Blurb: My name’s Markowski. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.
A series of seemingly motiveless murders of supernatural creatures points to a vigilante targeting the supe community. Markowski wouldn’t normally have much of a problem with that, but his daughter may be next on the killer’s list…
This is the second book in the Occult Investigations series, which begins with Hard Spell and the changes it brings to Stan’s life – namely, his daughter and partner are now vampires thanks to everything that happened in that story.
I’ve been meaning to get around to reading this one for far too long and this past week found myself in need of something a little more straightforward than my usual fare. Stan is about as straightforward as they come, though his vampire partner and daughter have thrown his thinking a little out of whack – he hated vampires once; still does, with two exceptions. In Scranton where he works, supes are part of society and as a cop he knows exactly what each one is capable of – like the goblins are usually meth addicts, and ogres aren’t as bad as all that, just slow.
In this book, he and Karl are assigned to a case of supernatural snuff films, where wizards kidnap people or supernatural beings, call forth demons to possess one victim, who then kills the other victim, often gruesomely.
We follow Karl and Stan’s investigation into the supernatural community, seeing the changes that have come about since book 1, but also learning far more about the other side, the humans that are out to purify the world of the supernatural population. It’s a little the SS of the human community, perhaps.
Gustainis’ writing is atmospheric, his characters gritty and without remorse, whether they be human or supernatural. Stan is much the same outside of his relationship with Karl and Christine. Here, Gustainis delves into how their relationships with Stan have changed since he made them vampires: Karl harbours some resentment for Stan’s decision to save his life, while Christine is grateful not to be dead completely. They’re vastly different reactions, and I think perhaps glossed over too quickly in this – but it’s that type of series. These aren’t guys that are going to talk things through, they’re the types of characters that will have it out in a big way at some point (or I hope they do, there’s some serious potential for great development here).
Christine is perhaps embracing her vampire life a little too much, and while the blurb for this book hints at direct danger to her, something must have changed between writing and putting that copy for the blurb together, for her role in Stan’s investigation is minimal at best.
There are double-crosses and attempted hits on Stan and Karl, and a murder that hits too close to home, or rather Stan’s potential romantic life. If this was a movie, you’d just sit back and not think too deeply about it. What you see is what you get – the good guys win and the bad guys don’t.
