About Last Night

Eli Carter & The Ghost Hackers #1

by T. Paulin

In a city with a minority zombie population, anything can happen. Maybe a guy with a microchip in his brain can become a hero.

Eli Carter is a delivery driver in a dead-end career and a crowded apartment. He also has a chip in his head that prevents him from lying.

When he meets Khan Hart, a self-proclaimed necromancer/exorcist, Eli's very ordinary life begins to unravel. First, he is visited by something that goes bump in the night, then it tries to kill him a few times.

Now Eli must team up with Khan, face down his fears, and kick the butt of one very strange ghost.

Welcome to Ghost Hackers, the series. Readers will be given entertainment and/or space rabies.

WARNING: This book is suitable for older teens and adult humans with a sense of humor. There's no mushy sex or swearing, but there is some violence, gross situations, and general mayhem.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: About Last Night is approximately 30,000 words long, or 200 pages in the print edition. It's a complete, stand-alone story, but it is part of a series, so some of the story stretches across multiple books. ABOUT LAST NIGHT doesn't end on a cliffhanger, but if all goes according to plan, you will reach the final page and feel a pleasant desire for more. There will be more. Thank you for taking a chance on a new series!

Genres: Paranormal, Mystery, Fantasy, Humor, Urban Fantasy, Ghosts, Cozy Mystery

154 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 4, 2014

Reviews

[Otchen Makai · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw this was labeled as a “Cozy mystery”,
Honestly was expecting it to be pretty dull and cutesy.
A few pages in, I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting and strange it was.
The writing style was smooth and fluid, and you breeze right through it.
It’s strange and obscure and every well written.
Not your typical mystery novel.
The characters are weird and interesting, lots of quirky mannerisms, vibrant personalities.
Plot, pretty well stated in the synapses of the book.
Short, weird, and my cup of tea.
Give it a shot.
For those who like strange, weird, bizarre, obscure things- this may be your cup of tea, also.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cat Who Went Bump in the Night (Eli Carter & the Ghost Hackers Paranormal Mysteries Book 1) by Angela Pepper is a fun and tender ghost story. The characters are unique and special, the plot is great, and love the ghosts and ghost aspects. The whole story is written clever and Eli's history is very interesting indeed. The world they live in is different too! Very strange...Intriguing!

[Laura..devouring books like crumpets · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ummmmmm

Not for me... i can see some people may find this interesting.... but not for me... the funniest parts for me was the relationship Brenda and Eli Had, and how Eli viewed it....

[Amanda Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read a lot of trash in the past. A lot of it. This just seemed to shoot past the majority of it.

I hated it. This was some of the worst writing I have ever read. Granted there are a few that are rank higher on my garbage list but not many.

The only saving grace is that it was short. That's it. Nothing else.

Eli is an awful character full of whine and not a vertebra of spine. There is nothing redeeming about him. This character sucks so, so much. He is stupid, crude, unfaithful, and cowardly. He can't do a single thing on his own other than cause problems for people. His hinted at history is uninteresting and I have no desire to learn what or who he is. I just want the trilogy over so I can move on with my life.

Brenda is a power-hungry megalomaniac. Why? God only knows. The author wants her to be a bitch and isn't bothered to give us a reason to make us hate her, she just makes the character nasty and confusingly 'alien'.

Khan is a trusting fool without the common sense given to a gnat. He is a jock that never made it past the I'm big I'm a bully stage of his life.

Valentine is nothing but an oversexed doll. She offers nothing but a goal for Eli to drool over.

The story does no world-building, it does no sense of scene-setting. It's just 'hey this place is alien and I'm too lazy to do any of the work to explain anything'.

The flashback of Falcon and Mike is just crude, disgusting and completely unnecessary. It takes the cozy out of the cozy mystery and if the story wasn't cringe-worthy from the start now it's unsettling. Let's just call it what it is, a rape scene where the victim is mentally handicapped and the character gets off on taking advantage of the woman and her family.

This author is sick to try to pass this off as a cozy anything. I can't understand anyone liking it.

Will I ever suggest this book to anyone else? Not even with a gun to my head.

