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Graveyard Shift
Police procedurals go supernatural in this gritty urban fantasy debut
Alex Menkaure, former pharaoh and mummy, and his vampire partner, Marcus, who was born in ancient Rome, once hunted evil vampires for UMBRA, a super-secret unit of the NSA. That was before the discovery of a blood substitute and a Supreme Court ruling allowed thousands of vampires to integrate into society.
Now, Alex and Marcus are vice cops in a special police unit. They fight to keep the streets safe from criminal vampires, shape-shifters, blood-dealers, and anti-vampire vigilantes.
When someone starts poisoning the artificial blood, race relations between vampires and humans deteriorate to the brink of anarchy. While the city threatens to tear itself apart, Alex and Marcus must form an unnatural alliance with a vigilante gang and a shape-shifter woman in a desperate battle against an ancient vampire conspiracy.
If they succeed, they'll be pariahs, hunted by everyone. If they fail, the result will be a race-war bloodierthan any the world has ever seen.
Gritty urban fantasy and hard-boiled noir packed into a hand grenade of awesome! Mario Acevedo, author of Werewolf Smackdown
Alex Menkaure, former pharaoh and mummy, and his vampire partner, Marcus, who was born in ancient Rome, once hunted evil vampires for UMBRA, a super-secret unit of the NSA. That was before the discovery of a blood substitute and a Supreme Court ruling allowed thousands of vampires to integrate into society.
Now, Alex and Marcus are vice cops in a special police unit. They fight to keep the streets safe from criminal vampires, shape-shifters, blood-dealers, and anti-vampire vigilantes.
When someone starts poisoning the artificial blood, race relations between vampires and humans deteriorate to the brink of anarchy. While the city threatens to tear itself apart, Alex and Marcus must form an unnatural alliance with a vigilante gang and a shape-shifter woman in a desperate battle against an ancient vampire conspiracy.
If they succeed, they'll be pariahs, hunted by everyone. If they fail, the result will be a race-war bloodierthan any the world has ever seen.
Gritty urban fantasy and hard-boiled noir packed into a hand grenade of awesome! Mario Acevedo, author of Werewolf Smackdown
352 pages, Hardcover
First published July 18, 2017
36 people are currently reading
603 people want to read
About the author
Michael F. Haspil
7 books47 followersMichael F. Haspil is a geeky engineer and nerdy artist. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he had the opportunities to serve as an ICBM crew commander and as a launch director at Cape Canaveral. The art of storytelling called to him from a young age and he has plied his craft over many years and through diverse media. He has written original stories for as long as he can remember and has dabbled in many genres. However, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror have whispered directly to his soul.
When he isn’t writing, you can find him sharing stories with his role-playing group, cosplaying, computer gaming, or collecting and creating replica movie props. Lately, he devotes the bulk of his hobby time to assembling and painting miniatures for his tabletop wargaming addiction.
Michael is represented by Sara Megibow of the KT Literary Agency and Adrian Garcia of the Paradigm Talent Agency.
He has collected and made replica movie props for over twenty years and enjoys the way a particular collectible lets an individual connect with a meaningful story.
He spends entirely too much time gaming or thinking (some might say ‘scheming’) about strategies and tactics in all kinds of gaming be it board games, computer games, or his passion, tabletop wargaming. He devotes the largest share of the gaming pie to Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. He has collected and played Grey Knights, Space Marines, Tyranids, Dark Eldar, Necrons, and Space Wolves. Michael is a regular contributor to “The Long War” a premiere podcast and webcast dedicated to tabletop gaming, but especially to Warhammer 40,000.
When he isn’t writing, you can find him sharing stories with his role-playing group, cosplaying, computer gaming, or collecting and creating replica movie props. Lately, he devotes the bulk of his hobby time to assembling and painting miniatures for his tabletop wargaming addiction.
Michael is represented by Sara Megibow of the KT Literary Agency and Adrian Garcia of the Paradigm Talent Agency.
He has collected and made replica movie props for over twenty years and enjoys the way a particular collectible lets an individual connect with a meaningful story.
He spends entirely too much time gaming or thinking (some might say ‘scheming’) about strategies and tactics in all kinds of gaming be it board games, computer games, or his passion, tabletop wargaming. He devotes the largest share of the gaming pie to Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. He has collected and played Grey Knights, Space Marines, Tyranids, Dark Eldar, Necrons, and Space Wolves. Michael is a regular contributor to “The Long War” a premiere podcast and webcast dedicated to tabletop gaming, but especially to Warhammer 40,000.
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July 18, 2017
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/07/18/...
Graveyard Shift, pitched as paranormal urban fantasy meets hard-boiled mystery noir, landed on my radar earlier this year and immediately had me salivating at its potential. On top of genre staples like vampires and shapeshifters, this intriguing debut also features a millennia-old main character who used to be a pharaoh and mummy, and as far as selling points go, you just can’t get much more irresistible than that.
When the story begins, our aforementioned former pharaoh/mummy protagonist and Miami vice cop Detective Alex Romer has just been called upon to investigate the scene of grisly murder. It appears that the serial killer known as “Abraham” has struck again, dealing another vicious blow Nocturn-human relations. While vampires—or Nocturns, as they prefer to be called—have been integrated into society ever since their big reveal many years back, these incidents are proof that not everyone has been quite accepting of them. Anti-vampire attitudes have led to groups of vigilantes targeting and killing Nocturns, and worse, the police has also recently learned of a rash of incidents involving poisoned artificial blood drinks showing up on store shelves, sending whoever consumes them into an uncontrollable frenzy.
