Recall: The Eli Carver Supernatural Thrillers

by Alan Baxter

WELCOME TO THE COMPLETE ELI CARVER SUPERNATURAL THRILLER SERIES FROM ALAN BAXTER, THE AWARD-WINNING MASTER OF HORROR AND DARK FANTASY

Following a psychotic break, Eli Carver finds himself on the run, in the company of a terrified woman he doesn’t know. As layers of ugly truth are peeled back and dark secrets revealed, the duo find themselves in a struggle for survival as they unravel a mystery that pits them against the most dangerous forces in their lives.

The battle leads Eli into the company of a mysterious woman, hiding her own dangerous past, and an ongoing war between rival crime syndicates. With the ghosts of his past continuing to torment him, Eli takes the darkest of turns down a perilous path into a world of ancient religions and deadly occult rituals.

Eli and his ghosts must battle powerful adversaries as violence and dark magic coalesce with lethal consequences.

Includes all three books of the Eli Carver Supernatural Thriller Series in one omnibus edition.

Genres: Horror

427 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 25, 2025

About the author

My book rating system:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Brilliant, I bloody loved it!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really good, highly recommended.
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyable, well worth a read.

I don't talk about ⭐⭐ and ⭐ reads because I only talking up the good stuff. That's why my Goodreads rarely has anything under a ⭐⭐⭐.

Bio: Alan Baxter is a British-Australian multi-award-winning author of horror, supernatural thrillers, dark fantasy, and crime. He’s also a martial arts expert, a whisky-soaked swear monkey, and dog lover. He creates dark, weird stories among the valleys of southern Tasmania.

Fond him online at www.alanbaxter.com.au

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Omnibus Edition of all three Eli Carver supernatural thrillers, a beautiful trio of dark urban fantasy novellas with strong crime/noir vibes, set against a mostly paranormal background of psychic powers, metaphysical ruminations, and unbridled violence. It's grim, dark, and gritty, and far more action-heavy than I remembered from the first time I read the books.

The storyline is essentially Jack Reacher or John Wick or Jason Bourne ...with ghosts and supernatural foes! (It's been said, rightly, Eli's ghosts may be psychotic hallucinations, whichever way one takes the apparently paranormal elements of the story; I myself prefer the paranormal interpretation.) There are several truly amazing action scenes, many comedic moments to dissolve the tension, the story's brimming with moral ambiguity and difficult decisions, plus it has cults! magic rings! strong female characters! samurais! and voodoo! The first volume reads like Memento (2000) on speed, the second like Ronin (1998) on hot coals, and the last, the trilogy's most supernatural entry by far, like Wrath of Man (2021) if Guy Ritchie channeled Tarantino. There's never a dull moment, and if you appreciate easily visualizable action scenes, you're in for a huge treat, as Baxter excels in precisely this kind of thing.

Reading the novellas together reminded me of Laird Barron's analogous project, and I highly recommend "Recall" if you enjoyed Barron's coleridge books. Baxter's trilogy is far more messy and feels more spontaneous, but the quality of the writing and the supernatural aspects of the stories keep the tension high and the excitement soon goes through the roof. Give the trilogy a shot and enjoy this dark supernatural drama that will have you eagerly asking for more! I hope Baxter has another Eli Carver story up his sleeve!

[Ian Gielen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collecting all three books in the Eli Carver series, this omnibus combines action, ominous tones and a good mix of supernatural and psychological themes in a collection that will keep make you want to keep the pages turning.

Each book follows Eli Carver, developing his character from one that is in the middle of some sort of psychotic break in the first book to one that knows himself and is self-assured at the end of the last one.
It's a wild ride which is at times tragic as well as brutal and unforgiving in the way its told.
Eli is a master of finding himself in situations that seem to be impossible to get out of but with the the help of the five ghosts he is haunted by which may or may not be real (you'll have to read to find out), he is able to overcome most obstacles but often not without a price.

Each book is written expertly and flows well. Alan has a writing style that is very smooth and this collection is no exception. Though supernatural and horror themes are part of the series, I would put this in the category of action/thriller but its a unique mix regardless. If this sounds up your alley, then this is a collection you won't want to miss.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOTE: This review originally featured on KendallReviews.com and was for the three Eli Carver books when they were published individually. Now, they've been collected together in one exciting volume.

Over the last few years, Alan Baxter has not only released some amazing works (Devouring Dark/Served Cold/The Roo), but he’s also become an author that I get truly excited for their new releases. When Baxter announced Recall Night, Book Two in the Eli Carver world, I realized I had Manifest Recall sitting on my Kindle, unread.

How shameful.

Manifest Recall

What I liked: Eli Carver is a thug. Paid to keep business moving for underground boss Vernon. When he comes back from a blackout episode, he is in a car, with no memory of recent events, and beside him, tied up is a woman of great importance to Vernon.