[Anto Tilio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es ese tipo de historias que mezclan cosas paranormales y comedia, por lo general esa combinación me encanta... acá estuvo medio floja. La historia sigue a Eli, un mensajero con un chip en la cabeza que le impide mentir y una novia medio rara y mandona. Un día le toca hacer entragas en otra ruta y así se topa con los ghost hackers. Como él es un hombre de ciencia no cree en esas cosas pero queda fascinado con Con y con Valentine, los hermanos que trabajan ahí.
Luego tiene una experiencia paranormal, se pelea con la novia y vuelve con los ghost hackers donde se suma en una misión. Como Eli es tan buen tipo piensa que Con planea estafar al señor y se apiada de este, decide ayudarlo a pesar de seguir un poco incrédulo sobre todo el asunto. Hasta que pasan ciertas cosas y termina uniéndose a los ghost hackers.
En general fue una novela bastante corta, engancha y se escuchó rápido. Pero quizás pecó de demasiado introductoria y me hubiera gustado más experiencias paranormales y ghost hackers. Capaz sigo con los siguientes libros de la serie a ver cómo sigue el asunto.

[Anima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just received this from the authors for an honest review. Ghost Adventures is one of my favorite shows, something so misunderstood just draws me in. Ghost Hackers is quirky, unexplained and funny, like my GA guys. I immediately liked Eli and Khan, strangers growing into a friendship. Brenda, the girlfriend, leaves a distaste in my mouth. Something controlling and wrong about her. Valentine is as witty as her brother Khan, I sense possible romance with her and Eli. All the characters are slow to develop but I trust we will go full speed on the next round. Eli gets initiated with Mr. Quentin and starts the ball rolling on this new triangle.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice change to the normal run of the mill book. Eli is 30 but acts at times as a nerdy child. I really think that the author was writing about a grown man who deals with autism or Aspergers is some form, and that was interesting to read. At times I forgot I was reading about a 30yr and thought I was reading Peter Pan.

I gave this book an extra star just for the fact that Angela Pepper took something that most would not have written about and did! At times I did get a little lost and would go back a few lines to pick it back up.

I look forward to finishing this trilogy! I find myself loving the world and Eli's new friends. I love reading about a grown man who has normal human thoughts and feelings but shows them differently then the normal person. This is fresh story in an urban fantasy/mystery setting!

[Delta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this quirky, short cozy. Eli is just clueless enough to keep things funny without being tedious. Khan is a good balance of con man and legitimate business man. I did not like Brenda though. This first story makes her look like an absolute abusive nightmare (I do change my mind in the next story).

John Pirhalla does a great job narrating. He's enthusiastic and always has the right emotion in his voice for the scene.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd book. Eli is odd, Brenda is weird, Val and Khan are definitely odd and weird as they run a ghost busting business so prob that’s why Eli fits right in. And exactly who or what is Eli????

[AL Kepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story concerning Eli and his becoming a Ghost Hacker wasn't what I was expecting it to be.

There is several levels to the story, the within story arc for Eli and a longer overarching arc that I'm assuming will play out in future stories.

I'm not usually one for this kind of a story but Ms. Pepper's writing is enough to have me thinking about listening to the next book in the series.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story that I hadn't known was a short story so I was rather miffed and unsatisfied when it came to an end rather abruptly. It had spent so much time reeling me in (quite well, I might add) and then it was just DONE as if someone had ripped off the back portion at a random spot. I fully admit that I would have left a blistering review if I had written this right away, but, as it is, I've had a couple of days to ruminate. This wasn't bad per se. It was quirky and it does have me slightly intrigued with some interesting characters, but it failed to fully hook me since there wasn't really much of a mystery so if I pick up any more of the volumes it will be entirely due to the paranormal/sci-fi element. What actually saved this from my full ire was the fact there was another full length short story, Date With A Ghost, lurking at the end so, of course, I had to read it before I marked this volume done. Even If I hadn't been expecting another short story, this one was fully realized and I enjoyed it. It was sweet and sad although it had the tendency to drag occasionally. It was not so heart racing that it prevented me from falling asleep halfway through but neither was it so horrible (nowhere near) that I would have flung it across the room in disgust.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this yet. I want to read some more before I decide if I really like it. Eli is very strange - he has a strange history - with a microchip implanted in his brain to prevent him from lying. He has become somewhat adept at changing the subject, so he doesn't have to tell the truth.
Quite odd things are happening to him, including the demon that attacks him at night when he's alone - even though he doesn't believe in ghosts and such. Eli is a firm believer in science, even though that doesn't explain the Crash Down. (Not sure exactly what that is, but an event happened that changed human life.)
Eli is coping to a degree with a girlfriend who is also his boss and rather arbitrary and bossy. He disagreed with her and she assigned him the Zombie delivery route. Eli is a delivery driver who owns his own van. His girlfriend seems a little strange to me - I expect there's much more to her than she seems. Anyway, on the Zombie delivery route he makes a pick up from a company that deals with possessed appliances and becomes quite intrigued. Even though he doesn't believe in ghosts, he deals with a microwave possessed by the spirit of a blind man's son. He still maintains there is a scientific explanation however. He's not giving up easily.

