Lost Soul: Harbinger P.I.

Actual rating - 2 and three-quarter stars.

A Private Investigating franchise with branches all over the globe that everyone is familiar with - yet everyone is ignorant of, or doesn't believe (in the preternatural) ... um... contradictory much. Not the best premise to start off with. But this debut of the Harbinger P.I. series promises supernatural goodness with a wisecracking gumshoe.

The protagonist, and only detective assigned to backwater town of Dearmont, Maine: Alec feels like some old fashioned sexist sleuth. I chose to read this with some irony to keep it fun, like a satire of old Dick Tracey cartoons... even breaking out an overzealous accent at times when reading dialogue. Whaddya talkin' bout? See?

He seem to objectify all the women he met - who just happened to be skinny and drop dead gorgeous. Weren't there any normal women in this novel? And of course the assistant, Felicity Lake, did everything for him, all the menial tasks while Alec went about posturing, ogling and flexing his brain. It was hilariously awful. I can’t decide if this was badly written characters or camp overload. But it was oddly compelling despite these drawbacks.

Alec brokers a lot of deals for later favours. A little too convenient the way he makes friends/builds a team. Everyone seemed very amenable without having to go through the process of building up a friendship - and Alec did not seem nervous or too wary about it. It was all a bit contrived. It was easy to spot the hands of the author pushing the plot in a certain direction, and lost its organic feel.

When going to investigate a forest by the lake for a case, Alec states he want to go in the morning to avoid stumbling around in the dark... and when he gets there, has to wait until dark to get his enchanted statue-compass-thingy to work. Doh! Chalk up another one in the column of inconsistencies.

Why weren't these glaringly obvious mistakes picked up by a content editor or beta reader before publishing? The writing and plot felt a bit… well messy and amateur.

It didn’t help things that I identified a few grammatical errors too. 

But enough of the negative critiquing - the action scenes were great. I was gripped, but there were small moments that were dropped that had me wondering if -'d missed something.

The ending was a little trite, some things tied up neatly that sent me into an eye-rolling frenzy, and other elements were set up well to lead into the next book in the series.

‘Lost Soul’ is interesting. But short on world building. I still have no clue as to why the world in ‘Lost Soul’ is the way it is. There was a lot going on, plenty to keep my interest, so I wasn't bored. Adam Wright's writing style is a little dry, a touch sparse... and very... male. But it worked for that condescending tone of an old fashioned private detective‎ that this story was channelling. If you don't take this seriously, it is fun. But if you’re a stickler for plot, grammar, and context, and not one to laugh at those B-Grade horror movies, ‘Lost Soul’ will feel like torture. This is written to a very certain demographic/niche. 

I don't know what inspired me to but this - it is certainly well out of my wheelhouse of regular reads. And an interesting journey. Maybe it was the gorgeous cover promising a dark paranormal mystery - massive battles against dark forces. Instead, it is more of a campy detective novel set in a world of witches, werewolves, fairies, demons and vampires. 

I'm interested to see where the sequels will take us.

True confession: I read the three books (so far) in this series, but out of order. Keep reading and you’ll know why that makes this an easy 5-star review.

Somehow I started with [[ASIN:1532866682 Buried Memory (Harbinger P.I.) (Volume 2)]]. It was a great read, worth its own review. And in the manner of some other series that are easy to read, such as Demon Accords or the Iron Druid Chronicles, it felt quite natural to push straight on to the third book, [[ASIN:1534690905 Dark Magic (Harbinger P.I.) (Volume 3)]], which I also enjoyed. But was it worth going back to the beginning? Bit of a gamble there. But what the heck. In for two books, in for three—right?

Wow. (I could stop there. That’s all you need to know, if this is your genre. But in fairness to a fine author I will drone on with your permission.)

By page 3 my Kindle already had a note that the opening paragraphs could be shown as an example of “how to start a book right” at a writers’ workshop.

Then I made another note at page 6. Author Adam J. Wright simply chucks us into the deep end of the pool. Too late, you’re soaking wet. Nothing extra, no distractions, no maudlin self-pity, no life jacket. You’re in. Regrets abound in the mind of Alec Harbinger so already we can look forward to some reveals. Even having already soaked up Books 2 and 3, I found no reason to second guess or skip ahead. I stopped making notes, greedy to read more.

It’s an irony, really, that this series may be called “urban fantasy” when it’s set in central Maine. Hiking boots, jeans, and flannel shirts are normal. A necktie here is a billboard for “not normal, beware.” Okay, some crazy stuff went down recently in Paris. Then Alec was demoted from his Chicago office. His father is in London. That’s the end of “urban” and it’s just backstory. We are in Dearmont, in deepest rural Maine—which is not near the coast so there are no detours through Storybrooke. In Maine, it seems, fantasy can flourish. This is a rural fantasy.

Some of the players have familiar roles: witches, faeries, ogres, werewolves. What’s nice is the degree of character that imbues each character (except perhaps the ogres). There’s a lot of humanity here, even for a character that’s not human.

Skipping way ahead of the relentless action, I liked the barbecue Alec hosts at the end. In a week he’s already building his team, ready for Book 2.

Somewhere on the Wright/Harbinger team there must be a good copy editor because this book had far fewer typos than many ebooks. I found a few. Not many, and not enough to penalize a well-written book that was a fun, fast read.

When you read a series out of order and like it, catching up with Book 1 can be underwhelming. But that was NOT a problem here. I’m glad I got involved. Now you know why that makes this an easy 5-star review. Happy reading.

I had this book sitting in my to be read pile for quite some time. I have no idea why I kept on passing it over but I am SO glad I finally read it. I could not put it down. Everything was fun and adventurous and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I immediately bought the rest of the books out so far in the series.

One of the better urban fantasies I've read. It reminds me of the Dresden Files, but with not quite so much humor. Definitely a good read. The characters were likable, and the plot/mystery was interesting. I listened to the audiobook, and I found the narrator to be quite good. Bought the paperback as a gift, too. It's a bit on the short side, but the story is complete enough, so that didn't bother me.

Wright's writing (try saying that 3 times quickly) isn't fancy, just straightforward storytelling. The story is also pretty straightforward, without a lot of twists. I think what made the book was the characters. None of the major characters are cliches and I want to learn more about all of them. I'd like to read more of the series but the books are kinda pricey.

This is a simple detective story. Paranormal activity. Fairies, changelings and things. I did not feel the author went to deep into this realm. This book kind of stayed on the surface in a quick and easy read kind of way. I did enjoy and would recommend it. I hope the next book will dive a little deeper.

A bright beginning to a well structured series. There are multiple single story plotlines woven with a variety of overarching plotlines.I am thrilled with this first book in the Harbinger P.I. series. This book contains the character and world building that promises a long and satisfying series.

For an up and coming author, Adam J Wright, does a profound job of writing an urban fantasy novel. He uses the perfect mix of magic, fighting, mild romance, secret society's and even cliffhangers. I truly enjoyed every page of this book and would highly recommend it to any who likes magic, urban fantasy, investigation and things of the such.

Entertaining page turner...takes familiar urban fantasy tropes and gives them a new spin.
Love triangle adds spice but doesn't overshadow the story and suspense.
Wrights teases us with hints of tales to come - can't wait.

Still reading....