Review: Storm Signal (The Digital Detective Mystery Series Book 4) by P.L. Matthews 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Storm Signal is the book where it all starts to come together. Characters that I wasn’t crazy about get their redemption, main characters get deeper background information and more importantly, they are more detailed in their powers and emotional development.

A growth for the series and characters that will continue through the next novel. 

As with all the novels of this series, Storm Signal picks up on the cliffhanger of the last story with the entrance of Skye’s older sister, Zephyra, back into her life and city of Sydney. Of course, bringing with her chaos, mystery, murder, and old family painful memories for Skye.

Storm Signal weaves multiple storylines with great success. Matthews gives us insight into the Fae political system along with some very important revelations about main characters. By the end of the book, several characters have made progress in their respective relationships, like Seb and Skye whose journey together is a major part of the book.  New ones are also being established also alongside others already underway.

I throughly enjoyed this book. The plots were highly entertaining, the characters were great and the relationships between each other engaging and believable.

A real winner. 

The Digital Detective Mystery:

Murder By Code #1

Fatal Error #2

Kill Switch #3

Storm Signal #4

Virtual Games #5

Buy link

        Storm Signal: A Digital Detective Mystery (The Digital Detective Mystery Series Book 4)

    

Blurb 

Trouble runs in the family

Skye hasn’t seen her sister Zephyra since she left Fairyland to live on Earth with Grandma and Grandpa. But now Zephyra’s back—blowing into town like a cyclone on a mission. Literally.

The police are on her trail, there’s a murder, and sibling rivalry? Yeah, that’s about to reach new heights. 

Skye’s tech magic and Zephyra’s wild air magic don’t exactly blend.

Enter Skye’s vampire boyfriend, Seb—brooding, mysterious—and Fred, her charming, sarcastic best friend with a knack for trouble. The two don’t see eye to eye. Not that they’re jealous of each other over Skye… right?

With the storm building—both magical and emotional—the sisters will have to figure out how to work together to clear Zephyra’s name. But as tech and air collide in a whirlwind of trouble, the real question is: can they solve the case before they throttle each other first?

date

September 9, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

368 pages

Book 4 of 5

The Digital Detective Mystery Series

Humorous fantasy, amateur sleuth mystery, urban fantasy mystery , women sleuths, no spi

Review: Kill Switch (The Digital Detective Mystery Series Book 3) by P.L. Matthews

 

Rating: 4.25⭐️

Kill Switch brings in new players and adds depth of knowledge to those who are already familiar to the reader. In this case, the focus is on Dina. 

From the formula Matthews has set up for her series, each novel ends with a cliffhanger that starts off the following storyline. We know from Fatal Error that Dina’s gone missing when her younger sister shows up at Skye’s townhouse asking for help. 

This event sets up multiple scenarios and plots, several interesting investigations, new characters are introduced and reveals of potential relationships as well.

Matthews packs a lot into the book. 

I wish she’d give us more details about the social structure and hierarchies of naiad culture because that’s pertinent information here. It feels glossed over. 

Other things that take away from a higher rating are discussion of the power of the mages. Whether it’s a tech mage or metal mage, what Skye or Jimmy are capable of or where they pull their power from isn’t entirely clear. That’s frustrating. 

The circle of found friends is an engaging group, however one like Fred keeps being a red flag with his jealousy, unexplained bigotry towards vampires and overall “smarmy” behavior. Perhaps the author has some sort of storyline in mind for this. Next to Bob, he remains the least connectable personality here. 

Kill Switch is a terrific urban fantasy mystery, one that is suspense filled and packed with action and great characters. 

Easy to binge read too. 

No spice romance.

I really like the changeup in cover. Terrific work. More suitable for the character in every aspect of her life.

The Digital Detective Mystery:

Murder By Code #1

Fatal Error #2

Kill Switch #3

Storm Signal #4

Virtual Games #5

Buy link

        Kill Switch: A Digital Detective Mystery (The Digital Detective Mystery Series Book 3)

    

Blurb 

72 Hours. Time is running out.

Skye Sanders, tech mage extraordinaire, can debug a corrupted hard drive in her sleep, but flipping pancakes? Total catastrophe. And as for people stuff? Let’s not even go there.

When her friend’s sister turns up announcing Dina’s missing, Skye drops everything to help.

Something’s not right at the hospital where Dina works, and the clues are as scarce as a working printer when you need one. Armed with two bickering teens, a sarcastic magpie and her parkour crew, Skye is determined to find Dina before it’s too late.

But when her vampire boyfriend (or beau, as Seb insists) shows up, tensions rise—especially with her best friend Fred.

Skye needs a mediator and a dose of luck. The clock is ticking.

Note: While part of a series, Kill Switch can be read as a standalone mystery — written in Australian English and set in the magic city of Sydney.

If you enjoy books by K M Shea, Heather G. Harris and Kim Harrison, then you’ll love this riveting urban fantasy story with a touch of humour and romance.

date

June 11, 2025

Language

‎English

Print length

356 pages

Book 3 of 5

The Digital Detective Mystery Series