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Dead & Busy #2
Phantom Lover
It was bad enough for Dave Callaghan, a struggling Private Eye, finding a half-naked ectoplasm sitting at his desk, but she had to talk nonsense too . . .
(The First Book In The Dave Callaghan Paranormal Investigation Series)
(The First Book In The Dave Callaghan Paranormal Investigation Series)
ebook
First published March 21, 2013
2 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Kfir Luzzatto
56 books148 followersKfir Luzzatto is the author of seventeen novels, several short stories, and seven non-fiction books. Kfir was born and raised in Italy and moved to Israel as a teenager. He acquired his love for the English language from his father, a former U.S. soldier, a voracious reader, and a prolific writer. He holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and works as a patent attorney. In pursuit of his interest in the mind-body connection, Kfir was certified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist by the Anglo-European College of Therapeutic Hypnosis.
Kfir is a member of the HWA (Horror Writers Association) and ITW (International Thriller Writers).
You can visit Kfir’s web site and read his blog at https://www.kfirluzzatto.com. Follow him on Twitter (@KfirLuzzatto) and friend him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KfirLuzzatto...).
Kfir is a member of the HWA (Horror Writers Association) and ITW (International Thriller Writers).
You can visit Kfir’s web site and read his blog at https://www.kfirluzzatto.com. Follow him on Twitter (@KfirLuzzatto) and friend him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KfirLuzzatto...).
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 26, 2019
A wealthy woman requests Dave’s help concerning her husband’s affair. Turns out that her husband was seeing a ghost. An affair with a ghost? Obviously, I’m not sure how that would go, but, according to the woman, the ghost was sucking the life out of him (literally.)
But then moments later, that ghost (who makes her death as a hooker) comes to Dave stating that she’s being framed. A ghost being framed? Oh, that’s rich!
This was a quirky case.
But then moments later, that ghost (who makes her death as a hooker) comes to Dave stating that she’s being framed. A ghost being framed? Oh, that’s rich!
This was a quirky case.
April 26, 2023
Great Series
I love these books. They remind me of watching old black and white Perry Mason, Charlie Chan, Mike Hammer and the Night Stalker shows. The ghostly parts are great! I do have two complaints. I wish they were longer and there were more books in the series. I will definitely be re-reading them. Mr. Luzzatto is my new favorite author. I am so happy I came across these books. Please, keep writing and hurry. 🤓
I love these books. They remind me of watching old black and white Perry Mason, Charlie Chan, Mike Hammer and the Night Stalker shows. The ghostly parts are great! I do have two complaints. I wish they were longer and there were more books in the series. I will definitely be re-reading them. Mr. Luzzatto is my new favorite author. I am so happy I came across these books. Please, keep writing and hurry. 🤓
April 14, 2013
I first "met" Kfir Luzzatto through The Harrow Press, where I saw the call for submissions for Mortis Operandi which called for tales from my favourite theme, paranormal, mixed with investigators. I love a paranormal tale (in fact, I just finished Enchanting Lily today, by Anjali Banerjee which was a lovely romantic paranormal story, but I digress...)
Where was I? Right. Paranormal stories, my love thereof. Also mysteries.
Way back when I was trying to come up with something for Men of the Mean Streets: Gay Noir I happened to catch "Cast a Deadly Spell," on the movie channel, and I knew I was going to aim for a kind of magical-laced PI story with a sort of gritty and sideways-amusing tone. Whether or not I succeeded I'll leave up to you, but today's story just hit exactly that tone, and I loved it.
"Phantom Lover," by Kfir Luzzatto
This story takes the snidely humorous private detective story and turns it a bit on its head via a lady of the night who happens also to be a little less than alive (but business is still good, thanks). Luzzatto's detective, Dave Callaghan, is hired to help a young - and very wealthy - wife ensure that her husband doesn't waste away in the arms of the ghostly woman of the night. But sometimes - well, in Dave Callaghan's life, it seems like always - things aren't exactly what they seem.
The tone of the tale is spot-on: amusing, quick with the snark, and yet still containing that dark thread that keeps it rooted in the noir tradition it's building upon. I definitely want more Callaghan.
"Accidental Lazarus," by Kfir Luzzatto
The second of the two stories included in this volume has a more comic feel to it, though it's still the same private detective being confronted by another unusual client. This time, it's "Stupid Joe" - a huge hulk of a man who is a hired thug and a finger-breaker for hire. That the man had a giant hole plugged through his chest when he was shot from behind by an unknown assailant hasn't really seemed to slow him down, and now he wants Dave Callaghan to help him track down his killer, so he can get even.
That, or he'll whack Dave. It's an offer he can't quite refuse.
Investigating the dead man's killer is thrown off course by none other than Dave's girlfriend, Lizzie, who unknowingly takes a shine to the murdered Joe, and things take a turn for the (further) surreal when Joe starts to seem a little less keen on putting down the man who put him down.
Clever and amusing in turns, I liked that Luzzatto never really explains much of the paranormal in his Dave Callaghan stories - it's just a fact of life for Dave, and the type of client he gets.
This pair is a great set to introduce yourself to Luzzatto's world.
Where was I? Right. Paranormal stories, my love thereof. Also mysteries.
Way back when I was trying to come up with something for Men of the Mean Streets: Gay Noir I happened to catch "Cast a Deadly Spell," on the movie channel, and I knew I was going to aim for a kind of magical-laced PI story with a sort of gritty and sideways-amusing tone. Whether or not I succeeded I'll leave up to you, but today's story just hit exactly that tone, and I loved it.
"Phantom Lover," by Kfir Luzzatto
This story takes the snidely humorous private detective story and turns it a bit on its head via a lady of the night who happens also to be a little less than alive (but business is still good, thanks). Luzzatto's detective, Dave Callaghan, is hired to help a young - and very wealthy - wife ensure that her husband doesn't waste away in the arms of the ghostly woman of the night. But sometimes - well, in Dave Callaghan's life, it seems like always - things aren't exactly what they seem.
The tone of the tale is spot-on: amusing, quick with the snark, and yet still containing that dark thread that keeps it rooted in the noir tradition it's building upon. I definitely want more Callaghan.
"Accidental Lazarus," by Kfir Luzzatto
The second of the two stories included in this volume has a more comic feel to it, though it's still the same private detective being confronted by another unusual client. This time, it's "Stupid Joe" - a huge hulk of a man who is a hired thug and a finger-breaker for hire. That the man had a giant hole plugged through his chest when he was shot from behind by an unknown assailant hasn't really seemed to slow him down, and now he wants Dave Callaghan to help him track down his killer, so he can get even.
That, or he'll whack Dave. It's an offer he can't quite refuse.
Investigating the dead man's killer is thrown off course by none other than Dave's girlfriend, Lizzie, who unknowingly takes a shine to the murdered Joe, and things take a turn for the (further) surreal when Joe starts to seem a little less keen on putting down the man who put him down.
Clever and amusing in turns, I liked that Luzzatto never really explains much of the paranormal in his Dave Callaghan stories - it's just a fact of life for Dave, and the type of client he gets.
This pair is a great set to introduce yourself to Luzzatto's world.
December 18, 2013
I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This is a book of two short stories about Dave Callahan, a popular private investigator that specializes in the paranormal. The first story is named for the title of the book, Phantom Lover. In this story, an aristocratic woman hires Dave to investigate her husband who is having an affair with an ectoplasm. It starts off pretty good, but even for a short story, it was way too short. This story had so much potential to be awesome, I really don't understand why it was brief and then it ended extremely anticlimactic.
The second story, Accidental Lazarus, was by far exceedingly better. In this case, a prominent thug, "Stupid Joe", has been murdered at a restaurant he frequents. He arrives at Dave Callahan's apartment, with a giant hole in his chest, requesting his assistance in finding his murderer so that he can exact revenge. In return, he says he won't whack Callahan and promises to go back to the morgue. This was a humorous adventure as Callahan searches for a killer and Joe decides to start living, which puts him in quite a few hysterical situations. All in all this book was a quick fun read, but because of the lack of content in the first story, I can only give it four stars.
The second story, Accidental Lazarus, was by far exceedingly better. In this case, a prominent thug, "Stupid Joe", has been murdered at a restaurant he frequents. He arrives at Dave Callahan's apartment, with a giant hole in his chest, requesting his assistance in finding his murderer so that he can exact revenge. In return, he says he won't whack Callahan and promises to go back to the morgue. This was a humorous adventure as Callahan searches for a killer and Joe decides to start living, which puts him in quite a few hysterical situations. All in all this book was a quick fun read, but because of the lack of content in the first story, I can only give it four stars.
January 12, 2014
That little sentence right there was enough to make me curious about reading Phantom Lover. Novellas are always a fast read, and I will never be able to understand how an author can put so much in to so little words. Kfir Luzzatto did a great job with Phantom Lover. I was interested from start to finish and I enjoyed the story.
Dave is a very interesting character. His career choice is awesome and he has attitude. I liked his way of dealing with situations. The secondary characters were well written and they added to the story. The descriptions in the book were great. I could picture Dave's office easily. I think if readers are looking for a fast and fun paranormal detective story, Phantom Lover would be great to read.
I received an e-copy of Phantom Lover in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Dave is a very interesting character. His career choice is awesome and he has attitude. I liked his way of dealing with situations. The secondary characters were well written and they added to the story. The descriptions in the book were great. I could picture Dave's office easily. I think if readers are looking for a fast and fun paranormal detective story, Phantom Lover would be great to read.
I received an e-copy of Phantom Lover in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews