The Duncan Andrews Thrillers Vol. 1 by Stephen Osborne

Title: Duncan Andrews Thrillers Vol. 1

Series: Duncan Andrews Thrillers Vol 1

Author: Stephen Osborne

Genre: Angels and Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, Mystery, Suspense, Other Paranormal

Length: Novel (642 pages)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (December 2, 2016)

Heat Level: Moderate

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Blurb: Private detective Duncan Andrews’s best friend Gina is a witch. His dog is a zombie. And his dead boyfriend, Robbie, is a ghost. So it’s hardly any wonder that he uses his connection to the supernatural to help him solve cases. In Pale as a Ghost, Duncan’s on the trail of a serial killer who may not be human, while also trying to move on in his dating life. In Animal Instinct, someone is using the skull of a powerful wizard—Gina’s father—to control animals and attack young Ashton Marsh. In The Scarlet Tide, Duncan’s latest case leads him to Chicago and a band whose members are all vampires. And in Dead End, Robbie’s cousin Jason has moved into a house that’s haunted by a serial killer, and Gina’s on the run from witch-hunters. Through it all, Duncan must solve the case and balance a complicated personal life.

Pale as a Ghost, Animal Instinct, The Scarlet Tide, Dead End

ISBN-13: 978-1-63533-108-0

Product Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-duncan-andrews-thrillers-vol-1-by-stephen-osborne-7836-b

Reviewer: Shorty

Review:

Pale as a Ghost – Duncan Andrews Thrillers # 1 Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Pale as a Ghost stars private detective Duncan Andrews and his faithful zombie dog, Daisy, his best friend Gina, who is a witch and his boyfriend’s ghost, Robbie, who was killed ten years prior. I liked the story. It flowed smoothly with some humor thrown in. Duncan is able to see, hear and communicate with ghosts hence his ability to see his dead boyfriend. Makes for dating non-existent. He is lonely and wants companionship when he meets Nick.

The cases he takes on are both complex and simple. Find a missing woman and determine who is killing women. The second case takes on a disturbing vibe as he discovers the person is not actually human. This person is copying the jack the ripper murders once every one hundred years. There is plenty of action, suspense and drama to be had throughout this story. I liked the flow of the book. Very well detailed with a hint of more to come.

Animal Instinct – Duncan Andrews Thrillers # 2 Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Duncan is on the hunt for a stolen skull belonging to a powerful warlock. This skull gifts the human unimaginable powers while at the same time changing them. Several deaths and many attacks later Duncan’s life is at stake to find the culprit.

A fantastic story with plenty of action, mystery and suspense. I loved the way Duncan left no stone unturned in his quest to find the skull. A television psychic causes Robbie and Duncan problems as well by making Robbie think it’s better for him to move on. I loved it.

The Scarlet Tide – Duncan Andrews Thrillers # 3 Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

In this exciting addition to the series Duncan is on the case of finding a boyfriend who is acting strange only to discover he’s a vampire. Doing away with a band of vampires is not easy. Duncan gets a shock as the leader Dominic bites him. Amid all this is Nick’s request to Gina to allow him to see ghosts and Robbie’s plans to leave on New Year’s.

I liked this story. Though I do have to say it is getting irritating about the way Robbie and Duncan keep bringing up and pondering Robbie leaving. Either leave or stay already. Make up your minds and stick with the decision.

Dead End – Duncan Andrews Thrillers # 4 Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Duncan Andrews is on the case of an evil ghost hell-bent on destroying lives. Moore was a doctor but also a serial killer. He took the lives of seven young men then his own life. In death he is the embodiment of pure evil. With the help of his team Duncan will attempt to get rid of the ghosts haunting Jason’s, Robbie’s cousin, house.

In this book a lot is going on. A witch hunting group has set sights on Gina for elimination, an incubi is on the loose, Nick has settled into his ghost helping, Duncan and Robbie come to terms with their relationship. I liked all the new twists and turns as they kept the story interesting and intriguing.

Overall:

All in all, this bundle was absolutely awesome. Each book gives the reader an insight into Duncan and Robbie’s lives. The cases bring about a closeness with each other as they work together to solve each one. The paranormal characters were different and fresh for each story and drew the reader in. Demons, incubi, ghosts, witches, hunters, vampires and a zombie dog made for fantastic well written reads. I truly loved them and highly recommend each one.

Raven's Rest by Stephen Osborne

Title: Raven’s Rest

Author: Stephen Osborne

Genre: Paranormal, Ghosts, Spirits, Mystery, Suspense

Length: Novel (200pgs)

ISBN: 978-1-63477-701-8

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (23^rd September 2016)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 4 ½ Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Michael Cook has left his abusive lover and settled in the small town of Banning, Illinois. Having nowhere else to go, he checks into the Raven’s Rest Inn and soon learns that the haunted reputation of the hotel is well deserved. Michael gets a job at a local café, where he meets Trey Ramsey. Though Michael has misgivings about starting up a new relationship, Trey seems to be the complete opposite of Michael’s controlling ex, so he decides to give Trey a chance.

