Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5
Psychic medium Simon Kincaide and his boyfriend, Myrtle Beach homicide detective Vic D’Amato, find that the only thing more frightening than murder might be navigating their first holiday season as a couple.
A trip back to Pittsburgh to spend Thanksgiving with Vic’s large, exuberant family means dodging old frenemies and a bitter ex-boyfriend. A cold case comes back to haunt Vic when a murdered woman’s ghost begs Simon for justice. Then a new murder back in Myrtle Beach looks suspiciously familiar, and the dead man’s ghost isn’t playing nice. When Simon gets a vision of the next victim before the crime occurs, he realizes that all the murders are supernaturally linked. Catching the murderer will take his psychic sleuthing skills along with Vic’s street smarts to avert a tragedy. Can they do right by ghosts past, present and yet-to-come without ending up in the crosshairs of a killer for Christmas?
I very much enjoyed Lucky Town by Morgan Brice after some introductory confusion over the characters, their past history and current situation. It wasn’t until midway through the story that I went searching at Goodreads and found that Lucky Town is a sequel to Badlands, something I wasn’t aware of when I started this novel. I need to go back now and pick up all the past history I missed that’s hinted at here from that original story. Yes, that means I don’t consider Lucky Town a stand alone.
A somewhat confusing introduction to this already established couple opens the story. We find Simon and Vic have moved together into Simon’s bungalow in Myrtle Beach, they are still adjusting to that fact, and making it their “home” together. The author feeds us details of a past case where Simon was hospitalized due to a gunshot wound, a case that was both magical in nature and not only brought these two together but was the primary factor behind Vic moving to North Carolina with Simon. So much missed past history there. And its referenced (the case and the aftermath) repeatedly throughout this story.
Luckily, you’re told that Simon sees dead people, ghosts to be exact. And they tell him things.
Vic knows and believes him. Which is all good because the paranormal and supernatural is about to land on their doorstep once again. As in multiple bodies worth.
Now I actually thought the case, the mystery surrounding it, the secondary cast brought in because of it, and the resolution the best part of this story. I wanted far more of this, root magic, everything then I actually did of Vic, Pittsburgh, and his family. They just weren’t as interesting as Simon and the supernatural goings on in Myrtle Beach.
Plus this story is only 116 pages so that’s a lot to cram into a shorter novella.
Still I thought Morgan Brice did a terrific job with the supernatural mystery and cast of characters there. Loved that element. In some ways the sex here in parts overwhelmed the story and relationship development as the book was so short. I think that could have been balanced a little better. However, I’m so intrigued by everything that I have read here that I’m not only going to seek out that first novel but read any further stories coming out for release in this series as well.
If romance, a bit of the scary paranormal and supernatural is your thing, this might be the series for you. But definitely read the first story, Badlands, before reading Lucky Town, to get the foundation I needed and clearly missed.
Cover by Natania Barron. That’s a good representation of the characters, but sort of a typical cover these days.
Sales LInk: http://a.co/d/8FuMNP7
Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 116 pages
Published October 29th 2018 by Darkwind Press
ASINB07K1PW522
Edition Language English
Series Badlands #1.5
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 