What the Dead Said

by D.J. Daniels

Sydney, Australia, 2021. Ghosts are everywhere and everyone can see them. Everyone, that is, except Sckel. Co-opted into the Apparitions Group, Sckel gropes his way through his early cases. He encounters underworld figures—both living and dead—befriends an eccentric inventor and his robot creation, and becomes entangled in the ghostly push to further open the gateway between the living and the dead. Part detective story, part urban fantasy, part science fiction, but mostly mystery, What the Dead Said depicts a future Sydney in which property prices are the least of anyone’s troubles.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery

332 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2012

About the author

I'm a writer living in Sydney, Australia. My first novel, What the Dead Said, is set in a near future Sydney populated by ghosts and other untoward characters.

Reviews

[Danny Fahey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this quirky read. A novel approach to the detective story. I recommend it to everyone.

[Tony Calder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have given this 4 stars, but I would have rated it 4 1/2 if I could give half-stars. Daniels wrote this in 2012, but set it in Sydney in 2021, so it seemed an apt time to read it, as it has been sitting on my shelves for at least 5 years.

The setting is modern day Sydney except that something happened a couple of years earlier, and now everybody (well, almost everybody) can see and talk to ghosts. The only person who can't, at least in this book, is our protagonist - police detective Sckel Mohr - who can neither see nor hear ghosts. Somewhat ironically, he works in the newly formed Apparitions Division, created to deal with crimes committed by ghosts.

The book starts as a fairly regular crime story, with a murder being investigated. The presence of ghosts is mostly just a background detail at this stage of the novel. As the story progresses, the supernatural elements become more important, and by the end the police procedural is mostly just background. The transition is handled smoothly and doesn't come across as forced.

Daniels doesn't spoon feed his readers - there are many questions raised in the earlier parts of the novel, one of the main ones being how is it that people suddenly gained the ability to interact with ghosts? Answers are provided, but only as the story unfolds, and the time is right for those answers.

Daniels also provides a number of Easter eggs, in references to other books and media. I noticed half-a-dozen or so, but there may well have been others that I didn't get. I don't believe that not picking up on them would cause any confusion, except perhaps for a scene where the ghosts of three teenagers are quoting the lyrics from The Time Warp - it may seem somewhat nonsensical for readers not familiar with Rocky Horror Picture show. My favourite was one of the police going undercover as Mr Underhill, a choice which is commented on by some of the other characters.

Overall, a good story, some surprising plot twists, and good characters.

[Zino · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Received the book free through goodreads first reads :)

This book took me a while to read, firstly because I found the beginning slow and I kept getting lost in what was happening so I put it down intent on not continuing it
However, I'm glad I decided to keep going with the book because I ended up enjoying it. The whole concept of Sydney in a time when everyone (except for the main character Sckel) can see ghosts was a great idea. It got really interesting and I found that I actually liked all the characters and I kept wanting to find out why and how Sckel was tangled up in all the ghost mayhem when he couldn't even see them
I loved the way the book was written, I wasn't expecting humour but Sckel is a funny character and I just feel in love with Frank
If anyone else reads this and feels the same about the beginning as I did, keep going it gets better
So I'm glad I got a chance to read this book, I don't often read detective novels but this one is one I'd recommend to be read
And can I just say, now I really want a robot friend named Frank!

[Jemilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free as a First Reads giveaway.

I read most of this book in small sections. The first few chapters seemed kind of slow and boring, but I liked a lot of the concepts and ideas that took place throughout the book. The different beings/life forms and futuristic technology captured my interest, but I feel I would have been better able to enjoy them in more of an action/adventure style or something. Maybe I'm just not that into mystery/detective stories.
I think this world would work really well in comic book form though.

Also, it took me a long time to get into my brain that Sckel was a guy... I kept imagining him as a girl for some reason. I don't know why, but it happened and it happened hard.

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[Insert Spoiler Warning]

I most enjoyed the scenes leading up to and during the dance in the creepy abandoned building and the gate closing mission near the end. I also found a few small sections that reminded me a tiny bit of Jim Henson's Labyrinth, but all the most entertaining parts seemed to end as quickly as they appeared.

[Kadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book a while back on Goodreads and misplaced it. So I finally have found it and read it. I was suprised I really enjoyed this book. It was different to what I was expecting. I have no idea how to pronounce Sckel but his character was an interesting one. Harry was a bit annoying but I think that is what his character was meant to be like. Would read again.

[Matilda]

:D i got this book on first reads for free !