Tag: urban fantasy mystery series

Review: Practical Boots (Book 1) by C.E. Murphy

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Practical Boots is a terrific read, the first novella in C.E. Murphy’s series, The Torn. It’s short but full of interesting takes on the fae, magic, and a in-between realm, The Waste. 

Because of its short length, much of the main character’s story is missing. Especially her early years spent in the Torn (that’s the Fae realm) and then the Waste where she was dumped by her father essentially to survive or die. 

The magical element is something I really want to explore more because it’s so fascinating and inherently terrifying. It extracts a price but we don’t know what. That’s left for future books. 

Fae are the complicated conniving, backstabbing beings who are constantly manipulating and maneuvering for power. Her father is a very powerful player here. And how he intends to use Cat Sharp, the daughter he discarded is the main plot line. 

Cat Sharp herself is a fabulous character. Tough, loyal, intelligent and persistent in her goals, especially when it comes to defeating her father. 

I wanted to see where the story would go after the events of the day. She so ingenious that the plans she’s set in place are ones I can’t wait to see happen. In book 2 that’s not been written unfortunately. 

Murphy is an author now on my auto read list and this story is just one more example why. Another winner.

Cover Artist: Indigo Chick Design

The Torn:

Practical Boots #1

Buy link

 Book 1 of 1: The Torn 

Blurb 

These boots are made for walking…

The disappointing daughter of a Lord of the Torn, Cat Sharp was dumped in the shapeless Waste to prove herself or die. Seven years later, she’s honed the Artificer magic that saved her in the Waste, and her courier business is booming: after all, no one else can step from one location to another almost instantaneously, as Cat can with her seven league boots.

Each passage through the Waste takes her one step closer to the only thing she’s ever wanted to find…but even the Torn-born become careless at times. When Cat’s father catches up with her again, Cat must make a choice between her own dreams and an innocent’s future…or try once more to forge her own way through two worlds, neither of which she quite belongs in….

Miz Kit Productions

Publication date

June 4, 2021

Language

‎English

Print length

108 pages

Book 1 of 1

The Torn

Review:  The Vampire and the Case of the Secretive Siren: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Portlock Paranormal Detective Series Book 2) by Heather G. Harris and Jilleen Dolbeare

Rating: 4.75⭐️

Another great story, investigative case and overall excellent work that explores the town’s citizens, the issues that have become a major factor and the deepening role that Bunny’s playing in the Sheriff’s Department and in her private life in town. 

Authors Harris and Dolbeare take a real issue from our society, that of the influx of drugs into the streets and high schools and uses it expertly for their story. A known horrifying element becomes even more terrifying and the suspense is heightened by the fact that it’s teenagers who are involved in the case.

It’s hard to call any character here a supporting personality as they become so important to the reader, to Bunny in a variety of ways, and in their variety of roles in the Portlock town. The more we learn about them, as the authors explore their own lives and species here the better we invest in them too. 

As with the first book, it’s written using British English,  with that spelling and phrases, which here makes sense for a Londoner who has moved to Alaska. 

With each story, Bunny is more a part of Portlock, and less a transplant. I’m here for every step of her journey.

What a fabulous book and series. Read them all in the order written. A must read!

Cover design by Christian Bentulan. Published by Hellhound Press Limited.

The Portlock Paranormal Detective series:

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 Poltergiest, Book 5.

The Vampire and the Case of the Cozy Christmas, Book 5.5.

The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag #6

The Vampire and the Case of the Malevolent Mermaid #7 – July 3,2025

Buy link 

        The Vampire and the Case of the Secretive Siren: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Portlock Paranormal Detective Series Book 2)

    

Blurb 

Sex, drugs and siren songs.

Ok, so not much sex is going on. The closest I’ve gotten to some action is a date with Stan which ended in disaster. But with all the eye-candy walking around this small town, including the sexy vampire leader, Connor, I’m definitely re-thinking my ‘no dating’ rule. I don’t get the chance to do much about it though because some ruffians think it’s funny to break into the Grimes’ moonshine shop.

It doesn’t take too long to identify the shifters responsible, but it opens up a whole can of worms. Inebriated worms, like the ones you find in tequila. The kids weren’t just drunk, they were high. High on a new kind of drug that’s washing into Portlock. Literally. We found bags of the stuff floating in the harbour and it quickly becomes clear that this drug is anything but recreational. It can make you high, or it can shut down your organs quicker than you can say ‘shotgun funeral’.

We need to find the dealers and shut them down, before any more of our town gets hoodwinked by this powerful stuff.

Oh, and there’s a small problem with the barrier. The barrier that keeps us all safe from the cryptid monster that lurks beyond its confines. That barrier. Rips have been appearing in it, and if it falls, we’re all doomed.

An average day in Portlock then. 

Dive into this fast-paced urban fantasy series if you love mystery, humour, found family and a slow-burn romance.