Now Alex and his partner, an ancient vampire named Marcus, are on the case, doing whatever it takes to sniff out new leads, from shaking down black market blood-dealers in back alleys to trying to infiltrate the shady blood clubs operated by the violent gangs. Meanwhile, paranormal crimes are at an all-time high across Miami, straining the already stressed resources at the special police department in charge of such matters, which is unfortunately leaving their detectives with little support in the field. Desperate to put an end to the chaos but quickly running out of time to do it, Alex and Marcus are forced to team up with dubious allies in order to save innocent lives and keep the city from tearing itself apart.
While it didn’t turn out to be as original or distinctive as I’d hoped, Graveyard Shift was still a lot of fun. Unfolding like your typical police procedural, the story might not be breaking any new ground, but author Michael F. Haspil does succeed in injecting some fresh elements into this equation, and foremost of them is his main protagonist Alex. Once known as the Pharaoh Menkaure, Alex has racked up quite a resume for dealing with supernatural incidents in the thousands of years since he’s been around. Even before he became a Miami detective tasked with investigating Nocturn-related crimes, he was a part of UMBRA, a top-secret government organization involved with the hunting down of any wayward blood drinkers. However, now that the existence of vampires has been revealed to the world, his job has become a lot more complicated and mired in bureaucracy.
Despite the cool factor behind Alex’s origins though, I do wish that we’d gotten a bit more character development and backstory. While he may have fulfilled all the expectations of a standard urban fantasy hero, few of his personality traits stood out to me in particular, and there was also nothing specific in the book that convinced me that we were following the perspective of an ancient Egyptian king, beyond what the text simply stated. On top of that, we were only given tiny and infrequent glimpses into his past, though to be fair, I suspect Haspil might have been vague on Alex’s history on purpose in order to save that story for a future installment. While I wish we’d gotten a fuller picture of his character, I can also understand why an author might want to hold on to some cards and not reveal them all too early.
The story was entertaining and its fast pace kept me on my toes. That said, there was also a lot going on, and sometimes the multiple plot threads had a way of straying from the main conflict. If you enjoy action and mystery though, this novel will have plenty to satisfy your thirst, and eventually everything will tie together and set up possibilities for the future.
All in all, Graveyard Shift is a debut that delivers a solid beginning, and the seeds of potential have been planted for this series to become a strong contender in the genre. The way the book ends leads me to think there will be a lot more to come and I look forward to seeing what’s next.
Graveyard Shift, pitched as paranormal urban fantasy meets hard-boiled mystery noir, landed on my radar earlier this year and immediately had me salivating at its potential. On top of genre staples like vampires and shapeshifters, this intriguing debut also features a millennia-old main character who used to be a pharaoh and mummy, and as far as selling points go, you just can’t get much more irresistible than that.
When the story begins, our aforementioned former pharaoh/mummy protagonist and Miami vice cop Detective Alex Romer has just been called upon to investigate the scene of grisly murder. It appears that the serial killer known as “Abraham” has struck again, dealing another vicious blow Nocturn-human relations. While vampires—or Nocturns, as they prefer to be called—have been integrated into society ever since their big reveal many years back, these incidents are proof that not everyone has been quite accepting of them. Anti-vampire attitudes have led to groups of vigilantes targeting and killing Nocturns, and worse, the police has also recently learned of a rash of incidents involving poisoned artificial blood drinks showing up on store shelves, sending whoever consumes them into an uncontrollable frenzy.
Now Alex and his partner, an ancient vampire named Marcus, are on the case, doing whatever it takes to sniff out new leads, from shaking down black market blood-dealers in back alleys to trying to infiltrate the shady blood clubs operated by the violent gangs. Meanwhile, paranormal crimes are at an all-time high across Miami, straining the already stressed resources at the special police department in charge of such matters, which is unfortunately leaving their detectives with little support in the field. Desperate to put an end to the chaos but quickly running out of time to do it, Alex and Marcus are forced to team up with dubious allies in order to save innocent lives and keep the city from tearing itself apart.
While it didn’t turn out to be as original or distinctive as I’d hoped, Graveyard Shift was still a lot of fun. Unfolding like your typical police procedural, the story might not be breaking any new ground, but author Michael F. Haspil does succeed in injecting some fresh elements into this equation, and foremost of them is his main protagonist Alex. Once known as the Pharaoh Menkaure, Alex has racked up quite a resume for dealing with supernatural incidents in the thousands of years since he’s been around. Even before he became a Miami detective tasked with investigating Nocturn-related crimes, he was a part of UMBRA, a top-secret government organization involved with the hunting down of any wayward blood drinkers. However, now that the existence of vampires has been revealed to the world, his job has become a lot more complicated and mired in bureaucracy.
Despite the cool factor behind Alex’s origins though, I do wish that we’d gotten a bit more character development and backstory. While he may have fulfilled all the expectations of a standard urban fantasy hero, few of his personality traits stood out to me in particular, and there was also nothing specific in the book that convinced me that we were following the perspective of an ancient Egyptian king, beyond what the text simply stated. On top of that, we were only given tiny and infrequent glimpses into his past, though to be fair, I suspect Haspil might have been vague on Alex’s history on purpose in order to save that story for a future installment. While I wish we’d gotten a fuller picture of his character, I can also understand why an author might want to hold on to some cards and not reveal them all too early.
The story was entertaining and its fast pace kept me on my toes. That said, there was also a lot going on, and sometimes the multiple plot threads had a way of straying from the main conflict. If you enjoy action and mystery though, this novel will have plenty to satisfy your thirst, and eventually everything will tie together and set up possibilities for the future.
All in all, Graveyard Shift is a debut that delivers a solid beginning, and the seeds of potential have been planted for this series to become a strong contender in the genre. The way the book ends leads me to think there will be a lot more to come and I look forward to seeing what’s next.
July 18, 2017
4 Stars
Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
I was excited as soon as I read the blurb for this book because 1) I love uncommon supernatural creatures, 2) I love vampires, and 3) I love Miami as a setting. And I gotta say, the book did not disappoint in those regards. It also lived up to the description of gritty that’s in the blurb in the sense that the creatures, the characters, the city, the police work—none of it was romanticized. It was all just kinda was what it was, even when it was ugly.
I have to admit though, I thought I could get down with the whole police procedural thing, but it was confusing to me at times. There was a lot going on, what with all the different groups (the police units, the supernatural groups, the anti-supernatural groups, the government agencies, etc.) and lots of human and vampire politics, and I’m also just not familiar with how all the cop stuff works. But I think I eventually got all the important stuff down, and I got more into everything as the story went on.
The only other issue I had (just to get the negatives out of the way) was the POVs. There were multiple, and sometimes we would be in one character’s POV for a bit and then all the sudden jump to another POV with no indication. (Or maybe it was just omniscient? It didn't quite feel omniscient though.) But there were also whole chapters with only one POV, so it was only an occasional issue. And this seemed like more of a plot-focused book anyway.
But, even though this may have been pretty plot-focused, I still thought both Alex and Marcus were interesting, and I liked the parts with their POVs the most. Both have been alive, and around each other, for a long time. My favorite thing was the banter between them, especially when they joked about each others’ pasts or supernatural status, like when Marcus told Alex not to get his bandages in a bunch. And it’s because of these two characters that I want to continue the series.
As for the whole mummy thing, I loved the author’s take on it. I love books about uncommon supernatural beings, and this was the first one I found with a mummy as the protagonist. He had the ability of astral projection, he got his energy from the Egyptian Sun God, he had a cat (because of course he would have a cat), and gosh, his solarium sounded GORGEOUS. I don’t even get my energy from the sun, but I want a solarium just like that for myself anyway. Oh, and let’s not forget his ringtone ;-)
The vampires, and the world-building that came with them having been revealed, was interesting too. There were fake blood products being sold, blood clubs, the “S&B lifestyle” (sangers & bleeders), illegal blood trade, etc.
So overall, this book was a really enjoyable read with a neat take on an uncommon type of supernatural, interesting main characters, and fun interaction between them, all wrapped up in a gritty package!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes uncommon supernatural creatures (a mummy), vampires, gritty urban fantasy, and police procedural.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
First Thoughts:
Was not disappointed by the mummy MC or the vampires! Full review soon.
Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
I was excited as soon as I read the blurb for this book because 1) I love uncommon supernatural creatures, 2) I love vampires, and 3) I love Miami as a setting. And I gotta say, the book did not disappoint in those regards. It also lived up to the description of gritty that’s in the blurb in the sense that the creatures, the characters, the city, the police work—none of it was romanticized. It was all just kinda was what it was, even when it was ugly.
I have to admit though, I thought I could get down with the whole police procedural thing, but it was confusing to me at times. There was a lot going on, what with all the different groups (the police units, the supernatural groups, the anti-supernatural groups, the government agencies, etc.) and lots of human and vampire politics, and I’m also just not familiar with how all the cop stuff works. But I think I eventually got all the important stuff down, and I got more into everything as the story went on.
The only other issue I had (just to get the negatives out of the way) was the POVs. There were multiple, and sometimes we would be in one character’s POV for a bit and then all the sudden jump to another POV with no indication. (Or maybe it was just omniscient? It didn't quite feel omniscient though.) But there were also whole chapters with only one POV, so it was only an occasional issue. And this seemed like more of a plot-focused book anyway.
But, even though this may have been pretty plot-focused, I still thought both Alex and Marcus were interesting, and I liked the parts with their POVs the most. Both have been alive, and around each other, for a long time. My favorite thing was the banter between them, especially when they joked about each others’ pasts or supernatural status, like when Marcus told Alex not to get his bandages in a bunch. And it’s because of these two characters that I want to continue the series.
As for the whole mummy thing, I loved the author’s take on it. I love books about uncommon supernatural beings, and this was the first one I found with a mummy as the protagonist. He had the ability of astral projection, he got his energy from the Egyptian Sun God, he had a cat (because of course he would have a cat), and gosh, his solarium sounded GORGEOUS. I don’t even get my energy from the sun, but I want a solarium just like that for myself anyway. Oh, and let’s not forget his ringtone ;-)
The vampires, and the world-building that came with them having been revealed, was interesting too. There were fake blood products being sold, blood clubs, the “S&B lifestyle” (sangers & bleeders), illegal blood trade, etc.
So overall, this book was a really enjoyable read with a neat take on an uncommon type of supernatural, interesting main characters, and fun interaction between them, all wrapped up in a gritty package!
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes uncommon supernatural creatures (a mummy), vampires, gritty urban fantasy, and police procedural.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
---------------------
First Thoughts:
Was not disappointed by the mummy MC or the vampires! Full review soon.
Want to read
November 8, 2017I tried SO HARD to get into Graveyard Shift. I really wanted to love it. The plot is so fun - this guy who's secretly the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian, being forced to live on earth and bust up rogue vampires until he earns his redemption? I love the idea of it! Unfortunately, something about it just refuses to catch me. I've picked it up and put it back down three times now and finally decided it wasn't fair to keep the publishers waiting on a full review that will probably never come. I won't add a star rating, because I honestly think this book could be amazing for the right person, but I don't think that person is me.
Thank you to Tor Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to Tor Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
September 19, 2017
First I want to say that I tend to stay away from vampire books nowadays, it's just a book motif that has been done so many times now that I feel it's been overdone and I prefer other paranormal creatures. As long as it's not zombies, I feel the same way about zombies. However, the main characters in this book, Alex Menkaure, is a former pharaoh and mummy. That sold me, and I thought "what the heck, let's hope the vampire storyline works!"
And, yes and no, it was not that bad, I liked the book, but I felt that the whole vampire conspiracy plot didn't totally rock my boat. But, at the same time, I really liked both Alex and his vampire partner Marcus who was born in ancient Rome. This is the kind of book that, despite the storyline not completely enthralled me still was enjoyable thanks to awesome characters actually made me enjoy the book and want more. This book really has the feeling of being the first in a series since we only gotten to know some tidbits about Alex, that some woman has made him the way he is today, but not why or who she really was. And, I want to know more about both Alex and Marcus pasts. How they met, the years the work together for UMBRA, etc.
Now, I know I was a bit negative when it came to the plot of the book. I did find part of the book quite good, it was more that I didn't truly love the story. It's definitely an OK book and I guess I just wanted it to get to me more than it did. I did like the vampire aspects of the book, them being known to the humans. And, it was refreshing to find a vampire book that actually worked for me. I just hope that the next book will have a stronger story, one that will captivate me. Because I truly loved the idea of reading a book about a main male character who is a mummy.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
And, yes and no, it was not that bad, I liked the book, but I felt that the whole vampire conspiracy plot didn't totally rock my boat. But, at the same time, I really liked both Alex and his vampire partner Marcus who was born in ancient Rome. This is the kind of book that, despite the storyline not completely enthralled me still was enjoyable thanks to awesome characters actually made me enjoy the book and want more. This book really has the feeling of being the first in a series since we only gotten to know some tidbits about Alex, that some woman has made him the way he is today, but not why or who she really was. And, I want to know more about both Alex and Marcus pasts. How they met, the years the work together for UMBRA, etc.
Now, I know I was a bit negative when it came to the plot of the book. I did find part of the book quite good, it was more that I didn't truly love the story. It's definitely an OK book and I guess I just wanted it to get to me more than it did. I did like the vampire aspects of the book, them being known to the humans. And, it was refreshing to find a vampire book that actually worked for me. I just hope that the next book will have a stronger story, one that will captivate me. Because I truly loved the idea of reading a book about a main male character who is a mummy.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!
December 18, 2022
Vampires, Lycanthropes, and a Mummy involved with the Miami Police Vice Unit?!? Of course I had to get this book. Unfortunately, the first half of the book is confusing, jumbled and just plain messy in my opinion and I almost gave up on it. Luckily I didn’t as the second half really started to shine as everything came together, alliances were forged and our protagonists battled for the fate of the world.
August 18, 2017
I'm not really sure how to rate this so I'm just going with a soft three stars. It's a decent start to a new series and tossing in something new with a centuries old Pharaoh as a main character makes for a welcome departure from the usual supernatural line up. That said, I might have liked this more if I had read it myself but, as it is, I listened to the audiobook and it didn't really work for me. I've listened to the narrator before and have not had issues with his work but I think he was going for a detective noir vibe and so he mostly came off sounding bored. Plus, I really, really, really hated the voice he used for Marcus. If I read the second book (if there is one) I'll try reading it myself.
September 5, 2017
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.
A police procedural should investigate the main characters, just as the characters are investigating a crime. In GRAVEYARD SHIFT, there doesn’t seem to be much individuality between its investigators, when there should be worlds of difference. GRAVEYARD SHIFT has a great hook: Detective Alex Romer, née Menkaure, works in Nocturn Affairs, solving vampire-related cases. As a former pharaoh and Ancient, Alex has to douse himself in cologne to cover up the smell of mummified death that lingers around him. Vampires are told that Alex has a terminal illness in order to explain the strange scent.
Alex isn’t fond of vampires, but is working in a unit filled with them. He’s also partnered with Marcus, a vampire who used to be a Roman general. Alex tells us that Marcus is broody and serious. So there’s an expectation that Marcus’ POV will be sorrowful and filled with remorse. But it isn’t. In fact, there’s no tonal difference between Alex’s chapters and Marcus’. In fact, we later learn that Marcus is a seducer, content to hold vampire sex parties. There are several different POVs used throughout the book to explain the different factions involved but due to the growing list of terminology and sameness in the writing style, it’s difficult to remember who was important. There’s a lot of needlessly specialized terms in the novel. So much so that I wish there was an explanation at the start of the novel. Using the word ‘vampire’, is considered a slur in GRAVEYARD SHIFT. Nocturn is the new PC term for vampire. Sangers is slang for vampires. Sangri is the artificial blood. Thropes are shifters. It goes on.
Police procedurals are one of my favourite sub-genres in urban fantasy. I want methodical work, characters that are obsessed with finding the truth, even at personal or professional costs. Surprisingly, the police work in GRAVEYARD SHIFT felt dry. Sure there’s brutal murders and a city that’s tense with fear, but neither Alex nor Marcus seem overly stressed about their cases. With a serial killer loose, citizen mobs, and a tainted blood supply, you’d expect a little more desperation and rashness.
