Monday, 12 December 2022

Christmas Spirits - Karina Fabian - DragonEye, PI Book 4

Christmas Spirits
DragonEye, PI Book 4
Karina Fabian
Laser Cow Press
ISBN 9781956489088
ASIN B0BMB33K6S


I swear with each new book I read from the masterful pen of Karina Fabian I am more and more impressed with her writing. I loved all the books and series I have read by her. And this new novella is an excellent offering, especially at the beginning of the holiday season. This is an excellent story! I could hardly put this down. I picked it up as soon as I saw it was available and devoured it. I have been reading stories from Karina Fabian since 2008. But in the last three years I have read or reread 39 books and stories published by her, across most of her series. To say I am a fanboy could be a bit of an understatement. I usually read her books and then often listen to them a second time using adaptive technology. This one was so good I read it in 2 sittings. My understanding is that this is the order of the series at least at the time of writing this review:

6.0 Siren Spell
7.0 Vern vs Godzilla? What?
?.0 Magic, Mensa and Mayhem (Revised edition)
?.0 Live and Let Fly (Revised edition)

I have the older original eBooks of Magic and Live that I picked up in 2011 and never got around to reading, and to be honest mainly because of the covers. My understanding is they are undergoing a major rewrite, and if they are as good and the five more recent volumes, they will be well worth the wait. There are a couple of other short stories published in this universe as well:


But back to this story. The description of this book is:

“Sister Grace, a mage of the Faerie Church, has joined Vern in his detective agency, and he couldn't be a happier dragon...except for the fact that a commercial investment company is trying to buy out their home to build a mall, leaving them homeless by the new year. Merry Christmas to them.

But when the Ghosts of Christmas start visiting the company's CEO, Vern and Grace have to put aside their feelings and solve the mystery - before the Spirits of Christmas haunt him to death.”

The chapter tiles in Fabians books are often very important, this time they are:

The Stage is Set
Enter Scrooge
Crimes of Christmas Past
Speculation on Spectral Motivation
Releasing Christmases Past
Healing Christmas Present
More Trouble For Your Favorite Drake
About the Story & the Author

Yes these stories are about fictional characters. And yet it was a very moving story. A story about Christmas, old wounds, present day fears and just a little bit of hope. With my dual form of dyslexia I first read the title as Christmas Sprites and was expecting some sprites to make an appearance and being up to their normal chaotic shenanigans. Alas that was not the case. Instead it is a story of Christmas Spirit, and the spirit of place. Vern and sister Grace are called in to help after a haunting. But things are not as they appear. And soon the case is much more complicated than they ever expected.

I read this the week before watching Spirited with Will Farrell and Ryan Reynolds. And I cannot help but picture scenes in this story as epic musical numbers in the old theatre. And maybe Reynolds playing the Sheriff. 

This book is an immensely entertaining read. It is an excellent offering from Fabian’s masterful pen. Even if you have not read any of the other DragonEye PI stories I can easily recommend this book to you. I have said it before and I say it again in many ways it reads like a catholic version of Robert Apsrin’s MYTH series or the works of Tom Holt. Give this book or the series a try; I am certain you will be entertained. A great read in a wonderful series.  

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2022 Catholic Reading Plan!


Dex Hollister Series:
The Old Man and the Void
Dex's Way
...

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator Series :
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
I Left My Brains in San Francisco
Shambling in a Winter Wonderland
…

DragonEye PI Series:
DragonEye PI Novels:
9.0 Gapman
10.0 Magic, Mensa and Mayhem (Revised edition forthcoming)
11.0 Live and Let Fly (Revised edition forthcoming)
... 

DragonEye PI Short Stories:

DragonEye PI Original First Editions:
Live and Let Fly
...

Space Traipse Series:
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 1
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 2
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 3
Space Traipse Stories
…

Mind Over Series:
Mind Over Mind
Mind Over Psyche
Mind Over All
Hearts Over Mind
…

Edited by: Karina Fabian:
Infinite Space, Infinite God I
Leaps of Faith
Infinite Space, Infinite God II
...


Contributed to:
Firestorm of Dragons
The Zombie Cookbook
The Book of Tentacles
Twisted Fayrie Tales
FRIGHTLINER: And Other Tales of the Undead
Mother Goose is Dead
Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary
Image and Likeness Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body
Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction
Weird Noir
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels
Manifesto UF
Avenir Eclectia
Planetary Anthology: Jupiter
Planetary Anthology: Pluto
Planetary Anthology: Luna
Planetary Anthology: Uranus
FlagShip Science Fiction and Fantasy v2i5
My Little Book of Headdesks
To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity
...










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