Assessment:

Plot: Although the supernatural elements aren't as chilling as they are in similar titles already on shelves, this paranormal mystery delivers a tight storyline ripe with tension and conflict.

Prose: Tough-guy private investigator Bellamy Vale makes for a straightforward narrator in this supernatural mystery. His wise-guy tone and attention to detail will be familiar for fans of noir detective fiction.

Originality: This supernatural mystery mixes all the usual tropes of noir detective fiction and contemporary fantasy. Despite this adherence to genre convention, the characters and plot are unique enough to hold reader attention.

Character Development: Private Investigator Bellamy Vale is an engaging, wise-cracking narrator, and his employer is suitably mysterious. Peripheral characters are developed enough to entertain and intrigue readers.

Date Submitted: August 12, 2018