Rating: 5⭐️
It had been a while since this terrific series has been updated and through author’s comments at the end, I found out that, sadly, her long-time friend and co-author, Jilleen Dolbeare, had passed away last October 2025 from cancer.
Jilleen Dolbeare wrote many great urban fantasy series as well as the wonderful collaborations with Heather G. Harris. She’s going to be deeply missed by so many. My sympathies to her family and friends.
I’ve loved this series from the beginning when Bunny first arrived in hidden paranormal town of Portlock, Alaska. She was a newly turned (against her will) vampire with a rescue German Shepherd in tow, and became a part of the town and small Sheriff’s Department, solving mysteries and magical crimes in a very different way, involving mythical creatures and fantastical monsters.
And finding love and a mate along the way with a vampire Prince.
The characters are beautifully written, the mysteries are often heartbreaking and complicated, and stretches over multiple books. Even the smallest of roles and characters can become endearing, and pop up later to fill in narrative holes left by characters who have been lost. It’s done well, emotionally satisfying and makes the story feel more like a real community.
The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem is a great story. Full of loss, grief, high suspense, mystery and multiple storylines. Bunny and her co-workers and friends face one murder after another. These are people who have deep roots within their community. Harris makes the reader feel that loss, the impact just as deeply.
As the hunt for the killer continues, along with the investigation, there’s another important plot line happening. Connor’s father’s coming to the town. He’s got major plans for Connor, maybe for Bunny too. None of them good or in keeping with what either one wants.
That continues to be the next novel’s theme.
Who the villain is surprised me. And the outcome left other questions in place to be answered by the characters and story further down the series itself.
Heartbreaking, well written, detailed and beautifully executed.
I’m so sorry for Heather G. Harris for having to go on with this series without her friend and writing partner. But she wrote a very wonderful story that felt like both of them were very much together here in every part of the story and character.
Highly recommended. And go check out the other books by Jilleen Dolbeare as well as the charity that’s been set up in her name for Indie Fantasy authors .
Cover Design by Christian Bentulan.
The Portlock Paranormal Detective Series with Jilleen Dolbeare :
The Vampire and the Case of her Dastardly Death – Book 0.5 (a prequel story),
The Vampire and the Case of the Wayward Werewolf – Book 1,
The Vampire and the Case of the Secretive Siren – Book 2,
The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee – Book 3, The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine – Book 4,
The Vampire and the Case of the Perilous Poltergeist – Book 5,
The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas – Book 5.5,
The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag – Book 6,
The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid – Book 7; and
The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem – Book 8.
The Vampire and the Case of the Raging Revenant – Book 9 ,December 9, 2027
Buy link
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FF3JYSK2
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FF3JYSK2
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0FF3JYSK2
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0FF3JYSK2
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0FF3JYSK2
FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0FF3JYSK2
Blurb
bodies are bad. Dead bodies that break the laws of magic are worse.
Finding a dead fox in someone’s garden isn’t normally a police matter. Finding a dead fox shifter who should have turned human the second he died? Yeah, that’s more my department.
Remmy has no wounds, no blood and no obvious cause of death. He’s simply dead, trapped forever in his fox form. Apparently there’s only one thing that can do that to a shifter: drain every last drop of magic from them.
Great. Because what Portlock really needed was another magical murderer.
I’ve got an eidetic memory, a badge and two extremely questionable sidekicks. One is a traumatised werewolf who prefers being a German Shepherd, and the other is an ever-growing lynx with a criminal disregard for personal property. Between us, surely we can crack one impossible murder.
Then some local teenagers report seeing a huge creature stalking through the woods, covered in branches and leaves with blazing red eyes.
And red eyes are always bad.
I’m starting to think our mysterious monster and our dead shifter might be connected, which means I need to find whatever is prowling Portlock before anyone else ends up magically drained.
Unfortunately, murder isn’t my only problem. Connor’s father, the Vampire King of the US and an all-round arsehole, has announced he’s coming to town. And he’s bringing the other vampire leaders with him.
So now I have a supernatural killer to catch, a creepy forest monster to find and the most powerful vampire in America heading straight for my home.
Portlock has survived murderous shifters, deadly conspiracies and more supernatural disasters than any tiny Alaskan town has a right to. Hopefully we can survive this too.
Preferably without anyone else turning up dead.
Dive into this fast-paced urban fantasy series if you love mystery, humour, found family, and a slow-burn romance.
Don’t miss the rest of the Portlock Adventures!
The Vampire and the Case of her Dastardly Death, a prequel.
The Vampire and the Case of the Wayward Werewolf, Book 1.
The Vampire and the Case of the Secretive Siren, Book 2.
The Vampire and the Case of the Baleful Banshee, Book 3.
The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine, Book 4.
The Vampire and the Case of the Perilous Poltergeist, Book 5.
The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas, Book 5.5.
The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag, Book 6.
The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid, Book 7.
The Vampire and the Case of the Ghastly Golem, Book 8.
