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The Case Of The Puppeteer's Play: A Chloe Stewart Novel, Book Three
Chloe Stewart is back in a new adventure brimming with monsters, mayhem, and magic.
When the murders first started, Chloe tried not to think about them. After all, she has a family – she can’t be gallivanting all over Chicago chasing a supernaturally- strong method killer. Not to mention there are some … rifts in her usual gang of monster hunters at the moment. But the body count kept climbing, and now the boss from Hell has officially put her on the case. As always, saying no to the Chicago Outfit isn’t an option.
The race is on for Chloe and her companions to uncover the murderer's identity – and whether they come from this world or not. But what begins as a simple whodunit quickly reveals a threat to the city greater than any of them could ever imagine.
When the murders first started, Chloe tried not to think about them. After all, she has a family – she can’t be gallivanting all over Chicago chasing a supernaturally- strong method killer. Not to mention there are some … rifts in her usual gang of monster hunters at the moment. But the body count kept climbing, and now the boss from Hell has officially put her on the case. As always, saying no to the Chicago Outfit isn’t an option.
The race is on for Chloe and her companions to uncover the murderer's identity – and whether they come from this world or not. But what begins as a simple whodunit quickly reveals a threat to the city greater than any of them could ever imagine.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2025
1 person is currently reading
About the author
Sullivan Hardgrave
4 books4 followersSullivan Hardgrave is a writer and artist. He served honorably in the US Navy, but a sleep disorder and ADHD made him seek other career avenues. He has a passion for stories, games, and most things nerdy. He works and lives in Northeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and their orange cat, Tropicana.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 2, 2025
Starting quickly with a thank you to the author for sending across an arc copy to review! Having really enjoyed the previous two books, needless to say I was excited to get stuck into this! And I wasn't disappointed. The case of the puppeteer's play is another fantastic entry in the Chloe Sullivan series! Picking up after the events of the second book, we get a deeper look at all of the characters we’ve come to know over the course of the series thus far, exploring Chloe and Crank’s home life with Angelina (who is ADORABLE!), HWE’s role in the outfit and of course my personal favourite Elliot and Telly’s evolving…situation, is the best way I can put it without spoiling anything. The Puppeteer’s play does a fantastic job of picking up and weaving in leftover plot points from the previous two entries, culminating in a showdown that has been building, well, probably since the first book! The only important point I feel the need to drop in is that while the previous two entries could be understood without reading each other, it is a bit of required reading to have finished the other two books to understand the throughlines/hints throughout the novel and to gain the maximum satisfaction from the final showdown. So go and read those first! If you enjoyed the previous two entries then it’s defo a must read!
October 22, 2025
I received a free Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the author. The review below is my honest opinion.
The last two Chloe Stewart novels had several loose ends scattered about, waiting for a third installment to wrap them up. The Case of the Puppateer's Play does exactly that, in thrilling fashion.
I will say the beginning is probably the slowest of the three books so far. There's several perspective characters that we need updates on since the second one wrapped, and the pacing suffers a bit for the sake of setup. But once the story gets going, it takes off like a rocket. It's clearly the highest-stakes Chloe and Co. have wrestled with yet, and in a series full of pulpy magic, cyborgs, and dieselpunk Nazis, that's saying something. Twists and turns lead to oodles of fight scenes, all of which are handled well by Hardgrave.
The lead characters are also a strong point here, elevating the story. They're put through the wringer in unexpected ways, and seeing their interactions shows Hardgrave cares about their overall growth through his series. The end promises that a fourth installment is on the way, but it's clear that things could be VERY different going forward.
If you liked Hardgrave's previous installments, you'll LOVE this one.
The last two Chloe Stewart novels had several loose ends scattered about, waiting for a third installment to wrap them up. The Case of the Puppateer's Play does exactly that, in thrilling fashion.
I will say the beginning is probably the slowest of the three books so far. There's several perspective characters that we need updates on since the second one wrapped, and the pacing suffers a bit for the sake of setup. But once the story gets going, it takes off like a rocket. It's clearly the highest-stakes Chloe and Co. have wrestled with yet, and in a series full of pulpy magic, cyborgs, and dieselpunk Nazis, that's saying something. Twists and turns lead to oodles of fight scenes, all of which are handled well by Hardgrave.
The lead characters are also a strong point here, elevating the story. They're put through the wringer in unexpected ways, and seeing their interactions shows Hardgrave cares about their overall growth through his series. The end promises that a fourth installment is on the way, but it's clear that things could be VERY different going forward.
If you liked Hardgrave's previous installments, you'll LOVE this one.
September 29, 2025
The Case of the Puppeteer’s Play is the third novel of Sullivan Hardgrave’s The Chloe Stewart series. The middle child, it arrives after the gang fended off an invasion and settled a turf war. In a lot of ways, this is more of an examination/aftermath of those two books as the cast settles into their lives.
Chloe and Crank balance their family and work, with Chloe being swamped with her new position and Crank having a grand time teaching the next gen. Meanwhile, Elliot continues to do his best to deal with Telly, and HWE tries to get back on track.
Many plots that began in the last book are resolved here. Sadly, one of the key weaknesses of the previous book was the setup for many things to arrive only to land with a mild hit. Thankfully, by the end of the book, it clears itself of the messy wiring and boldly changes key dynamics with a fresh start.
Not the strongest book in the series, it still showcases a ton of compelling mysteries and shocking threats. With Sullivan’s style, the book breezes by and leaves you happy to have read it.
Chloe and Crank balance their family and work, with Chloe being swamped with her new position and Crank having a grand time teaching the next gen. Meanwhile, Elliot continues to do his best to deal with Telly, and HWE tries to get back on track.
Many plots that began in the last book are resolved here. Sadly, one of the key weaknesses of the previous book was the setup for many things to arrive only to land with a mild hit. Thankfully, by the end of the book, it clears itself of the messy wiring and boldly changes key dynamics with a fresh start.
Not the strongest book in the series, it still showcases a ton of compelling mysteries and shocking threats. With Sullivan’s style, the book breezes by and leaves you happy to have read it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews