About the book…
Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD’s Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.
Like the rest of America, Scranton’s got an uneasy ‘live and let unlive’ relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that’s when they call Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.
As a MASSIVE fan of Justin’s ‘Morris and Chastain’ series, I was overjoyed to find that he has written 3 novels in the ‘Occult Crimes Unit Investigation’ series, published by Angry Robot, and just waiting to be dived into!
It’s not a big town.And the way most people figure these things,it’s not a great town either.But it’s my town.And protecting it from the forces of darkness is my job.’
The first, ‘Hard Spell’, introduces you to a world just a little off kilter from our own, a world where Scranton is at the crux of numerous ley lines, and has its own Supernatural Investigations police unit, known as the Supe Squad. A quick recap on an altered 20th Century history, where mostly European based supernatural beings-including those who practice magic, both black and white-came back to America with the returning war veterans.
As a result, werewolves, vampires and many more ‘unnatural’ creatures inhabit our world and as such, laws apply to
them in a similar way to those of the human world.
An uneasy relationship exists, with each side knowing what part of the line they are on. Until a hostage situation with meth high goblins goes badly wrong, and like Stan, we, the readers, are plunged into a whole new world of pain…
What I loved about this book was the world building came as naturally as the character building. There was no painstaking efforts to create a world whilst leaving the narrator tapping his feet, waiting for the next action scene.
Justin writes in a very fluid, relatable way, and brings the reader into the book as a confidante of Stan’s, his first person narrative makes you think and feel like you are part of his team.
In a world where SWAT teams are not what we think they are, (it stands for Sacred Weapons and Tactics unit) and Martin Luther King was shot with, it is rumoured, a silver bullet, there are great counter points between the world we know, and the fantasy realms of this horror novel threaded through with police procedural tropes. It is funny, never boring, quickly moving and when you finish , you just want to read the next one in the series.
It is a deeply satisfying read, where you feel you are stalking the mean streets of Scranton, a town I was only aware of from the Harry Chapin song, ‘30,000 pounds of bananas’. It seems an unlikely town to be the center of such supernatural action but honestly, it really makes so much sense when you think about it. We live in a small town that has such weird and out there stuff happen , that if I told you , you wouldn’t believe it. So I had no trouble leaping in and just loving the hell out of the snappy banter between the Supe Squad, the boss ,McGuire,( a one of a kind loner whose wife, it is rumoured, was a werewolf shot by purpose or accident, depending who you listen to, on a raid gone horribly wrong)and the people that they deal with on a daily basis..
After all, witch trials and McCarthyism takes on a whole new meaning when there is a witch on retainer for your unit, which is the thin blue line between right and wrong . The othering of those who are just a little different, both in and out of recognised institutions, is endlessly fascinating to me. And I loved the way that this is tackled in the Occult Crimes Unit, and wish there was more than 3 in the series-however, I am grateful that these even exist!
About the author…
Justin Gustainis was born in Northeast Pennsylvania in 1951. He attended college at the University of Scranton, a Jesuit university that figures prominently in several of his writings.
After earning both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the U. S. Army.
Mr. Gustainis currently lives in Plattsburgh, New York. He is a Professor of Communication at Plattsburgh State University.
Twitter @angryrobotbooks
Author
bridgeman.lenny@gmail.com