Life at the Raven’s Rest becomes increasingly frightening when the ghost of Coleman Hollis appears in Michael’s room. Coleman seems to want something from Michael, and the mystery deepens when Michael discovers he’s the spitting image of Coleman’s lover from years ago. Together, Michael and Trey must discover why Coleman’s spirit is drawn to the Raven’s Rest—and to Michael.

Purchase Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/ravens-rest-by-stephen-osborne-7550-b

Review: After five years Michael has left his psychologically abusive lover and is hiding out in a small town. Staying at the local Inn, Raven’s Rest, he’s told the story of its ghosts and becomes fascinated by one of them especially when he sees the ghost of that past resident, Coleman, a young man who disappeared many years before. Michael decides to stay in town and stumbles across a job in a small café as well as Trey, a laid back guy who sparks Michael’s interest.

Michael and Trey begin to look into Coleman’s story after an altercation with the ghost and they discover a sad story of young love torn apart and destroyed. While getting to the bottom of the mystery of the ghost Michael still has to deal with his ex when Kevin comes hunting for him.

This is brilliant story where a man running from his ex-lover stumbles across a ghost story that leads to a decades old mystery. Michael has suffered from mental abuse from the man who was supposed to love him for years, Michael’s finally found the courage to leave him but he knows Kevin will follow him so he heads for a small town. It’s the beginning of a ghostly adventure of mystery and murder, and discovering new love.

I really enjoyed this story, it flowed really well and Michael and Trey connected from the instant they met, their romance moves quickly but fits them perfectly. The mystery part of the story was excellent, with Michael determined to get to the truth and discover just what happened to Coleman. It’s a terrible tale of bigotry and murder.

Both Michael and Trey are excellent characters and there are also one or two other jewels floating through the story like Jesenia (who wears a badge labelled ‘The Town Witch’) and Gloria Ramsey (Trey’s mother), they both add to the story and bring some lightness to the story as well. I also liked the fact that Michael got some closure with Kevin as well, there is a confrontation where Kevin loses it but he does finally accept that his actions drove Michael away and hopefully he’ll learn a lesson from losing Michael.

I recommend this to those who love ghost mysteries, finding peace with yourself, discovering new love, dodging danger and an excellent ending.

Raven's Rest by Stephen Osborne Guest Post & Excerpt!

stephen-osborne-ravens-rest-fbbanner_dsp

Hi guys, we have Stephen Osborne popping in today with his upcoming release Raven’s Rest, we have a great guest post and excerpt so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~

Raven’s Rest

Stephen Osborne

Michael Cook has left his abusive lover and settled in the small town of Banning, Illinois. Having nowhere else to go, he checks into the Raven’s Rest Inn and soon learns that the haunted reputation of the hotel is well deserved. Michael gets a job at a local café, where he meets Trey Ramsey. Though Michael has misgivings about starting up a new relationship, Trey seems to be the complete opposite of Michael’s controlling ex, so he decides to give Trey a chance.

Release date: 23rd September 2016

Pre-order: Dreamspinner Press ebook | Dreamspinner Press paperback

Continue reading “Raven's Rest by Stephen Osborne Guest Post & Excerpt!” →

The Scarlet Tide by Stephen Osborne

Title: The Scarlet Tide

Series: A Duncan Andrews Thriller 03

Author: Stephen Osborne

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Paranormal

Length: Novel (200pgs)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (11^th October 2013)

Heat Level: Nil

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 – 3½ Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Duncan Andrews, a private detective who specializes in paranormal cases, is back, along with his usual gang. Robbie Church, his boyfriend, is a ghost. Gina, a centuries old witch, is his best friend. And Daisy, Duncan’s bulldog, just happens to be a zombie. Odd man out seems to be Nick, a history teacher. He’s a normal, living human.

Duncan’s latest case leads him to a rock band in Indianapolis called The Scarlet Tide. It doesn’t take Duncan long to realize all of the band members are vampires. He sets out to destroy them, but runs into trouble with the charismatic leader of the band, Dominic Hunt. Duncan ends up under Hunt’s psychic control, and is forced to examine his relationships with Robbie and Nick, as well as his attraction for Hunt. Can Robbie and Gina help Duncan break Hunt’s psychic grip? Is there any hope the vampire can be destroyed once and for all?

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4256

Review: This story is part of a series and is best read in order. Duncan is asked to find a young man when his boyfriend comes to him begging for his help, discovering the details leads Duncan to suspect that the young man has fallen victim to some paranormal villainy and he takes the case. With the help of Robbie, his ghost boyfriend, and Gina, a witch, he discovers a band who are all vampires. But as he sets out to destroy them, he finds it hard to dismiss his attraction to the Dominic, the leader of the vampires, and his dark allure. Duncan is forced to confront his feelings for Nick, his friend, and Robbie as he tries to resist the vampires call.

Okay this is the first story in this series that I have read but there was enough detail so I didn’t think I had missed anything from the previous books, you could easily pick up any of the books and be comfortable reading them. It was very easy to pick up that Duncan is devoted to Robbie, even though Robbie is a ghost Duncan still loves him, but Duncan feels an attraction to Nick. The relationships are going on in the background as Duncan investigates the missing young man and then the hunt for the vampires, but it constantly lingers in Duncan’s mind.

This really isn’t an easy book to review as although we have a fantastic vampire storyline we also have the complicated relationship between Duncan, Robbie, and Nick, which is really tangled up with feelings, longings, and impossible love. If you have read the previous books then you know how Duncan hasn’t been able to let Robbie go or to commit to anything more than friendship with Nick, but we discover that Robbie might just take the decision out of Duncan’s hands.

The vampire aspect is exciting as Duncan pits himself against them and tries to fight them alone before calling his friends for help. Nick also has some surprises in store for us with a choice he makes. The story is really well written and you get drawn into Duncan’s life very easily, you follow the storyline at an easy pace and there is no confusion as to what is happening. The relationship aspect is complicated and seems to be a long story arc so we will have to see in the future, what is going to happen between Duncan, Nick, and Robbie.

I recommend this to those who love the paranormal, complicated love lives, excitement, investigations, danger, a great storyline and an interesting ending.

Pop Goes the Weasel by Stephen Osborne

Title: Pop Goes the Weasel

Author: Stephen Osborne

Genre: Humor, Contemporary, Comedy

Length: Novel (198pgs)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (10^th August 2012)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: Patrick Weasley, aka Weasel, is a fun-loving college student with a wealthy homophobic jerk stepfather and a best friend, Jake Winston, who’s just as gay as Weasel. When Jake’s aunt dies, many from the publishing world—including Jasper, Weasel’s weasel of a stepfather—gather at Winston Manor for the reading of the will, and Weasel is obligated to tag along.

Turns out all he has to do is three things: 1) swap the wills so Jake’s uncle inherits the house instead of the gardener, who’s also an old enemy of Weasel’s; 2) secure a publishing contract from author Cecily Talbot; and 3) hook Jake up with his deceased aunt’s male nurse. But what he ends up doing is 1) falling for Tony, one of the food servers; 2) accidentally affiancing himself to Cecily; and 3) fighting with Jake, who thinks he was making a play for the nurse.

To make matters worse, every time Weasel and Tony start to get intimate, Jasper is right around the corner. So when burglars come to steal a valuable piece of art, Weasel must 1) use all his ingenuity to keep the painting safe; 2) dis-engage himself from Cecily; 3) unite Jake with the nurse; and most importantly, 4) pursue Tony to an elusive happy ending.

Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3160

Review: Weasel is dragged to a country house by not only his best friend Cap, but also his step-father (who for forever more shall be referred to as stepmonster) to do favors for them. While at the house he is drawn (manipulated) into more shenanigans by Cap’s uncle. But Weasel meets Tony, a servant, who he is interested in getting to know better, but, with Weasel’s luck, a category of errors and misunderstandings occur which lead to fight’s, jealousy, a mistaken engagement and interrupting a burglary. Will Weasel be able to set all to rights and get his happy ending?

This is a very amusing story that will touch your funny bone several times as we spend a long weekend with Weasel. Weasel and Cap are both required to stay at Cap’s great-aunts estate for the reading of her will, but Weasel is drawn into doing favours for others, in the course of doing the favors though, Weasel’s luck just isn’t going his way and it leads to several humorous events. Throughout all that Weasel is trying to do, he meets Tony, the sexy servant, but nothing is going quite his way and his attempts to woo Tony are repeatedly interrupted.

So what can I really say about the characters in this book? Weasel is a bit of a frivolous but lovable character, he seems to spend most of his time drinking and sleeping and attracting trouble, Cap is harder to define but he seems very highly strung (or maybe Weasel makes him that way), Tony seems to be a very sweet character and Weasel is a whirlwind that will sweep him away. All the other characters add a great deal to this book with all of their quirks and make for a very interesting amusing story.

The storyline is funny and will keep you reading even if it is just to discover what disaster Weasel gets into next, watching his 1.) disastrous attempts to fix his friend up, 2.)romance the guy that he desires, 3.)switch the wills, 4.) avoid the gardener/cop, 5.) get chased with a mallet, 6.)stop some bungling burglars, and 7.)break the engagement with Cecily, is very amusing and I am sure I have left out other disasters that befall Weasel.

I will recommend this to those who want a great story that will leave you giggling, having characters that just seem to attract trouble, characters that do get the men they want and the beginning of something special between Weasel and Tony.

Tag: Stephen Osborne

The Duncan Andrews Thrillers Vol. 1 by Stephen Osborne

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Raven's Rest by Stephen Osborne Guest Post & Excerpt!

Raven’s Rest

Stephen Osborne

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Pop Goes the Weasel by Stephen Osborne

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Raven’s Rest

Stephen Osborne

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