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Brooks & Smith: Detective Tales, Volume 1
A Collection of 30 Pulse-Raising Yarns!
Being a detective is hard.
Being a paranormal detective is harder.
Being a paranormal detective in a world where kombucha cultures gain sentience and werepigeons terrorize Manhattan? The hardest. But that’s the job Arturo Brooks and Edward Smith signed up for, no matter how difficult or how strange it gets.
It gets pretty damned strange in this short story collection.
How will our heroes handle a haunted pond, communist elves, 3D-printed sexbots, and their own neuroses? You’ll have to read (or at the very least skim) to find out!
Being a detective is hard.
Being a paranormal detective is harder.
Being a paranormal detective in a world where kombucha cultures gain sentience and werepigeons terrorize Manhattan? The hardest. But that’s the job Arturo Brooks and Edward Smith signed up for, no matter how difficult or how strange it gets.
It gets pretty damned strange in this short story collection.
How will our heroes handle a haunted pond, communist elves, 3D-printed sexbots, and their own neuroses? You’ll have to read (or at the very least skim) to find out!
339 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2023
About the author
Martina Fetzer
10 books26 followersMartina is a technical writer by day and a creative writer by night. She holds an M.A. in English from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in Emotional Whiplash from the Joss Whedon School of Fiction. She grew up reading comic books and watching stand-up, and now writes genre-bending sci-fi and fantasy stories. She likes her humor like she likes her font colors: #000000.*
*Her hobbies include writing alienating hex code jokes.
*Her hobbies include writing alienating hex code jokes.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 18, 2023
Very pleasantly surprised by this book? Picked this up on a whim, knowing nothing about the book, and came out the other end pleased! Brooks & Smith are paranormal detectives learning to deal with their new professional and personal relationship. We follow them through some extremely weird investigations & the development of their love. Whilst this book is humourous, it made me feel all the feels. This author has a great knack for creating characters that have a very real quality to them. It is a very fulfilling book. should know you received this book for free. I received an advance review copy for free from booksurens.com, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
May 14, 2023
Absolutely Different But Not Bad . . .
In this Volume 1, Arturo Brooks and Edward Smith are paranormal detectives handling the oddest of mysteries. There is humor buried in here somewhere, but the intrigue and odd situations will catch the reader’s attention. It’s the kind of book you can both love and hate, sometimes both in the same paragraph. But overall, it is interesting enough to make it worth reading. The review of the first story is below to give you an idea of the beginning of the partnership. There were some good insights and interesting characters. The author’s ability to bring readers into the environment that is built around them for the story will amaze you. Grab a copy and see if these stories appeal to you. There are plenty of mysteries for you to explore here, so I’m fairly sure you will find many you enjoy.
*** Reviewing “Mirukutchi on 34th Street” ***
Edward Smith, at the age of twenty, assumed this would be a typical 1997 day. When he got to his favorite spot in the park and set up his knock-off items to sell, he noticed another of the “regulars” was not here. He didn’t know their names, but a half dozen were no longer showing up. When Lois, selling her items next to him, said he was a good person, he didn’t want to continue the discussion and asked her to watch his items while he walked to an alley to relieve himself.
In the dark alley, he heard footsteps but no one answered him until a voice finally said, “You have something I want.” The shadow approached and finally told him it wanted his blood! Yellow eyes and a pale complexion, the man stood in front of him, and Edward found he could not move away. The creature bit his neck and began to drain him until it spit out his blood and hissed, disgusted by the nicotine, cocaine, drugs, and the horrible warm Surge soda Edward had for breakfast. It was upsetting when Edward realized he was not even good enough to EAT! Now ready to kill Edward, the monster moved toward him then swayed as its lips swelled, it began gagging, and collapsed to the ground, withering to a skeleton. A woman’s voice congratulated him. He had resisted the thrall and killed a Master Vampire! Erin Burroughs introduced herself as a paranormal investigator. She even offered him a job with them, which he refused. He already had a “job”. But returning to the park, everything was gone and Lois had been murdered. Would he accept the job offer now? Could this be a new beginning, a new life? Or would he give up now that he had nothing left?
In this Volume 1, Arturo Brooks and Edward Smith are paranormal detectives handling the oddest of mysteries. There is humor buried in here somewhere, but the intrigue and odd situations will catch the reader’s attention. It’s the kind of book you can both love and hate, sometimes both in the same paragraph. But overall, it is interesting enough to make it worth reading. The review of the first story is below to give you an idea of the beginning of the partnership. There were some good insights and interesting characters. The author’s ability to bring readers into the environment that is built around them for the story will amaze you. Grab a copy and see if these stories appeal to you. There are plenty of mysteries for you to explore here, so I’m fairly sure you will find many you enjoy.
*** Reviewing “Mirukutchi on 34th Street” ***
Edward Smith, at the age of twenty, assumed this would be a typical 1997 day. When he got to his favorite spot in the park and set up his knock-off items to sell, he noticed another of the “regulars” was not here. He didn’t know their names, but a half dozen were no longer showing up. When Lois, selling her items next to him, said he was a good person, he didn’t want to continue the discussion and asked her to watch his items while he walked to an alley to relieve himself.
In the dark alley, he heard footsteps but no one answered him until a voice finally said, “You have something I want.” The shadow approached and finally told him it wanted his blood! Yellow eyes and a pale complexion, the man stood in front of him, and Edward found he could not move away. The creature bit his neck and began to drain him until it spit out his blood and hissed, disgusted by the nicotine, cocaine, drugs, and the horrible warm Surge soda Edward had for breakfast. It was upsetting when Edward realized he was not even good enough to EAT! Now ready to kill Edward, the monster moved toward him then swayed as its lips swelled, it began gagging, and collapsed to the ground, withering to a skeleton. A woman’s voice congratulated him. He had resisted the thrall and killed a Master Vampire! Erin Burroughs introduced herself as a paranormal investigator. She even offered him a job with them, which he refused. He already had a “job”. But returning to the park, everything was gone and Lois had been murdered. Would he accept the job offer now? Could this be a new beginning, a new life? Or would he give up now that he had nothing left?
May 28, 2023
"Not Arturo Brooks. He’d fallen asleep."
-Page 57
I was clearing out my TBRL and found this one. I can't remember if it's one I got for free at some point, or if I got the download from Voracious Readers Only.
It's from the author of a book I reviewed before,
Martina Fetzer, the author of "Time Binge" also wrote this comedy Prequel to the story.
It's a funny interesting story. It's not asexual friendly, but it is a LGBTQ book.
I'd like to give a shout out to this book, however I got it, I truly enjoyed reading it. The characters were believable and the situations were funny.
It was MIB/supernatural type story. Each chapter is a short story in itself and all together paints a vivid world which future books will take place.
I can't wait to read more from this author!
-Page 57
I was clearing out my TBRL and found this one. I can't remember if it's one I got for free at some point, or if I got the download from Voracious Readers Only.
It's from the author of a book I reviewed before,
Martina Fetzer, the author of "Time Binge" also wrote this comedy Prequel to the story.
It's a funny interesting story. It's not asexual friendly, but it is a LGBTQ book.
I'd like to give a shout out to this book, however I got it, I truly enjoyed reading it. The characters were believable and the situations were funny.
It was MIB/supernatural type story. Each chapter is a short story in itself and all together paints a vivid world which future books will take place.
I can't wait to read more from this author!
June 21, 2024
Two detectives navigate the paranormal world while exploring their feelings for each other.
This was not my cup of tea. I could find nothing redeeming from either of the main characters. Brooks was too bland and Smith was hardcore negative. The humour in the story didn't mesh with me and was clearly designed for a different demographic. There were so many pop culture references that I can't see this book ageing well. Finally, I'm not a fan of episode writing with a bunch of short stories comprising the work. However, I am not the target audience; others may enjoy this book as the writing is inventive and flows.
This set of stories is gritty. There are many graphic scenes- of both the sexual and violence types. Reader be warned.
This was not my cup of tea. I could find nothing redeeming from either of the main characters. Brooks was too bland and Smith was hardcore negative. The humour in the story didn't mesh with me and was clearly designed for a different demographic. There were so many pop culture references that I can't see this book ageing well. Finally, I'm not a fan of episode writing with a bunch of short stories comprising the work. However, I am not the target audience; others may enjoy this book as the writing is inventive and flows.
This set of stories is gritty. There are many graphic scenes- of both the sexual and violence types. Reader be warned.
May 10, 2023
This review was based on a complimentary pre-release copy.
Overall I really enjoyed the book! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down! While a few of the stories didn't quite hit for me, others were really fun and others hit really hard leaving me wishing there was anything I could do for these two. I've been a fan of Martina Fetzer's work since I first picked up Time Binge and Time Purge at a con back in 2017 and these snippets of the detectives' lives prior to the first book really add to the series. Would recommend checking it out, whether you've been following the Brooks & Smith series or if this is your first time hearing of it!
Overall I really enjoyed the book! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down! While a few of the stories didn't quite hit for me, others were really fun and others hit really hard leaving me wishing there was anything I could do for these two. I've been a fan of Martina Fetzer's work since I first picked up Time Binge and Time Purge at a con back in 2017 and these snippets of the detectives' lives prior to the first book really add to the series. Would recommend checking it out, whether you've been following the Brooks & Smith series or if this is your first time hearing of it!
May 15, 2023
This is the second book I’ve read by this author and she doesn’t fail to entertain. Her quirky characters and story lines are laugh out loud funny. She also deals with some very heavy subjects with thought and care. This was a real page turner I didn’t want to put down. Reminiscent of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the galaxy I loved it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 21, 2023
Whimsical, snarky , M/M , Paranormal detectives men in black vibe. If you liked the Agent Baumé series by J C Price ,Intergalactic Interloper by Delas Heras . Quick short stories than have a running arc of development of the characters. Some sex in stories but brief and at times are integral to the plot. Worth a try now a further series of novels
May 22, 2023
Great book
I loved this paranormal sci-fi book. I didn't quite know what to expect when i first started the book. What I found was an engaging book that was never boring and quite often extremely humorous. I look forward to reading more from this author. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down, highly recommend this book.
I loved this paranormal sci-fi book. I didn't quite know what to expect when i first started the book. What I found was an engaging book that was never boring and quite often extremely humorous. I look forward to reading more from this author. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down, highly recommend this book.
May 15, 2023
Didn’t finish it. Made it almost half way through and gave up. Didn’t like the main character Smith - too negative. Didn’t care about Brooks either. Some stories didn’t seem to have a point. I have better ways to spend my time. Not recommended.
May 20, 2023
Futuristic gay detectives work for a government agency charged with ridding the country of various monsters and their ilk. Sarcastically humorous.
September 9, 2023
I read this one last but it cleared up a few references in the other books. Werepigeon, for example. I probably could have survived without the background, but I would have missed out on a wonderful gratuitous Brooks and Smith smorgasbord.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews