The Curse of Cain

The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged #1

by Theophilus Monroe

"Welcome to the Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged. I'm Doctor Cain. I'll be supervising your treatment plan. Yes, before you ask, I am that Cain. I've come a long way since I became the world's first murderer. I'm now a licensed psychiatrist. What is it you just asked? You heard that I was cursed? Yes, I'm also the world's first werewolf...but don't worry. I have it under control. It won't interfere with your progress at Vilokan Asylum."

When a necromancer is admitted to Vilokan Asylum against her will, and she evokes the ghost of Cain's murdered brother, Abel, he'll have to do more than treat the patient; he'll have to confront the ghosts of his past, literally.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Amazon

Audible Audio

Published March 8, 2022

About the author

Theophilus Monroe is a fantasy author with a knack for real-life characters whose supernatural experiences speak to the pangs of ordinary life. After earning his Ph.D. in Theology, he decided that academic treatises that no one will read (beyond other academics) was a dull way to spend his life. So, he began using his background in religious studies to create new worlds and forms of magic-informed by religious myths, ancient and modern-that would intrigue readers, inspire imaginations, and speak to real-world problems in fantastical ways.

Reviews

[Marsha · Rating 1 out of 5]

All books are not for all people and "The Curse of Cain" was definitely not for me. After reading the plot synopsis and all of the 4 and 5 star reviews, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of ordering the audiobook which was read by the author and I do believe it severely hindered my enjoyment of the book because the cadence was off and the character voices were elderly sounding.

A quick recap of the story is that Cain (From the bible) moves from his New York Psychiatric practice to Louisiana to work with the paranormals for the voodoo priestess, Marie Leveau who is looking to retire. Cain's brother is resurrected and wants revenge. Sounds good, right? Well, let me you the plot is highly convoluted with cliche characters including the spirit of Michael Jackson whose dialogue is one title of his songs after the other. Ugh!

I was about 45% into the read before I decided that life is just too short to read a book you don't enjoy. Apparently I am the minority in my view of this book but that's okay. As I always tell anyone who is reading my reviews, read the book for yourself to decide.

[Jerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book. The characters are great. The storyline new and refreshing. The world building is done with great precision to ensure the reader is pulled in. This book makes you want more of the character and of the world itself. Loved the whole premise. I received this as an ARC and this is my hones review.

[Nancy (The Avid Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been wanting to read The Curse of Cain for a while now but kept putting it off for one reason or another. My thoughts after finally getting around to reading it are why did I wait so long? I wish I had read it sooner. The Curse of Cain is not the first book by Theophilus Monroe that I have read and it definitely won’t be the last.

I got my first glimpse of Cain in The Blood Witch Saga. I knew right then and there that I had to read The Curse of Cain and now. I had to know more about this man or werewolf that is called Cain. I loved that Cain came from the Bible. I loved that werewolves, vampires, and Witches lived together in the same world. I like that there is more than one paranormal creature in the story.

I love this world that was created for The Curse of Cain. I love all the characters, especially Cain. I can’t wait to dive into the next book The Mark of Cain in The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged series. I can’t wait to see what more this world has to offer. I can’t wait to see what Cain has on his plate in the next story. I love the cover of The Curse of Cain it fits perfectly with the story.

I also liked that there is a place for younglings who have just been turned to go to stay safe. Vilokan Asylum is a place for these younglings to go to learn how to deal with just being turned. Vilokan can help younglings to hopefully one day be able to live in the world with humans without destroying the world and the humans who live in it.

I highly recommend The Curse of Cain to all fans of vampires, werewolves, Witches, and the paranormal world. Grab your copy of The Curse of Cain today and join Cain on his many adventures!

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged series, but actually is three books in one, The Curse of Cain; Razing Cain; and Cain and Angel. The book starts as Cain is applying for the job as a psychiatrist at the Vilokan Asylum with the voodoo queen. He is offered the position to aid the various hougans and mambos who have suffered from misguided attempts at summoning Loa. The asylum is now being managed by Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau’s replacement Annabelle Mulledy, with nurse Rutherford at the front desk. Annabelle is not an experienced mambo or voodoo practitioner and many in the underground city do not appreciate her leadership or position over them. Cain is in a sort of relationship with Rutherford, but will soon have to make his mind up on how serious that relationship will be from his end, as she is all in, but deserves the love of her life, not yet another in a long line of women in his long life.
The first part of the book involved a young and very powerful necromancer, Cassidy Brown, who has been expelled from her studies and is in need of serious counselling to discover exactly what they were trying to do in the first place. Unfortunately, nothing is as straight forward as you might think and Cain is soon facing his brother Abel, who he murdered thousands of years ago, becoming the first ever murderer as in the bible and then cursed and forced to become the first ever werewolf as well. Anyone that tries to seriously harm or kill him then becomes part of his sevenfold curse and must suffer to bite seven others, creating more werewolves down the ages. He is still working with the rougarou of the Manchac Swamps, werewolves who were imprisoned in their animal state for over a hundred years by the infernal object, the Witch of Endor’s flambeau, to adjust to being in their human forms and work out all of their stresses before changing forms again at the full moon. A battle is coming and the curse will be forced upon Abel and have him in confrontation with Cain and forcing seven more to become werewolves like him! Brotherly love and forgiveness will be required to defeat the evil behind the actions.
The second part of the book sees Cain busier than ever, with Abel’s new pack of werewolves to be trained and tamed before the next full moon, and also a new group of vampire younglings, taken from citizens of the underground city, that Cain must also help to overcome their bloodlust. Unfortunately, these new vampires have no desire to remain as vampires and want their former lives as hougans and mambos back. Their leader is someone who was made into a zombie long ago and somehow regained part of his soul, but has now been made into a vampire against his will and wants to be fully human again. As do the other recently turned vampires, refusing to accept any type of counselling by Dr Cain. They have their own methods of attempting to get what they want and will call upon Baron Samedi himself to assist, but that is akin to making a deal with the devil and will not easily end in their favour! The Baron as two sides, one is the green baron, who is willing to be helpful and listen to reason, whilst the red baron is likely to seek to destroy and bring fear to all, feeding on fear and gaining more power, until he can take over the world. Nothing will quite work out as expected for those who sought a deal and the Baron will be difficult to defeat.
In the third part of the book, a fallen (or unfallen as he calls himself) angel, Sam (Samyaza), walks his way past all the wards and locked doors of the asylum, to wait for Dr Cain in his office. He wants help from Dr Cain and protection from the angels and demons who are after him. He is hoping that Cain could ask for the protection of a curse similar to his, from God, to keep him safe from both sides. He was a fallen angel, who ended up on the demons side after believing what he was told, but who soon realised is error and tried to become a neutral being. He doesn’t want to return to the celestial realm, but was punished for falling for human females and daring to have children with them. But seemingly Archangel Michael comes for Sam and takes Abel and his new pack prisoner, then Cain is stopped on a road back to town by a powerful demon and told he must hand over Sam, of the whole city of New Orleans will be destroyed. He is left in a difficult position now, having given his word to Sam that he would help him and now faced with the choices between trying to save his brother, Annabelle and others from being tortured and killed or to save the whole city and sacrifice those he knows. He must use Divine assistance to thwart the demon and place his hopes in himself and the redemption he has reached over thousands of years. The asylum is getting chocker full and they have now had to open a satellite site for the werewolves at least. This is leaving Dr Cain busier than ever, spread far too thin, but having to do all he can to help.
An exciting start to this new series, with loads of old faces and new. We get to learn more about how Cain became a psychiatrist in the first place and how he manages to finally reconcile with his brother Abel. Lots of action with new werewolves, vampires, zombies, angels, demons and more bringing danger to all and placing Cain in difficult scenarios, as he tries to help his patients. Some of who are not exactly happy to be there, whilst others have been possessed and know nothing of what had been happening for years. Cain has lots on his plate and will be facing some of his toughest challenges ever. I look forward to reading the next book and seeing what magically insanity he has to deal with next. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout but have also bought the book as well, I have enjoyed it so much. I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Korra II Allison Baskerville · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard pass…. I wish it was that simple, but that’s not a proper review. I like this literary universe, hell, I’d go as far as to say it’s one of my favorite literary universes. Behind the Bloodlines Reforged Saga, Aurora Wasteland Literary Universe, Relics of War series, and others I won’t name. I’ve been listening to the books from this series for several years now, almost as long as I’ve been reviewing, I think.

So when I say I dislike these 3 books, I must explain. I view this as a garbage chapter in an overall larger story. Cain is one of my favorite characters in this literary universe, alongside Mercy Brown and I feel this book did him a disservice. I think he’s an interesting character; as a side character. Apparently, he’s not nearly interesting enough to carry an entire series on his back.

All of these trials and tribulations he’s going through just aren’t interesting. And I’m not going to continue to elaborate on why, for one simple reason; The narration.

I am vehemently opposed to author narration. God–fucking-goddamn, I fucking hate author narrations. Overall, the state of this wonderful literary universe in audiobook format can be best summed up with two worlds. “This shit is a fucking train wreck.”…. I admit, that’s more than 2 words, but seriously. I’m fucking over it. While the story is told in a “Cain narrating the story” sort of way, that doesn’t solve the issue of every other character sounding more or less the same, which led to me getting bored and zoning out, losing the plot, and not even being able to scroll back because I didn’t know when I’d stopped paying attention.

If this were any other series, I’d DNF it. In fact, I think I did DNF one of the books in this literary universe because the narration was so inexcusably awful. I know audiobooks are expensive, I get that. But why are authors willing to slave over a keyboard to write these stories, edit them or pay for an editor, create or pay for a cover, publish them, etc., and then let hack narrators or cheap out on hiring a narrator at all and allow their books to be shit on by a terrible narration? I’ve said this many times, and I’ll say it again. Bad narrations ruin otherwise good stories. when every character, especially the women sounds like slightly different versions of the same voice, it’s distracting in the worst way. It’s boring and annoying and puts my mind to sleep. It goes from a story while I’m working to background noise for the sake of having background noise.

Again, I cannot fathom how expensive it would be to hire a full cast of narrators for a literary universe this vast. But if the alternative is to have different voice actors for every single book/series and half of them are unlistenable drek, then why fucking bother in the first place!?!? I want to purchase a physical copy of every book in this literary universe, but that provides me with several issues. 1) It’s expensive. 2) It takes up a lot of shelf space. 3) I’m a slow reader, and I spend most of my free time listening to stuff while I edit wikis. So I simply don’t have the time to read 35 (or however many) physical books. And when half of them are unlistenable, it’s saddening to me, as I’d love nothing more than to be able to shout from the rooftops about how much I love this literary universe, when in reality I have to say “It’s really good, but just buy the eBooks if you want to read them, ’cause most of the audiobooks are shit.”

The other issue is characters having different voice actors in every book in the world. So while I got used to Mercy Brown’s voice in my intro book to the world, I then had to adjust to her sounding totally different in another. Not just vocally, but their entire personality. This is a bit of a tangent but stick with me, as I believe it’s relevant.

For years on the show Supernatural, Mark Pellegrino played the fallen archangel Lucifer. As did Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins several times over the years. In one of the later seasons, “they” brought in a new actor to play Lucifer for a season and he was terrible. Not terrible at playing Lucifer the fallen Archangel, but Mark Pellegrino’s Lucifer. He came off as an entirely different person totally, personality-wise, and his speaking patterns and mannerisms were different. It didn’t feel like the Lucifer we’d known for 11 (or however the fuck many) seasons. And much like the Gates of Eden Literary Universe’s audiobooks, that’s EXACTLY what you have. The Mercy Brown in this audiobook wasn’t the Mercy Brown I’d cum to know and love. The man doing a poor female voice didn’t help, but in general, she felt like a hollow husk wearing her face.

Obviously, I enjoy this literary universe very much. If this were any other audiobook by nearly any other author, I’d have shitcanned it and wrote a “DNF, and here’s why.” post like I’ve done many times in the past. Maybe these books are more interesting than I give them credit for, but if/when I re-read them, it’ll be physical copies. ‘Cause I’m never going to listen to most of the audiobooks in this lit. universe ever again.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

[Vannessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theophilus Monroe's books never seems to disappoint and this collection of books about one of my favourite characters, Doctor Cain, was brilliant! The only reason I had to put it down was because I had some other ARCs to squeeze in at the same time!

This collection consists of three books, The Curse of Cain, Razing Cain and Cain and Angel. Each one fed into the next, but each story was great on its own as well. This collection shared more about Cain's history, his relationship with God and his brother and the events that led up to Cain being cursed and being changed into the werewolf we all know and love. He shared his emotional turmoil over the events in his past, showed how he has overcome them and shared his experiences with his patients and fellow pack members. Werewolves are definitely not just an angry ball of fur and fangs!

If you haven't read any of Monroe's work before, then this collection is a great one to start with. There are characters from other series that appear but their background and/or connections are shared enough that you don't need to have read them to enjoy this one.

I received a copy of this book from the author but this review is all my own!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received The Curse of Cain by Theophilus Monroe through StoryOrigin and enjoyed reading and definitely recommend. This includes 3 books.
The Curse of Cain: When a necromancer is admitted to Vilokan Asylum she evokes the ghost of Cain's murdered brother, Abel, he'll have to do more than treat the patient... he'll have to confront the ghosts of his past, literally
Razing Cain: After agreeing to take on their newest batch of vampire younglings to help tame their blood cravings things quickly get out of hand at the Asylum. Dr Cain will need more than a blood suckers support group to get a handle of the issue. He'll require the aid of Baron Samedi.. which always comes at a cost
Cain and Angel: A fallen angel has a change of heart. Samyaza, aka Sam. He goes to Vilokan Asylum to get help from Cain to help him find his own path and for protection for the 'unfallen' angel from both demons and angels. Cain must approach the Divine for the first time in several millenia to advocate for his patient.
This book is available on Amazon

[Lisa Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This author will have you reading from beginning to end as Cain, the physcologist at the Vilokan Asylum looks into helping his patients, whether they are werewolves, vampires or people possessed overcome their fears, and control their split personalities. What makes things really interesting is that Cain, himself, is cursed with being a werewolf His history is very interesting, being over 6000 years old. The history will enlighten you as to the nature of humans starting from long ago, and the curse that follows. I will not give away any details, but to be honest, the story will draw you in, and keep you there as you follow through the emotional turmoil of danger, suspenseful moments, and plans going astray. The companionship that Cain has with his patients will be evident as he tries to help, and the closeness of his working partners will keep you entertained.

[DeeDeeWReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t speak for Theophilus’s other fans, but this is a series I have been anxiously waiting for! I don’t want to spoil anything, but there is SO much to tell. Cain (YES THAT one) and the motley crew is here! Cain is a psychiatrist that treats the magically and supernaturally inclined.

We have many of our most loved characters from Theo’s other series in this one. I LOVE how his series intermix and dabble with each other. It’s one big beautiful universe and awesome!!!! I can’t tell you enough, if you haven’t read everything that Theophilus has put out, you are so not living life right!

Come join Cain and see how his story went down, continues to go down, and where it goes next. There is many more books planned for this one, so get on this ride with me and let’s hit it 100mph like Annabelle in her Camaro!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kathy Wortham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Curse of Cain could stand alone, each volume of it. But why would you want it to? Well thought out, only a few typos, and best of all previous book characters appear. Some are almost teasers, making you want to find and read their story in his works. Based in New Orleans you flirt with the locale and are not immersed in it. I prefer a lot of action and less introspection. However; that is Cain's line of work, and this book blends it all into the story, giving you more of an in-depth look at the characters and their lives.
Cain is a complicated person, more than just a six-thousand-year-old, who was involved in an original sin. Before he can continue to heal his patients, he must learn to heal himself. And he is devoted to his patients, promising to always have their backs no matter what or should we say where.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Suzanne Irving · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have only recently encountered the writing of Theophilus Monroe through his Legend of Nyx series. I enjoyed this book which is actually three stories making this a large book. It’s a mostly successful mash up of shifters, magic, ghosts, vampires, angels and a whole lot more. It stars Cain (yes that one) who after murdering his brother has spent the intervening centuries coming to terms with what he did and has become a psychologist. Not quite what I think of from Cain, but this story works and I found it enthralling. I stayed up well past my bedtime reading it.
Now on to why I only gave it four stars. I feel like at times the story was bogged down by too much explanation. I was taken out of the tale as I tried to figure out what was going on. If you have to have so much of this in your book then maybe you need to simplify things.
Overall a terrific read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the Curse of Cain. I enjoyed getting to know this character, his history and experiences. He is the original Cain, Abel’s killer from Genesis, but he’s been included in the Voodoo world created by Theophilus Monroe as a werewolf, who studied psychology under Sigmund Freud, which makes him perfect to work with patients at the Vilokan Asylum of the magically and mentally deranged. At first, I was a bit put off by his formal style, but grew to like this reformed murderer. Part of the curse on him, is that any who attack him also suffer his curse of being turned into a werewolf. Imagine my surprise at completing the first book of the trilogy, to find the other two were included in my review copy!! Mr Monroe did a good job as narrator and I enjoyed the other werewolves Cain helped as well as the vampires, voodoo priestesses and others in this unique supernatural world. Cain even gets the opportunity to apologize to his brother and make amends. I highly recommend.