Baxter opens this thing up at 100mph and from there keeps finding extra gears to throw more and more action at us, while we slowly learn of what caused the blackout.

Carver is a great character. Baxter makes us root for him long before all the details come out, and as his journey is laid out, Carver has a great arc for the redemption of past events.

His companion Carly was another well-crafted character. Smart and strong, her evolution paired well with Carver’s.

What I didn’t like: I personally found the paranormal aspect almost unwarranted. Carver sees the ghosts of prior victims and can hear them speak. Except for a small, philosophical moment near the end, they play such a minor role as to be unnecessary. I was hoping Carver would tell Carly, but that never came about.

Why you should buy this: Baxter has crafted a fast-paced, brutal thriller. Carver kills at will, and this makes for a fun, unpredictable novella. Think Jason Statham’s ‘Crank’ with ghosts.

After recently cruising through ‘Manifest Recall,’ I was excited to see release day arrive for Alan Baxter’s sequel ‘Recall Night.’

Recall Night

I’d preordered it even before I’d read book one, and seeing how fun the first one was, I knew I’d dive into book two and read it in one sitting.

What I liked: Seeing as this is a sequel, Baxter has done a bang-up job of letting this be read with no prior knowledge to Book One. Carly Sykes makes an early appearance but then is mostly forgotten.

Sykes’ appearance is key, though, as it sets the events in motion. Eli Carver is free and clear to return to the States from Canada, where he’s been holed up since the events from ‘Manifest Recall.’ It’s on his return trip to New York that he meets Bridget and agrees to help her out.

It’s from here that Baxter goes full ‘John Wick,’ letting Carver stay alive while the layers of mob carnage continue to stack up.

Baxter is such an effortless storyteller, and as I mentioned in the review for book one, his fight scenes are sublime pieces of choreography.

Carver has become a character I truly root for, and his will and knack of surviving have made for some really fantastic segments.

What I didn’t like: As with book one, the ghosts he sees still come off completely unnecessary for me. I could almost see Eli Carver becoming a Jason Bourne-style character  in an ongoing mob storyline, but the ghosts either need to leave or come to more fruition. The Papa Night character opened the door a bit, even if the sacrifice/occult scene came out of nowhere.

Why you should buy it: Baxter is a fantastic writer. Both of these books made for really enjoyable action movie reads, and Eli Carver is a truly fun character to follow along.

Baxter is one of my favourite authors, and I’d love to see more in this world. I think if you check these two books out, you will as well!

So here we are. Book Three. The TRILOGY. Eli Carver arrives again, kicking heads in and taking no names.

But is this it? Is this the end of Eli Carver? For a while, Baxter had hinted at finishing things off with a third, but with this character, who can say for sure.

Ghost Recall

By this point, I’ll assume you’ve either read book one or both one and two. Either way, you’ll know that Eli Carver, former muscle, is now saddled with five ghosts, five former kills that won’t leave him alone.

This allows Baxter to use them for or against Carver, and it makes for some great moments, both in action sequences, but also just random, meaningless interactions.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

What I liked: Book three picks up in Vegas, where Eli now resides with Bridgette. He’s made a few friends, kept his head down, but still those five ghosts hound him.

A chance encounter, which being Eli, turns violent, leads him to be in possession of a ring with an odd symbol. 

From here, Baxter does a great job of ‘John Wick’-ing the story with Eli wanting to figure out who these chuckleheads are as well as those chuckleheads wanting the ring back. Expect collateral damage, blockbuster fight sequences, and, of course, some great banter between the ghosts and Eli.

The previous two entries were both really fun reads, filled with emotions and creating a rollercoaster ride for the reader. This one does the same but  turns it up a notch. The reader will also see just how much love Baxter has for Carver, as the character practically leaps off the page time and time again.

What I didn’t like: The climactic scene was great, and the way it happens made sense for the story leading up to that point, but I felt like Carver made it there a little too easy. Especially when the group of people have been chasing him all over the city. Minor, overall, but just something I noticed.

Why you should buy this: I always love reading Alan’s work. He inflicts everything with darkness, depth, emotions, and some of the best action/fight scenes out there (and that’s coming from a reader who can take fight scenes or leave ’em).

‘Ghost Recall’ is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy (if it is a conclusion) but also leaves the door open for a possible fourth.

For current fans of the series – you’ll be very pleased to see there is no letdown with the content and quality of the Carver series.

[FantasyBookNerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recall: The Eli Carver Supernatural Thrillers collects three novellas in one easy to read omnibus edition.

The book collects Manifest Recall, Recall Night & Ghost Recall.

Eli Carver is a bad man! A very bad man! After the death of his parents as a young child he finds himself veering towards organised crime. Here he finds a home. Here he finds family. He finds belonging.
Whilst working for Vernon, he is called upon to do some pretty questionable stuff. Eli is violent and willing to do almost anything to keep his position.