I felt lost with all the name-dropping and knowing glances between characters. I kept feeling like I missed a joke or important plot point because I didn’t know the previous 200 years of character history. For the first time, there was too much lived background between the characters. Both Alex, Marcus, and a few others, used to work for UMBRA, a secret organization that kept the supernatural in line. There are special terms for vampires. There’s Alex’s personal history. There’s the Lightbearer Society that used to wreak havoc. In fact, they’re mentioned in the first murder scene. There’s a villain called Abraham that both Alex and Marcus are sure is the killer. In short, there’s a lot of background information that leaves readers scratching their heads, wondering if they’ve missed a book. The complex mythology that GRAVEYARD SHIFT tries to create ends up overwhelming the reader and distracting from what should be the most important element of the novel: the characters.
Sexual content: moderate sex scenes
A police procedural should investigate the main characters, just as the characters are investigating a crime. In GRAVEYARD SHIFT, there doesn’t seem to be much individuality between its investigators, when there should be worlds of difference. GRAVEYARD SHIFT has a great hook: Detective Alex Romer, née Menkaure, works in Nocturn Affairs, solving vampire-related cases. As a former pharaoh and Ancient, Alex has to douse himself in cologne to cover up the smell of mummified death that lingers around him. Vampires are told that Alex has a terminal illness in order to explain the strange scent.
Alex isn’t fond of vampires, but is working in a unit filled with them. He’s also partnered with Marcus, a vampire who used to be a Roman general. Alex tells us that Marcus is broody and serious. So there’s an expectation that Marcus’ POV will be sorrowful and filled with remorse. But it isn’t. In fact, there’s no tonal difference between Alex’s chapters and Marcus’. In fact, we later learn that Marcus is a seducer, content to hold vampire sex parties. There are several different POVs used throughout the book to explain the different factions involved but due to the growing list of terminology and sameness in the writing style, it’s difficult to remember who was important. There’s a lot of needlessly specialized terms in the novel. So much so that I wish there was an explanation at the start of the novel. Using the word ‘vampire’, is considered a slur in GRAVEYARD SHIFT. Nocturn is the new PC term for vampire. Sangers is slang for vampires. Sangri is the artificial blood. Thropes are shifters. It goes on.
Police procedurals are one of my favourite sub-genres in urban fantasy. I want methodical work, characters that are obsessed with finding the truth, even at personal or professional costs. Surprisingly, the police work in GRAVEYARD SHIFT felt dry. Sure there’s brutal murders and a city that’s tense with fear, but neither Alex nor Marcus seem overly stressed about their cases. With a serial killer loose, citizen mobs, and a tainted blood supply, you’d expect a little more desperation and rashness.
I felt lost with all the name-dropping and knowing glances between characters. I kept feeling like I missed a joke or important plot point because I didn’t know the previous 200 years of character history. For the first time, there was too much lived background between the characters. Both Alex, Marcus, and a few others, used to work for UMBRA, a secret organization that kept the supernatural in line. There are special terms for vampires. There’s Alex’s personal history. There’s the Lightbearer Society that used to wreak havoc. In fact, they’re mentioned in the first murder scene. There’s a villain called Abraham that both Alex and Marcus are sure is the killer. In short, there’s a lot of background information that leaves readers scratching their heads, wondering if they’ve missed a book. The complex mythology that GRAVEYARD SHIFT tries to create ends up overwhelming the reader and distracting from what should be the most important element of the novel: the characters.
Sexual content: moderate sex scenes
April 16, 2017
Pharaoh Menkaure of the 4th dynasty, dead for more than 4 millenia and similar to many of the mummies we have known to love in so many horror movies through the years, is now a cop in Miami and fighting evil vampires. This new urban fantasy is lots of fun!
November 2, 2017
I own this book and the audio version. Both are quality but I will admit to being obsessed with Michael Kramer the narrator of the audio version. I strongly recommend trying both.
July 28, 2017
This book was unlike any other I've read in what would be considered the Urban Fantasy drama genre. And yes, that's a good thing! Action packed, some twists and turns and some heavy (maybe dark is a better word) content. One of your main characters is a reincarnation of a Pharaoh (aka Mummy) that has been dead for roughly 4 million years. This incarnation of Menkaure, Alex, is a member of the NSA and along with his partner, Marcus, a Vampire, but not a bad one. You keeping up here?
I loved the plot, the action and suspense, how these two compliment each other and the character develop throughout the story. Now, I did get a bit confused at times because there are multiple POV's perhaps because one chapter might be five different POV's without a smooth transition or obvious notation for the reader that you were jumping to another character. Also, the enforcement aspect of the story is explained, but I was confused with some of the procedures at times.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this book so very much. I give the Author props for taking on the various supernatural or mythic characters and giving them his own twist to make the story different. Reading this book was like going to Six Flags. You had some intense moments, leaps, falls, like a roller coaster ride. And then there was a reprieve, a break while you stood in line for the next ride. Definitely worth a read.
I loved the plot, the action and suspense, how these two compliment each other and the character develop throughout the story. Now, I did get a bit confused at times because there are multiple POV's perhaps because one chapter might be five different POV's without a smooth transition or obvious notation for the reader that you were jumping to another character. Also, the enforcement aspect of the story is explained, but I was confused with some of the procedures at times.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this book so very much. I give the Author props for taking on the various supernatural or mythic characters and giving them his own twist to make the story different. Reading this book was like going to Six Flags. You had some intense moments, leaps, falls, like a roller coaster ride. And then there was a reprieve, a break while you stood in line for the next ride. Definitely worth a read.
July 16, 2017
In order to stand out in the crowded urban fantasy field, you have to bring something new to the table. Michael Haspil does exactly that in Graveyard Shift. The book focuses on a pair of vice cops, Alex and Marcus. Except the vice is vampires and Alex is a pharaoh turned cop and his partner Marcus is a vampire himself. Both are former members of UMBRA, a government organization tasked with hunting down vampires until the Reveal. The Reveal followed development of synthetic blood, Hemo-Synth, which allowed vampires to come out of the shadows and take their place alongside humans. UMBRA dissolved and now Alex and Marcus are part of Miami’s Nocturn Affairs unit, charged with investigating vampire involved crime.
Hemo-Synth is the only thing that allows the fragile peace between vampires and humans. A spate of incidents involving contaminated Hemo-Synth that sends vampires into a blood frenzy that sets the city on edge and strains the ability of the police to respond. Alex and Marcus are tasked with solving the mystery which involves ancient vampires, shapeshifters and a conspiracy that threatens to plunge the world into chaos.
Haspil wastes no time in drawing you into his world. He starts you off in the middle of an investigation and with a little time spent explaining the rules of this world, the action takes off. He creates a mystery with layers upon layers and fast-paced action that starts early and continues throughout the story. It builds to a crescendo that bursts with action, violence, explosions and a body count that would make George R.R. Martin blush.
Haspil delivers a good mystery with a lot of moving pieces and characters with different agendas and histories. Character backstory and development is dropped in a snippet at a time throughout the story. You don’t know a whole lot more about the characters at the end of the story than you did at the beginning. What you do get is an interesting cast, a top-notch mystery, and an urban fantasy that reads like a thriller. The ending sets up the possibility of future stories. I’m looking forward to learning more about these interesting characters. Bring on the next book! Highly recommended.
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher.
Hemo-Synth is the only thing that allows the fragile peace between vampires and humans. A spate of incidents involving contaminated Hemo-Synth that sends vampires into a blood frenzy that sets the city on edge and strains the ability of the police to respond. Alex and Marcus are tasked with solving the mystery which involves ancient vampires, shapeshifters and a conspiracy that threatens to plunge the world into chaos.
Haspil wastes no time in drawing you into his world. He starts you off in the middle of an investigation and with a little time spent explaining the rules of this world, the action takes off. He creates a mystery with layers upon layers and fast-paced action that starts early and continues throughout the story. It builds to a crescendo that bursts with action, violence, explosions and a body count that would make George R.R. Martin blush.
Haspil delivers a good mystery with a lot of moving pieces and characters with different agendas and histories. Character backstory and development is dropped in a snippet at a time throughout the story. You don’t know a whole lot more about the characters at the end of the story than you did at the beginning. What you do get is an interesting cast, a top-notch mystery, and an urban fantasy that reads like a thriller. The ending sets up the possibility of future stories. I’m looking forward to learning more about these interesting characters. Bring on the next book! Highly recommended.
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher.
July 7, 2018
Loved these characters in a well written and fast paced plot. It had just the right amount of suspense and mystery to keep the reader involved. I am looking forward to seeing what this writer does next. Hoping that this continues with a series.
August 14, 2017
3.5 stars
I recently finished Graveyard Shift and thought it made a good start to a new supernatural detective style series. I liked the concept. A world in which vampires exist and have announced their existence to the public and with the help of synthetic blood are living amicably amongst us. Supposedly - well, on the face of it. Underneath the surface, a simple scratch will reveal not so deeply hidden tensions. Vampires are predators, they've lived in the shadows for many moons, hunting their prey at night and enjoying the thrill of the chase and the terror that ensues. Drinking luke-warm blood out of a bottle doesn't really hold quite the same appeal to them as stalking a near petrified victim. On the other hand this is a new revelation and humans also are not completely happy with the discovery that these imaginary creatures they've contemplated for years are actually real. Many have taken to avoiding the night where possible, except the vampire wannabes of course who dress the part hoping for the immortal life that vampirism promises. With the rise in crime the tensions run deep and it's only a matter of time before chaos ensues.
Now, with the existence of vampires comes a new wave of crime, crime that needs it's own nocturnal police force and so as the story begins we make the introduction of 'Alex Menkaure, former pharaoh and mummy, and his vampire partner, Marcus, who was born in ancient Rome' as they go in hot pursuit of their latest job, a vampire in a blood frenzy - it doesn't sound pretty because it isn't pretty. Now, at first, this random attack appears to be a one off however it soon becomes apparent that isn't the case. At the same time there are a number of human, vigilante style attacks taking place which involves the death of a number of vampires and these crimes together with a spate of missing people and an influx of illegal blood and meat and you have a number of coincidences that are anything but coincidental.
What did I enjoy about Graveyard Shift in particular. It's a gritty, fast paced supernatural detective story. There is plenty of action here and none of it is pedestrian or humdrum. The crimes here all involve supernatural pursuits and lets just be honest, if vampires exist then it surely isn't a surprise to find out that other supernaturals also walk the earth. Set in Miami the story has an 'underworld' feel. There are seedy clubs and underhand transactions that take place in dark alleys. There is also a certain level of brutality which was to be expected in this sort of supernatural story - there are no sparkly vampires here and blood is definitely on the menu. On top of that there is a particularly grim market that trades in blood and meat products - a particularly unsavoury aspect to the supernatural phenomena.
