The Dagger of Ill Repute

Lacey & Alex, Book 1

By: V.R. Tapscott

Narrated by: Carol Schneider

Talking plants, explosions, gunfire, mayhem, magic, and a hint of romance.

Lacey and Alex, roommates in San Francisco, are a barista and a cook by day. By night though, Lacey is a part-time private investigator and Alex talks to plants. And they talk back.

In this book, they get dragged into hunting for a lost dagger. Of course, it winds up being so much more than simply a lost dagger. The pair spend a couple of action-filled weeks travelling from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Barstow to Vegas, and all parts between in their hunt for the elusive artifact.

They meet up with loose cannon Stevie and step it up a notch with exploding cars and tension of a whole nother kind, as she makes it clear what she thinks of Lacey. Olive from the Jane Bond series shows up with a little tiny insignificant part (heh), and Jane herself has a cameo. Join Lacey, Alex, and Stevie as they have the adventure of a lifetime!

Talking plants, explosions, gunfire, mayhem, magic, and a little bit of romance all enter the picture before the end, in this slightly humorous, slightly serious, and always fun mystery.

©2020 VR Tapscott (P)2022 Fireside Audio

STORY IS GOOD. MAGICAL THRILLER. LGBTQ

STORY IS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

ACCEPTABLE FOR TEENS AND UP.

NARRATOR WAS GOOD AND EASY TO FOLLOW.

Good book, but...

As the title says it's a good book, but I felt it could have been better. For a fantasy it was pretty enjoyable and the narration was wonderful as well.

I can't say I was a fan of how it was written though. Even though it had a first person POV it lacked any real introspection of how the MC felt and some of the explanations for why certain things happened felt rushed.

The Dagger of Ill Repute

okay this book was okay, it wasn't my cup of tea but it wasn't that bad either. you do have really pay attention because I know I got lost a few time lol.

Quirky fantasy

The beginning has me very curious and the book mostly delivered on the premise. I like the mix of fantastical elements with the mundane. Some of the mystery was a bit all over the place but that worked with these characters. There were some good twists and turns and it was good to see it from different points of view. There are minimal hints of F/F interest but don’t expect full out romance from this story. It’s definitely a quirky mystery story. I am curious to see what will happen in the next book since I did grow to like the characters more as the story progressed. My favorite parts were the plants.

reminiscent of a classic coffe table p.i. novel

2 lesbians, a paranormal wepon, psychic powers, a gig as a private eye, and a developing relationship.

Quirky and fun but the mystery is disorganized

   I was quite charmed and entertained by this fun and quirky LGBTQ urban fantasy and mystery set in San Francisco and few nearby cities.  This book has an intriguing cliffhanger, and it is a continuous story over 4 books.  I loved the two main characters, Lacey and Alex, but don’t expect any romance.  The story is mostly cozy.  There is occasionally a little violence and a few sexual references.  I don’t remember any bad language.  The story is told in first person mostly from the perspective of Lacey, a lesbian barista in her late 20s who is a part-time private detective, and a few short chapters from the perspective of Alex.  Alex is an underfed young woman who has the psychic powers of communicating with plants and a little bit of precognition.

   While I am planning on listening to the next book, I am slightly annoyed at a couple of issues with the writing that caused me to rate it 4 stars instead of 5.  First, the author doesn’t organize the mystery very well or think through the details of the mystery.  For example, when a lady is murdered and the same lady still seems to be alive, the detective should at least think about how that could happen.  Lacey and Alex don’t speculate at all; therefore, Lacey is not a very good detective.  Mystery readers might find this annoying like I do.  Secondly, the wacky plot twists took me by surprise and changed the genre during the book.  At first I didn’t like it, but I can forgive an urban fantasy for doing this kind of thing.

   The narrator Carol Schneider did an excellent job.  She elevated the text to a higher level with her distinctive character voices, great comic timing, and deftly nuanced emoting.  I love her voices for Lacey and Alex.  Carol Schneider really brings though the building friendship between them and their witty banter and makes the book sound cozy.  There were a few mispronounced words but not enough to bother me.

   I requested and received a free audiobook code from the #Flock group, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.  #Flock, #AudiobookObsession

Adventure and Twists and Turns!

This was my first V.R. Tapscott's book. This is the first book in the Lacey & Alex Series. The characters are interesting. Lacey, Alex, and Stevie adventure is original, fast-paced, funny, and entertaining, filled with twists and turns, and a F/F a little lust/romance. Carol Schneider did a good job with the narration. #TheFlock