Hard Spell

Occult Crimes Unit Investigations, Book 1

By: Justin Gustainis

Narrated by: Peter Brook

Scranton, the strangest city on earth has an uneasy “live and let unlive” relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call me.

"My name’s Markowski, a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit. I carry a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets."

Justin Gustainis was born in Northeast Pennsylvania in 1951. He attended college at the University of Scranton, a Jesuit university that figures prominently in several of his writings. He is currently a Professor of Communication at Plattsburgh State University. His popular series of urban fantasy novels featuring investigator Quincey Morris include Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman, and the forthcoming Sympathy for the Devil.

©2011 Justin Gustainis (P)2014 Audible Ltd

Good story - terrible narration!

I love the hard-bitten urban cop type of story - and when you throw in a few vampires and witches it's even more fun - but really, the narrator used comic book voices for all but the main character and makes them just sound silly. Whoever produced this one needs to be sent to his room without supper - this should have been stopped before more than a chapter was recorded!
Would love to continue with the series - but a new narrator would sure help the experience!

The beginning of a good series

While I wouldn't call the storyline innovative, it's a great book for when you just want to be entertained while you do chores. Will definitely be looking for the next installment in this series.

Stupid decisions that lead to stupid outcomes!

The lead character got on my nerves or maybe it’s the narrator! At the end, the stupid Rachel could have ran out to the car and gotten help! I understand the lack of good judgment by Stan but Rachel doesn’t have the sense God would give a cat!

good listen

history lesson in the beginning but great story altogether. hope to read more of this series soon.

Enjoyed

The story kept my attention and wasn't dragged out, but the main character sounded like a young rookie, not someone who has been on the force for awhile.

It had some potential

Whimsical would be the easiest description of this police story where super natural creatures are evil but only in situations.

Dr A

Coir style paranormal suspense

A hard spell that could take down the world. A tortured father. A hard-driving story told by a highly believable voice. It all adds up to time well spent listening to a book I picked up I wasn't sure that I was going to like, and ended up loving. I will look for more of Mr Gustainis' work.

Grabbed every cliche he could find.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would make the main characters a little more like real people instead of caricatures. The angry cop, with the angry boss just gets old real fast. He's a troubled man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders... Please! And give some of your secondary characters a bit of intelligence. Your main guys aren't exactly rocket scientists. When they're portrayed as the sharp ones, the guys around them start looking like plant life. It's just lazy writing.

If you’ve listened to books by Justin Gustainis before, how does this one compare?

First one. I'm not planning on a second.

Did Peter Brook do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes. By making them all sound like cartoon characters. It's bad when you cheer when a character dies, but if I had to listen to Brook's interpretation of Paul for more than a few pages I would have deleted the book right then. He sounds like that old sheepdog from the Warner Brothers cartoons. And the captain sounds like a bad impression of Jimmy Stewart. I like Carl, but I don't know how he got from Brooklyn to Scranton. His woman's voices are just grating.

Do you think Hard Spell needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I'm indifferent to it. I'm from Northeast Pa., so I'd like to see a successful series of books based in Scranton. But not if they don't get a lot better that this one.

Captivating

Awesome story like. Got me glued to the story from start to finish. Narrator did a very good job

Home

I moved to Scranton 1978 after graduating from college. It was so entertaining to hear fiction centered around my adopted hometown. In addition, I spent the majority of my professional career at Mercy Hospital-Scranton and my granddaughter is a huge Vampire Diaries fan. Even without the personal references, I would recommend “Hard Spell” to anyone looking for a fast read and entertaining escape from reality.