The main characters are clearly Marcus and Alex - although I suspect that they might have an addition to their number after this book. I did like these two. On balance, at the moment, I think Marcus is probably my favourite character, which is a little unusual in that I feel this is more Alex's show. At the moment I don't have a real handle on Alex but hopefully that will develop, Marcus on the other hand, being a vampire, feels already well known - and I mean the in a good way not as a criticism - I simply think this is why I was able to form more of an attachment to him - plus I liked that he's this ancient creature who oozes menace and commands respect.
In terms of criticism. Well, I don't think this particularly brought too much new to the table - other than Alex being a mummy and there's still a lot of learn in that respect. I think there's a first book in series feel in that there isn't a lot of history involved with either of the two characters, but I suspect that's a definite ploy and more will probably be forthcoming in future stories but for the moment the characters need some development. It has a feel as though the author is waiting to reveal something and I look forward to reading more to see what surprises are in store.
All in all an entertaining read and a world that is just waiting to be built upon.
I received a copy of Graveyard Shift from the publisher through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
I recently finished Graveyard Shift and thought it made a good start to a new supernatural detective style series. I liked the concept. A world in which vampires exist and have announced their existence to the public and with the help of synthetic blood are living amicably amongst us. Supposedly - well, on the face of it. Underneath the surface, a simple scratch will reveal not so deeply hidden tensions. Vampires are predators, they've lived in the shadows for many moons, hunting their prey at night and enjoying the thrill of the chase and the terror that ensues. Drinking luke-warm blood out of a bottle doesn't really hold quite the same appeal to them as stalking a near petrified victim. On the other hand this is a new revelation and humans also are not completely happy with the discovery that these imaginary creatures they've contemplated for years are actually real. Many have taken to avoiding the night where possible, except the vampire wannabes of course who dress the part hoping for the immortal life that vampirism promises. With the rise in crime the tensions run deep and it's only a matter of time before chaos ensues.
Now, with the existence of vampires comes a new wave of crime, crime that needs it's own nocturnal police force and so as the story begins we make the introduction of 'Alex Menkaure, former pharaoh and mummy, and his vampire partner, Marcus, who was born in ancient Rome' as they go in hot pursuit of their latest job, a vampire in a blood frenzy - it doesn't sound pretty because it isn't pretty. Now, at first, this random attack appears to be a one off however it soon becomes apparent that isn't the case. At the same time there are a number of human, vigilante style attacks taking place which involves the death of a number of vampires and these crimes together with a spate of missing people and an influx of illegal blood and meat and you have a number of coincidences that are anything but coincidental.
What did I enjoy about Graveyard Shift in particular. It's a gritty, fast paced supernatural detective story. There is plenty of action here and none of it is pedestrian or humdrum. The crimes here all involve supernatural pursuits and lets just be honest, if vampires exist then it surely isn't a surprise to find out that other supernaturals also walk the earth. Set in Miami the story has an 'underworld' feel. There are seedy clubs and underhand transactions that take place in dark alleys. There is also a certain level of brutality which was to be expected in this sort of supernatural story - there are no sparkly vampires here and blood is definitely on the menu. On top of that there is a particularly grim market that trades in blood and meat products - a particularly unsavoury aspect to the supernatural phenomena.
The main characters are clearly Marcus and Alex - although I suspect that they might have an addition to their number after this book. I did like these two. On balance, at the moment, I think Marcus is probably my favourite character, which is a little unusual in that I feel this is more Alex's show. At the moment I don't have a real handle on Alex but hopefully that will develop, Marcus on the other hand, being a vampire, feels already well known - and I mean the in a good way not as a criticism - I simply think this is why I was able to form more of an attachment to him - plus I liked that he's this ancient creature who oozes menace and commands respect.
In terms of criticism. Well, I don't think this particularly brought too much new to the table - other than Alex being a mummy and there's still a lot of learn in that respect. I think there's a first book in series feel in that there isn't a lot of history involved with either of the two characters, but I suspect that's a definite ploy and more will probably be forthcoming in future stories but for the moment the characters need some development. It has a feel as though the author is waiting to reveal something and I look forward to reading more to see what surprises are in store.
All in all an entertaining read and a world that is just waiting to be built upon.
I received a copy of Graveyard Shift from the publisher through Netgalley for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
May 10, 2021
In the first book in the new series, Michal F. Haspil adds a new warrior to the urban fantasy world, one that has been dead longer than most vampires have been alive:
Alex Menkaure, former Pharaoh and now a mummy, is now a cop in a specialized unit that deals with vampires and anything else that goes bump in the night. Alex also has a partner Marcus, a vampire, that he has worked with previously in a specialized government unit and together they are probably the best team when it is discovered that someone is poisoning the artificial blood supply. Instead of sating the vampire that drinks it, instead they enter into a blood frenzy and kill anyone who is around. Alex and Marcus need to discover the source of the poisoned blood in order to stop mayhem from erupting on the streets, but there are old and strong forces at play here, human and vampire and only one can win.
Well this was a really fun book and had me reading way past my bedtime and trying to read every extra minute that I could get, even if it was just a page or two. All the usual suspects are here with werewolves, vampires and vampires assimilating into the human world, synthetic blood and such. But where Haspil shines is with his addition of adding a Mummy into the mix, yet you read that right a Mummy. Who would have thought that would change the dynamic so much, but trust me it did. Also this was Haspil's debut novel, and it was really well done and I think the mystery aspect with the synthetic blood was fairly well developed.