[Susan Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eli Carter is a thirty-year old guy with a boring delivery job and a demanding, controlling girlfriend. After picking up a package at Khan’s appliance repair shop, Eli experiences a night of terror at the hands of an unexplained creature. Soon, Eli is collaborating with Khan to investigate ghost hauntings.

Although this was certainly a quirky and strange book, I did enjoy it. There’s quite a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, which I liked. It’s short – just 120 pages – and it moves along at a brisk pace. I was a bit confused about what was going on at first, since there seems to be dual stories going on here – a backstory about The Crashers, as well as paranormal hauntings. I would like to have known more about The Crashers and The Zone, and I’m wondering if Book 2 addresses these things in more detail.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys unique, quirky and funny stories.

4 of 5 Stars, Susan Barton, http://ebookreviewgal.com

[Demelza Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cool concept - I only wish there was more!

Full of gentle humour, this is definitely a light-hearted apocalypse. Eli is an ordinary guy with a very ordinary life, a dead-end job and a girlfriend who sounds like the housemate from Hell, in a half-hearted zombie apocalypse where even the zombies have rights. And bordellos...

It's a great start to the series, but I've picked it up too soon - Paulin has yet to release the next part of what looks to be an awesome series.

[Susan Clark · Rating 1 out of 5]

unexpected

Horror story, post-apocalyptic. I expected this to be funny, but it was not. Ever. Perhaps if i knew the targeted audience, this book would make more sense to me. The best guess I have is that Pepper intended this for pre-teen boys whose parents give them lots of latitude for their reading material. I did not enjoy any part of it. But I did finish it. I enjoy her other series.

[Macjest · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was free, which is the best I can say about it. The main character lives a depressing life, has a nasty girl friend, and has a chip in his head that prevents him from lying. The description of the book was intriguing but turned out nothing like it was advertised. It wasn’t funny or clever. Good thing it was short.

[KIM · Rating 2 out of 5]

UGH? Worst cozy I've ever read. It was on my skim, skip, done shelf within a couple of hours. I can't begin to describe all the things I hated about it so I won't. I can recommend Pepper's Stormy Day series but I do NOT recommend this book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first in the series . The main character is Eli and he doesn't like his job and ends up finding another but it wa a crazy mixed journey he took to get there. Not sure I got it. Don't think I will look for number 2.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky, odd little story. I thought I was reading a mystery. In the end I guess I was. I liked the humanness of the story. The need for connection. The need for affirmation. Easy, fast read. Glad I picked it up.

[Lisa Swanepoel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easy read with likable characters that are a little off the wall.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some really interesting themes in this book, but I almost felt as if none of them were fully fleshed out.

[Charlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating leans more towards 4 1/2 stars

Eli Carter is a delivery driver who leads a very boring life. That is until his boss, who is also his girlfriend, changes his route which causes him to meet Kahn Hart, a self proclaimed necromancer who works for Ghost Hackers. Eli doesn't believe in ghosts. But he will.....

This book was so weird.....and I loved it!! Strange and quirky, I read it in one sitting. Eli was such a great character and he constantly had me cracking up. I think I enjoyed everything about him. His odd relationship with Brenda, his inner dialogue, his bromance with Kahn, his mind chip...all of it! The story was well written and completely offbeat. The characters were fairly well developed considering it's a short. I really liked Kahn, Valerie, and the ghost cat. Not sure how I feel about Brenda. I honestly couldn't put this down. I'm not exactly sure how you would categorize it. I got it for free on my Kindle app and it was listed as a cozy mystery, but it isn't. I'd say it's more fantasy/sci-fi, maybe paranormal mystery. Regardless of where it fits, if you are looking for a unique and fun story, check this one out! I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

[Helen Robare]

This book was confusing at first as I thought Eli was a talking cat companion of Khan. Khan is described as a necromancer and Eli is (at first) written as his bumbling sidekick. Example: Eli has a monster under his bed. However, that changes when Eli releases a ghost. That's when everything comes together as an enjoyable story.