When we first meet Eli, in the first Novella Manifest Recall, he finds himself in a car with a barely dressed young woman. He can’t remember who she is or how he got there, but as the story moves on we discover why and how he is in this predicament. We also find out that he can see ghosts.

In the second book, Manifest Recall, Eli begins to build his life again after the events of the first book. This time he teams up with a card shark called Bridget who is trying to escape the life that she is in at the moment. Meeting on a train, Eli ends up becoming her bodyguard of sorts. Unfortunately things take an unexpected turn. In this book Eli also finds out more about his ghostly companions.

Things take on a more supernatural turn when Eli finds himself up against an old order that permeates the echelons of power. In addition to this Eli’s relationship with his ghosts take an unexpected turn.

I absolutely love a mashup of supernatural and crime and this gives both in spades.

I have been meaning to read some Alan Baxter books for ages, and when this came out I bought it immediately.

To say I was impressed was an understatement because Baxter’s writing blew me away. I loved how he mixed the hard boiled crime with slight elements of supernatural horror to full blown cosmic horror.

One of the things that I liked about this was the way that the supernatural elements creep up throughout the stories and eventually crescendo in the final novella. Initially, the crime elements of the story take precedence and the ghostly elements are almost incidental. However, as the novellas progress this takes a one hundred and eighty degree roundabout turn and the supernatural becomes the main focus.

I loved this book, the characters, the hard edged action that is almost John Wick like in its execution and the mix of horror that runs throughout all the book.

[Craig Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recall collects the three Alan Baxter novellas—Manifest Recall, Recall Night and Ghost Recall—that follow Eli Carver, a career criminal who starts the series with memory gaps due to a psychotic break, a woman tied up in his car, and a group of ghosts only he can see to keep him company. Are these visions of men he has killed in the past real, or part of his declining mental state? And who exactly is he running from?

Eli is a fascinating character to follow throughout these linked stories. Imagine Jack Reacher if he had turned to a life of crime rather than the military—Carver has a similarly accomplished skillset in causing mayhem and destruction, whether hand-to-hand or with weaponry, and a dark past with secrets that are revealed to us as the book goes on. He's also got a similar charm to the women he encounters along the way. Another thing Carver's stories share with Lee Child's creation is the readability (although I personally think Baxter's are much better written). Always with forward momentum, fast-paced and with the fat trimmed off to fit the novella formats, I intended to read these three collected books one at a time with a break in-between, but ended up unable to put the collection down.

The horror aspect of these comes into play by way of the supernatural. Surprisingly the ghosts effect the first novella less than I expected, but this ramps up in the second, and by the third (as you may imagine by the title Ghost Recall), they play a central part in a much wider and more ambitious plot.

Overall, though, I would put these more in the thriller category, as even many of the more supernatural moments work in service of the action. Make no mistake, though, Baxter is more than comfortable with throwing in some wince-inducing violence and gory moments during those scenes, with Carver frequently outnumbered, outgunned, and willing to do whatever he must to survive. If you're looking for a more action-packed read that bounces from set piece to set piece as mysteries unravel (both about Carver himself and the universe as a whole), then this collection is a must-buy. This was my first experience with Eli Carver, and I can only hope the reissuing of these great stories leads to more set in this world.

[Chris Heinicke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn’t yet read the Eli Carver novella trilogy, but was lucky enough to read an arc. Having read several of Alan’s horror stories, Recall was quite a change of pace, and the first person POV really put me as a reader into Eli’s head. I could see what he saw, such was the atmospheric writing, as Eli fought his way in three separate adventures, each one deadlier than the previous.
Eli is tough as nails, but with a heart that’s in the right place. A risk taker and a man of action, I think even Jack Reacher would decide not to go up against him.
There is a sub-plot that runs through the trilogy, is Eli Carver truly hanging out with five ghosts? Or is it all in his head?
Once again I find myself in awe of Alan Baxter’s story telling abilities, an author who’s an instant buy for me each and every time. If you’re a fan of any of his work, be sure to check out Recall, a collection of all three Eli Carver stories.

[Terry and dog · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first time reading Eli Carver stories, and if there is a god (I'll take any kind of god), there will be more.
All three in this omnibus, were awesome. Each one is different and the last one is a doozie.
Eli is a character with a lot of character. A great deal of him is extremely...naughty. I won't say bad or mean, there are certainly glimpses of that, but under that, I like him. The supernatural part, (I won't give away what that is) is delightful, funny and intoxicating, I love that part.
Alan Baxter never fails to capture what I want in a story, in langage, pacing and creativity. Books I can't put down.

Just freakin great.

[Brett Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I relished every moment! Thanks Alan!