Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: Dead Serious Case #5 Madame Vivienne

SERIES: Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed

AUTHOR: Vawn Cassidy

PUBLISHER: Self

LENGTH: 282 pages

RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2024

BLURB:

For one brief shining moment, the utter insanity that is Tristan Everett’s world makes sense.

He’s marrying the man he loves, has a dead drag queen for a bestie and is surrounded by an amazing found family. Okay, so his life isn’t exactly what you’d call normal. By day, he’s a quiet, mild-mannered forensic pathologist, but the rest of the time, he guides lost souls into the light. He’s also averted an apocalypse, stopped Chaos from coming through a magic door, and drunk tequila with Death.

It’s all a bit bonkers, but it’s his life… and he loves it.

He’s flying high but, like Icarus, it’s only a matter of time before he’s brought crashing down to earth with singed wings. The strange reality of his life intrudes once again when his friend, Madame Vivienne, is murdered, and it’s clear from the beginning that this is no ordinary killing.

Someone is using dark magic.

Viv’s soul has been bound, leaving her trapped and unable to communicate. Tristan, Danny, and their friends must uncover the truth and find the killer. But the deeper they delve into the old bookshop in Whitechapel, which has been in the Crawshanks family for generations, the darker and the more dangerous the secrets that begin to unravel.

And what they discover may just change their lives forever…

REVIEW:

Ok, let’s get the disclaimer out of the way.  This is not a standalone.  You must read the first four books in this series, as characters from the previous books are included in this book.

Now to the good stuff…  Vawn continues to create the best universe in this series.  She continues to up her game with each new book.  I will admit this book had a couple of rough patches, that made me bawl.  These events have been alluded to over the course of the series, so it shouldn’t have been as hard to read, but it was.  But this illustrates just how spectacular Vawn’s writing is.  She managed to infuse so much emotion in these scenes that, it took my breath away and made the tears flow.  I think my dogs thought something was seriously wrong, as I just loudly bawled.  It takes a lot of skill to create that kind of character depth, to be so invested in all the characters, that you feel as if you’re the one experiencing all the feels.

I think this book, of all the books in the series, showcases Vawn’s creativity and how deeply she loves these characters.  As with all the books in this series, we are embroiled in another murder mystery.  One, I might add takes quite the unseen turn.  As if that wasn’t enough Tristan and Danny are getting married.  This book is chocked full of murder, found family, love, happiness, and sexy times.

This universe gets better and better with each new installment, I am so excited to see where Vawn heads next with this universe. As sadly, this is the last book in this particular series.  But I know this, I can’t wait to see where we go from here.  Maybe some Death and Chan… You never know, but I will be here for it.   You all know the drill – don’t walk or stroll to your favorite book purchasing site – you need to run.  I fiercely recommend this book and series and I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this universe.

RATING:

BUY LINK:

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