[Korinne Tande · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my first experience with this author, and the book did not disappoint as there are many reasons I enjoyed it. The magic and the supernatural blended into a story with characters that many of us have heard or read about as children...the biblical Cain and Abel. I laughed so many times, and I often shared what I was reading with my husband. With Cain being over 6,000 years old, he dispenses wisdom and judgement from a "been there done that" perspective. I did find some of Cain's ramblings long-winded, but Cain is a counselor after all so it did not lessen my reading pleasure. I enjoyed the author's word choices, e.g., highfalutin, which was a favorite of my mother. The author is a gifted wordsmith and writes a great story. There are some risque scenes, but the characters and storyline are well written and quite enjoyable. I received a review copy from story origin, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Ysobella Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of three books is the first in the series, but also crosses over into other stories in the same —verse. It's always fun to see characters I've already met pop up again later, and what other characters think of them.

I liked Cain. Despite being THAT Cain, he's all too human. Yes, okay, he's a werewolf, the first werewolf, but he makes mistakes, and is awkward with the girl he likes. He doesn't have all the answers, and is earnest in wanting to help anyone needing it.

The stories all have action, adventure, twists, a hint of romance, and a ton of world building, specifically about Cain, and in the overall —verse. Though these stories focus mainly on the werewolves, witches and vampires reappear, merfolk are mentioned, and angels are introduced, so there is plenty of paranormal going on.

Theophilus Monroe wrote the stories, and narrated the audiobooks as well. I think he did a great job differentiating the character voices.

[Adena Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Physician, heal thyself. The author took this, tossed it together with Genesis, mixed in werewolves and came up with a redemption tale that is high on faith and inspiration. I found the characters, particularly Cain, incredibly engaging and relatable. How the author has Cain turning his curse into a blessing and his calling feels real and realistic (even though it apparently took Cain millennia to work out his issues to do that). I particularly taken by the author's charitable treatment of mental health issues in the midst of settling even temporarily the first case of sibling rivalry and the first family feud. This author does not think small, even when writing of small things. I am looking forward to the next installments of Dr. Cain's work.

I received an ARC from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Andra Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Curse of Cain is an incredible series comprised of The Curse of Cain, Razing Cain, and Cain and Angel. The books take us inside The Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged, where none other than Cain, yes that Cain, is the psychiatrist treating the patients. The patients are witches, werewolves, vampires, and other magical creatures. The books have all kinds of paranormal, supernatural action, and compelling characters that keep you engaged. Dr. Cain himself is pretty snarky and will have you chuckling more than once. His inner dialog is, at times, genius. These books are beyond entertaining with action, drama, suspense, twists, mysterious happenings, wit, magic, shifters, and so much more. You will not want to put them down.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kkhmonrai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cain was such an intriguing and absolutely captivating character from the 'Legend of Nyx' series, and I wanted to know more about him. Wish granted! I love this series and the interesting twists the author puts on this character. I love reading about his history and the changes, growth, and development he has gone through since 'the beginning'. What an inspired choice to make him a psychiatrist. I mean, if Cain can work through his own issues, surely there is no one else he CAN'T understand. The other characters, including those stepping in from the author's other books, add spark, humor, and occasionally a bit of drama(queen).LOL I loved this trio of books and am glad to see there are more in the works through this summer (2022).

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[KatsCauldron R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great base asylum add on to series I have already been reading. All ready been enjoying the Nicki Shiftless series of my favorite wayward people eating trying to reform, stuck in a mans body more female Kelpie. The asylum has been spoken of now we have the asylum as a base story & the adventures of Cain. Here, Cain slew Abel & was turned into a werewolf & became a psychotherapist. He is then made head of an asylum for the criminal & or insane supernaturals & witches. This is fun romp. Theo write light fast drama thriller books on his interpretation of creatures which is different than usual but easy to read. Theo plays hard soft shoe with the concept of redemption & knowing oneself & the drives behind actions. Not so much to be annoying but I think good to present for food for thought. More biblical that what I usually read but really enjoyable

[Robin Ginther-Venneri · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, a great read. This story is based at the Vilokan Asylum of the Magically and Mentally Deranged with psychiatrist, Doctor Cain helping these magical patients. Doctor Cain himself is a werewolf with an attitude and I can’t help but love him. These stories are full of paranormal creatures in a fantastic world built in modern times and to me seem to be completely natural. It is well written, thought out and quite entertaining. The characters are complex but relatable in a supernatural sense. I really enjoy reading anything that Theophilus Monroe writes.

