Dead to Rites (Padwolf Publishing)
by Patrick Thomas (with C.J. Henderson and John L. French)
I devoured this book. Devoured it. And I kept laughing out loud as I did so because of the dark humor and the cop banter between Agent Karver, whose head we’re in, and Agent Mandi Cobb–his partner at the Department of Magical Affairs. Karver used to be possessed by a serial-killer demon, and the DMA rescued him from the electric chair because he’d kept the demon’s carnage to a minimum and held it enough in check to get himself arrested and deny all appeals. The DMA, which specializes in supernatural crimes, got him an exorcism, a new face, and a way to try to atone for every atrocity the demon forced him to participate in. His partner, Mandi, is an empath and can project emotions on others. She knows that Karver is one of the good guys, despite his feelings of guilt about his possessed crimes.
The book is a series of interconnected short stories about their cases, loosely tied together by an occasional reference to a previous story/case. Despite the nature of the crimes the book is not horror because the descriptions of the crimes they investigate are not graphic; instead, the emphasis is on Karver and the DMA saving others from a similar fate. It’s usually complicated by the fact that local law enforcement thinks the supernatural is not real unless the body count is high enough and whatever beastie is doing the damage is nipping at their ankles.
If you enjoy his work, those of you looking for a prolific author to follow are in for a treat.
If you’d like a sample of the sort of tales in this book, try reading the A&A story in it: “Snips & Snails.”
–Wendy S. Delmater
