A review by abigcoffeedragon
Known Devil by Justin Gustainis
5.0
Known Devil is by far one of the best occult fantasy stories that I have read to date. I enjoy Dresden with his deadpan snarky attitude, and his approach to fighting and dealing with being a wizard and a detective. Markowski trumps that with Known Devil.
Reading this is like a new millennium version of the old Noir films. Told in the first person point of view of the Detective Sergeant from the Occult Division of the Scranton Police Department, this novel has all the hallmarks of the classic detective stories with all of the relevant pop culture references.
This alternative universe has Vampires, trolls, werewolves, and elves, in a modern day world, and everything works. With police doing what the cops would really do, and mobs of humans and Supes alike, (Supes being supernatural beings). Like any good detective novel, there is the main character, the partner, the chief, the family, every element that needs to make its way into the character. Even though there are things the reader must be told about the world, they are never spoon-fed like you are a child, nor are they info dumped for the sake of you needing to know.
This is book three of the series, and I have not read books one and two as of yet, but after reading this one, I will definitely go back and read the first two, as well as the other series that Mister Gustainis has written.
Action = 10. There are gun fights, but there is also ‘detecting’, which is a must in an Occult Detective novel.
Occult = the myths and legends of the creatures (Supes) involved are not re-written for the purpose of the story, but are worked into the pages with a suspended believability.
Humor = 10, meaning there is enough to be funny, but this is not a comedy.
Detective Story = 10. The pieces are not given to the reader, and once the main character figures something out, so does the reader, so the suspense holds throughout the 200+ pages.
I 100% enjoyed this book, and actually lost sleep trying to read ‘a few more pages’ before going to bed. Anything that makes me wake and read is a fun read, and this is a must for anyone that enjoys Dresden, Nightside, Felix Castor, Hellblazer, Grimm, or the early seasons of Supernatural.
Reading this is like a new millennium version of the old Noir films. Told in the first person point of view of the Detective Sergeant from the Occult Division of the Scranton Police Department, this novel has all the hallmarks of the classic detective stories with all of the relevant pop culture references.
This alternative universe has Vampires, trolls, werewolves, and elves, in a modern day world, and everything works. With police doing what the cops would really do, and mobs of humans and Supes alike, (Supes being supernatural beings). Like any good detective novel, there is the main character, the partner, the chief, the family, every element that needs to make its way into the character. Even though there are things the reader must be told about the world, they are never spoon-fed like you are a child, nor are they info dumped for the sake of you needing to know.
This is book three of the series, and I have not read books one and two as of yet, but after reading this one, I will definitely go back and read the first two, as well as the other series that Mister Gustainis has written.
Action = 10. There are gun fights, but there is also ‘detecting’, which is a must in an Occult Detective novel.
Occult = the myths and legends of the creatures (Supes) involved are not re-written for the purpose of the story, but are worked into the pages with a suspended believability.
Humor = 10, meaning there is enough to be funny, but this is not a comedy.
Detective Story = 10. The pieces are not given to the reader, and once the main character figures something out, so does the reader, so the suspense holds throughout the 200+ pages.
I 100% enjoyed this book, and actually lost sleep trying to read ‘a few more pages’ before going to bed. Anything that makes me wake and read is a fun read, and this is a must for anyone that enjoys Dresden, Nightside, Felix Castor, Hellblazer, Grimm, or the early seasons of Supernatural.