and rumors of some kind of cult, another detective breathing down his neck is the last thing he needs.
Fae Detective Sean Farley, team lead of Supernatural Liaisons East, doesn’t have time to waste investigating police detectives whose only discernible crime is competence. He has real supernatural cases to solve and humans to keep safe (and ignorant). When the team is sent to Detective Holden’s backwater precinct, Sean’s not convinced of foul play, especially after he finds out that Drew is completely human. Drawn to Drew, the two men grow closer, and Sean wonders if they could be more than just colleagues. But when another body appears, Sean isn’t sure that Holden’s so innocent anymore…
REVIEW:
I loved the idea behind this story! A sanctuary for supernatural beings. And I always enjoy supernatural law enforcement agencies. But cram the introduction of both of those into seventy odd pages, along with two complicated characters and some murders… It was all just a bit too much.
Having said that, this story started at a great pace, throwing me right into the drama as Detective Andrew Holden stares down at a body drained of blood and tries to communicate with the dead guy’s ghost. I liked Holden, and I loved the fact that his BFF/sidekick is a teenage ghost with a sassy attitude and no respect for privacy. She was the star of this show as far as I’m concerned.
Farley, well I didn’t get as much of a handle on him. All you really learn is that he’s the leader of his team and he’s desperate to get back to some other case that he’s been pulled from to go investigate these murders. Although it’s not really confirmed, it does seem like he initially begins sleeping with Holden as part of the investigation. I’m assuming and hoping that the second book of this series is going to continue with these same main characters because I didn’t learn enough about them here. While the plot was interesting, the romance was pretty much a write off. The author was smart not to try to give these two a happily-ever-after in so few pages, but at the same time, I didn’t feel any sort of connection at all.
While I did enjoy this story, it was more an appreciation of the potential for an interesting series. The author has a lot that she can work with here and I’ll certainly keep an eye out for future releases under the Supernatural Investigation banner.
RATING: 
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