Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Master of Ghouls
SERIES: SPECTR #2
AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk
NARRATOR: Brad Langer
PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press
LENGTH: 3 hours, 15 minutes
RELEASE DATE: September 2, 2014
BLURB:
Caleb Jansen’s old life is in ruins after being possessed by the vampire spirit Gray. Now all Caleb wants is for Gray to be exorcised so he can adjust to living as a registered paranormal. Instead, District Chief Kaniyar of SPECTR offers him a new choice: be locked away for public safety, or come work for the very agency he’s spent years trying to avoid. The only good thing to come from Caleb’s possession is his relationship with federal exorcist John Starkweather, but even that seems doomed to end before it can really begin.
John’s newest case is a nightmare: someone is summoning demons and forcing them to possess women and boys snatched from the streets of Charleston. If his team can’t find the summoner soon enough, the possessions will become permanent, transforming the victims into ghouls. To make matters worse, he barely prevents Gray from feeding on their only lead.
Can John shield his heart from Caleb, who only seems interested in a temporary hook-up? Can Caleb keep Gray under control while they hunt for the summoner? Or will the cost of solving the case be higher than any of them could have guessed?
Because the master of ghouls has set his sights on a new target: Gray.
REVIEW:
Master of Ghouls picks up right after Hunter of Demons ended. Caleb’s life is still turned upside down. Not only does he need to adjust to the world knowing about is telekinetic abilities – abilities so impressive that he can make a coffee cup shake and if he’s lucky even make it fall and spill its content. So he’s less than thrilled that this meagre talent will have him stigmatized for the rest of his life. To add insult to injury, there’s also Gray; the vampire spirit inhabiting his body. So Caleb is more or less forced to join SPECTR – at least until they’d figure out a way to rid his body of Gray. So he’s sent out on missions together with John and his team. Someone has been raising demons and abducting humans and our duo – or is that trio? is tasked to find and stop those responsible.
The story is interesting as usual. I’m especially enjoying the Caleb/Gray dynamic. Two entities and one body. Fighting for control of said body, learning to co-exist yet get free at the same time. Jordan L. Hawk has an incredible talent for writing interesting plotlines and characters. Not only that they feel fresh and real – you know in the weird way ghouls and paranormals feel real, I guess. It is a terrifying world we live in and I’d rather not add paranormal creatures into the mix. 😉
Brad Langer was a great choice of narrator of this series. He adds a lot of feeling to the words, he lives and feels the story and make you do the same. I really enjoyed the voice he had for Gray, the deep rumble, distant yet still there. I think he captured him really well; his bewilderment of human interactions and behaviour was spot on. As was the blood lust and the need to hunt. He did it all really well and I can’t wait to see where he and Hawk takes this series.
This too was a very short book and it almost feels like you blink and it was over, but I guess that’s also Hawk’s plan. The story won’t be complete unless you read the whole series, and lucky me, I have the next book lined up.
RATING: 
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