Together Khan and Eli become The Ghost Hackers and begin building a paying business. Their first case is a ghost who is attached to his train set. The laughs and screw-ups begin. But what is, at first, considered a screw-up is something quite different as the two hackers can honestly see the ghost and speak with it.

WARNING: This book should be read first and then the two others that follow. As the first book in a series or trilogy, this book explains the hows and whys of Eli and his girlfriend Brenda and Khan and his sister Valentine. Brenda and Valentine could use more definition which I am hoping for in the next 2 books.

It seems like this book (and possibly the next two) were written in that "teenage boys" genre so, as a female senior citizen, I hope that changes in the next too books.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have decided to DNF at 11% into the eBook.

I bought this book because I enjoyed the writing in Girl in the Shadows enough that I wanted to read a little bit of everything Angela Pepper had out in the world. But by 10% into the book I greatly disliked Eli (the main character), felt that his girlfriend was (inexplicably) a raging b*tch and the only other character I'd met so far was also a dick and considering that at this point I'd asked myself what the hell I was reading at least four or five times I decided that enough was enough.

I'm not sure what happened here. As best as I can tell, Angela Pepper is either a pseudonym for the most dudebro of all dudebros OR she is trying to imagine how a young man thinks and is motivated and is, frankly, failing miserably at it. If this last is the case then Ms. Pepper should be sure to never write a male protagonist again.

If anyone else ever figures out what the hell I was reading here drop me a note, I'd love to hear your theories as I definitely won't be finishing the book.

[Elissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The introduction is fabulous and sets you up for the geekdom to come. Then you get a bit of insight into our "hero" and start to wonder about his issues of self-worth . . . Set in a somewhat dystopian immediate future, the delightful narration (I enjoyed the AUDIO version) keeps you involved with the action as we discover more about this world and its inhabitants. But although there are hints about what the world has become and how this came to be, they are only that and this rather (potentially) important part of the story is largely omitted, at least from this book.

While the first of a series, multiple loose threads notwithstanding, this tale is complete in and of itself and ends on a cheerful note. Sorry if you consider that a spoiler, but this is basically comedy (think Ghost Busters, which gets a sideways allusion) albeit with dark--VERY dark--overtones.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was gym reading for me, AKA free or cheap on the Kindle. I normally don't bother with anything less than 200 pages. I don't like short stories because I feel there's not enough time to develop a story that I enjoy. Somehow, this one slipped through and I didn't realize it until I was at least 25% into it. It was okay at that point, so I continued.

In the end, that's all it really was: okay. It could have been better, but there just wasn't a lot to the actual story. I didn't particularly like any of the characters either, so that didn't exactly help. I definitely won't read any more.

[Kat Montemayor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eli is a strange guy with a terrible life. He has a chip in his head that prevents him from lying. He lives near a place where "crashers" who get their arms cut off by cars. Eli lives with a mean girlfriend (who is also his boss) and can't cook. She reminds me of the Supertramp song (Not much of a girlfriend. She's the only one he's got)Then, he meets the ghost hackers. Khan-(should be con), hires him to help out with driving. Eli is attracted to his sister, Valentine. He sets out to help on old man with a strange microwave that channels ghosts. Interesting read. Will probably continue the series.

[Noxwitchbooklife]

I first read this years ago when it was released as part of a boxed set under the name Ghost Hackers by T. Paulin.

The sequels weren't out yet so now I've gotten around to re-reading this at the correctly spooky time of year I'm happy to be able to read them.

I love that the main character Eli is very odd it makes the story so much more interesting along with the world being in a dystopian state with 'zombies' being commonplace.

If you want a fun read that is a little spooky and definitely out of the norm with a touch of mystery you'll love this!

[Catherine Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird but interesting

Eli is a delivery driver with a mysterious past. His delivery route is changed bringing him into contact with Khan and Valentine, who are ghost hackers. The crashdown, years previously, has turned people into zombie-like creatures. There has also been an increase in ghost activity. Eli becomes involved in helping Khan to hunt ghosts. Eli is a fascinating character. I look forward to reading more about him. Great story.

[Marbeth Skwarczynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

An X-Files/Dresden Files-esque novella that is a truly enjoyable read. Of course, when the lead in a novel can never lie AND states that he doesn't believe in ghosts, you know zany things are about to happen. After reading this as a free ebook offered by Nook, I asked myself if I'd read the sequels. I absolutely would. All of them.