It was my pleasure to receive a free copy of this book from the author, but that does not in any way affect my opinions in this review of these entertaining stories.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting for this book and am sooo lucky to be able to read Theo’s books before other people as a proofreader and beta reader.
I just love Theo’s sense of humour, it’s so like my own and this book certainly didn’t disappoint!
What makes this trilogy really special for me is that I’m actually a character in them, I was squealing with delight when I made my first appearance in this first book!! It was a little strange reading ‘my’ story but sooo cool!
There are a lot of laughs as well as the usual tension and plot twists and I really can’t wait for the next instalment!
I received a free copy of this book, and this is my honest review.

[PAR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theophilus Monroe is one author that has never let me down. This novel is captivating. I fell in love with the cover and 0nce I opened the book there was not setting it down. As you read, it will be up to you to put the pieces together! This is a brilliant read! It pulled me in from beginning to end and held my attention. The world building is detailed and imaginative. This novel has strong, well-developed characters and an interesting story line that keeps you turning the pages. I recommend this novel and would I plan to read more novels by this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lori Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as an audio review copy from Story Origin, this is and honest review. Beautifully narrated by the author himself, Theophilus Monroe delivers a humorous, snarky adventure of the first three books set within the Vilokan Asylum. Everyday is a new and interesting adventure for Dr. Cain and the patients he tries to help, burdened by magical troubles that no human could treat. Even Cain's long dead brother, Able is brought back, leaving both men to confront a past that's has its costs; leaning on each other along with the aid of their patients as demons and angels reek havoc within in the halls of asylum. Highly recommended.

[PaperbackGoddess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book. I was hesitant to start this one because it is not my usual genre, but it drew me in from the first line and I was hooked. The story starts out with a creative take on the old Cain and Abel tale but becomes its own story very quickly. The main character is likable and has depth, and the story flows at a good pace. With a lot of urban fantasy, I find it hard to keep invested and the story drags on, but that was not the case with The Curse of Cain. I definitely recommend reading this book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tahnia Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 years ago, Doctor Cain was asked by the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau if he would work at the Vilokan Asylum for the Magically and Mentally Deranged. Now he runs with the pack of rougarou in the Manchac swamp every full moon and provides them with counseling. These 3 stories have Bible references throughout, mostly from Genesis but some references from the Book of Revelation and others are also added. There is lots of action, a small amount of romance, and the ending is a cliffhanger. Very highly recommended.

I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Christi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of the three in this three book volume is the one I liked best, but all 3 are entertaining and full of action and humor. The MJ error Cassidy committed and the Thriller fiasco is one of those priceless moments. It was cool to see the brothers together again, too. I have read several different books from different authors with Cain as the MC. This author has done a fantastic job. I am looking forward to it reading more in this series as well as the associated storylines and his other books.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a three in one story book featuring Cain. Cain has been featured in several of Monroe's series. He is the Cain from Bible. After killing his brother he was cursed to walk the earth as a werewolf. Anyone who tries to kill him is also made a werewolf. This book features him helping a necromancer, an angel and a vampire. We learn more about Cain's life and the community he works. We see familiar faces from other series. Overall, a great start to a wonderful series as always by Monroe. I volunteered to read this book via Booksprout.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is actually three PG paranormal books in one, includes the well-spun theosophical musings of Theophilus Monroe, and will fill a weekend.

The Curse of Cain deals with the case of Cassidy Brown and takes most of a day to read.

Razing Cain has the balance of the future and the purpose of creation in question and can be read in a long afternoon.

Cain and Angel addresses the problem of neutrality and can be read in an evening.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is no surprise that this author has a background in religious studies

the characters in this and his other series turn angelic and demonic hierarchies sideways and backwards, and allow for the development of famous characters- like Cain

I find it intriguing to look at him and reconfigurations of legends linked to Cain

a werewolf former murderer seeking a different path and guiding others on their journeys is an appealing notion - and one heck of a read as dome bad ass entities collide

[Gail]

Unusual, but so good.

I didn't realise when I downloaded this book, that it was THREE books!!!! 😂😂

Cain, yes THAT Cain, is still alive and working in an asylum for the Magically and Mentally Deranged.

He's also cursed, cursed to be a Werewolf, so any Weres that come in, he knows what they're going through.

But, being in New Orleans he also treats the Voodoo community, Vampires and everything in between.

The three books are well written and the characters that appear over the course of them are interesting and make the book even better.

[blueyed_cntry_girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how we go back to Cain and get his story but more with the others. Theo is a genius when it comes to writing all this fantasy stuff. He writes it so smoothly that if you didn’t know better seems real. I recommend reading all of his books. He takes you into another world yet still being on earth. I know I know it’s strange but definitely good, funny, suspenseful and more!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.