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Black Magic Woman (Morris & Chastain Investigations)
 
 

Black Magic Woman (Morris & Chastain Investigations) (Paperback)

by Justin Gustainis (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Solaris (7 Jan 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1844165418
  • ISBN-13: 978-1844165414
  • Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 622,276 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review

"Dennis Wheatley meets Kim Newman! Voodoo and Muti and old Salem witches! Shout outs to Jack Crow and Harry D'Amour! I loved it!

Justin is a first class writer; he's smart and he's fun, he moves quickly and he takes corners at speed. Every time you think you know where he's going, he makes a point of going somewhere else. His characters are sharp and vivid, his dialogue crackles with wit and tension, and when it comes to the scarier corners of the magical underworld, he knows his stuff.

This is a novel that's packed with story and engaging characters and I can't wait to read the next one. "

--Simon R. Green, author of the ""Nightside"" series



Elaine Cunningham, author of "Shadow in the Darkness" and "Shadows in the Starlight"

"This one's a real page-turner and a solid start to a new paranormal detective series."

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars I just didn't get it., 7 Feb 2008
I'd read such good reviews about this book. I mean Jim Butcher, recommended it, along with Rachel Caine, authors that I love. But I guess I just didn't get it. The plot was there and reasonably fresh, but I felt the whole book was missing something. The writing style just felt flat. It's something that a lot of "Urban Fantasy" books are missing these days. I guess I was just disappointed by this book because I was so sure that it was going to be on a par with Mike Carey' Felix Castor books or Jim Butcher's Dresden books.

Maybe I'm being unfair with the three star review but I felt that the characters just lacked emotion or likability. If they're in pain I expect my characters to be in pain, feel the pain, for me it's just not good enough for it to be mentioned once then barely brought up again and likewise with them being scared or uncertain. I want to be in their head. There were just a few flaws that let this book down for me and stopped it from being a great book. Characterisation is a very tricky thing for an author to master but once Justin Gustainis manages it I have no doubt that he's going to be a fabulous writer. As for me, I'm going to miss out on his next few books but I'll be keeping an eye out for him to see if he manages to get his writing style up to match Jim's and Mike's.

As for recommendation; If you haven't read any of the above mentioned books then I'd definitely give them a go first as they're superb. But, by all means, give Black Magic Woman a shot, I just had to point out that it wasn't an instant love for me.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A well thought out, entertaining and creative work., 17 Dec 2007
By Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
It is in Quincey Morris' blood to be a supernatural investigator because, after all, his great great grandfather was one of the people who helped destroy Dracula. After cleaning out a nest of vampires in a small Texan town he gets another client Walter La Rue who believes his house is haunted and whatever is there is trying to kill him, his wife and their children. When he examines the house he notices charms made by Walter's mother-in-law that would keep the inhabitants from being cursed. When she died the charms lost its powers.

He consults with white witch Libby Chastain who gets information on the charms and what is targeting the family. They learn that the descendents of Bridget Warren are being cursed by the descendents of Sarah Carter who was convicted of being a witch due to Bridget's testimony. Sarah was burned to death her and her present day kin Christine Abernathy will stop at nothing to kill the La Rues, Quincey and Libby. A magic practitioner from South Africa is in the United States killing children to make for Christine a fetish that will allow her to achieve that goal. Inspector Van Dreenan who has a personal score to settle with his country's black witch helps the FBI agent in charge of the case understand what they are dealing with. Libby and Quincey become Christine's targets and both almost end up dead, which would leave the La Rues at Christine's mercy.

Urban fantasy lovers who enjoy the works of Km Harrison, Tanya Huff and Jim Butcher will thoroughly appreciate BLACK MAGIC WOMAN. Quincey and Libby risk their lives to protect humans from the evil supernatural; both protagonists are so personable and selfless readers will want to read more of their escapades. Justin Gustainis must own a magic word processor to create such a well thought out, entertaining and creative work.

Harriet Klausner
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Series of Hallucinogenic Events, 7 Jan 2008
Ever read a book where the protag doesn't really interest you, but everyone else does? That was the situation for me with this novel: our protag is Quincey Morris, an occult investigator who's a descendant of the Quincey Morris from Bram Stoker's Dracula. That gimmick put me off, but Quincey's partner in crime, white witch Libby Chastain, is very interesting. Less Quincey and more Libby, Mr Gustainis, please! Some scenes seem unnecessary, and others seem like short stories more than part of a novel, but keep reading. The main reason to continue is the subject of muti killings, something I hadn't heard of before. An important character whom I rather like is Garth Van Dreenan from the South African Police's Occult Crime Unit. I just happen to love the South African accent, so of course I was going to like the man. A character I particularly didn't like is Snake Perkins, a bigot who thinks of his partner-in-crime as...an N-word. Only the N-word is actually written, which made me really uncomfortable. I can handle murderers and such in fiction, but a racist? That's just too much for me. I would've liked to learn more about Project Violet (Scotland Yard's unit investigating witchcraft crime), and an incubus unlike any other I've come across before in fiction. And keep an eye out for what I call "A Series of Hallucinogenic Events". I would've edited out some scenes, but this is still a great read, and we can all look forward to more from this author.
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