Personally, I love Alex as a character and he does have some character growth in this book which is appreciated and unexpected for an individual who has walked the Earth for centuries. Haspil had such a cool, unique and different idea by bringing Egyptian culture into the paranormal one, and honestly it makes me think why it has not been done more. Haspil found such a cool way to fight vampires and really who better than someone who is powered by the Sun, the complete opposite of the Vampire life. Alex also doesn't give much of Fuck about most things, seeing as how he has lived a long time, this does make him feel like an anti-hero at times.
I think the main problem that I had with this book was that it does not read like a first book in a series. There are too many references to the past and I get that Alex and Marcus are centuries old, and there will be history there, but I think a better first novel would have been one where they were just starting out with UMBRA or still under that program. UMBRA is a government agency that they both used to be apart of toe "deal" with the emerging Vampire program, so I would have been an interesting book too. What happens in this book is that Haspil refers back to UMBRA too often (I want to say several times in each chapter) that it makes the reader feel like they are missing something, that there was a book before this one that fleshed out the relationship between Marcus and Alex more and how they both came to be police cops.
I really enjoyed this debut novel and I think that Haspil brought some fresh ideas into the urban fantasy genre. I do hope that he continues on with this series, as I know I would pick up the next one.
Enjoy!!!
Alex Menkaure, former Pharaoh and now a mummy, is now a cop in a specialized unit that deals with vampires and anything else that goes bump in the night. Alex also has a partner Marcus, a vampire, that he has worked with previously in a specialized government unit and together they are probably the best team when it is discovered that someone is poisoning the artificial blood supply. Instead of sating the vampire that drinks it, instead they enter into a blood frenzy and kill anyone who is around. Alex and Marcus need to discover the source of the poisoned blood in order to stop mayhem from erupting on the streets, but there are old and strong forces at play here, human and vampire and only one can win.
Well this was a really fun book and had me reading way past my bedtime and trying to read every extra minute that I could get, even if it was just a page or two. All the usual suspects are here with werewolves, vampires and vampires assimilating into the human world, synthetic blood and such. But where Haspil shines is with his addition of adding a Mummy into the mix, yet you read that right a Mummy. Who would have thought that would change the dynamic so much, but trust me it did. Also this was Haspil's debut novel, and it was really well done and I think the mystery aspect with the synthetic blood was fairly well developed.
Personally, I love Alex as a character and he does have some character growth in this book which is appreciated and unexpected for an individual who has walked the Earth for centuries. Haspil had such a cool, unique and different idea by bringing Egyptian culture into the paranormal one, and honestly it makes me think why it has not been done more. Haspil found such a cool way to fight vampires and really who better than someone who is powered by the Sun, the complete opposite of the Vampire life. Alex also doesn't give much of Fuck about most things, seeing as how he has lived a long time, this does make him feel like an anti-hero at times.
I think the main problem that I had with this book was that it does not read like a first book in a series. There are too many references to the past and I get that Alex and Marcus are centuries old, and there will be history there, but I think a better first novel would have been one where they were just starting out with UMBRA or still under that program. UMBRA is a government agency that they both used to be apart of toe "deal" with the emerging Vampire program, so I would have been an interesting book too. What happens in this book is that Haspil refers back to UMBRA too often (I want to say several times in each chapter) that it makes the reader feel like they are missing something, that there was a book before this one that fleshed out the relationship between Marcus and Alex more and how they both came to be police cops.
I really enjoyed this debut novel and I think that Haspil brought some fresh ideas into the urban fantasy genre. I do hope that he continues on with this series, as I know I would pick up the next one.
Enjoy!!!
August 15, 2017
Egyptian Mummy teams up with Roman Vampire to fight crime. In modern-day Miami. Pardon me while I croggle.
OK, I'm back! Nonspoilery tidbits:
The worldbuilding in this book is wonderful, a rare treat from a debut novel. Kudos.
There's a good starting scene where Alex (Alejandro) doesn't tell his back-up that he isn't afraid of vamps because a mummy doesn't taste good. Hah.
Mummies can see ghosts? Sort of. And vamps create violent deaths that create ghosts, so mummies can see where vamps are committing murder. Cool.
The Reveal - vampires are real! - happened because human blood can now be made in the labs. All the Vampires Are Hawt books and movies helped, and were prob sponsored by vamps. (Conspiracy theory, anyone?) Werewolves and-or werecats are also real, but less talked about.
Any good drug will be spiked eventually: and when synthetic blood gets spiked, which side will the cops be on? Oooh, good question. Bigots are everywhere.
Mummies work day while Vampires work nights: nope! Mummies work around the clock. Vamps can work by day if they are very very (very very very) careful.
Church of Vampire Redemption: check! Aaaand, they just put in stained-glass windows. *snicker*
Obligatory Ancient Vampires Are Frenemies trope: check!
Ancient Vampires rule the world trope: nah, it's too much work.
90% of women are described in terms of shmexiness. The first woman we meet spends about two pages slowly pulling on her shmexy stockings and putting on her shmexy makeup, but that's OK! She's really a cold killer just acting as bait. So it's not like she's a real slut or anything. The semi-naked and totes naked women later on are just victims. They don't count either, they're just window dressing!
0% of men are described in terms of shmexiness. It's a little unbalanced. I guess all the female vampires are lesbian? or maybe women don't need hawt guys as victims.
Next
OK, I'm back! Nonspoilery tidbits:
The worldbuilding in this book is wonderful, a rare treat from a debut novel. Kudos.
There's a good starting scene where Alex (Alejandro) doesn't tell his back-up that he isn't afraid of vamps because a mummy doesn't taste good. Hah.
Mummies can see ghosts? Sort of. And vamps create violent deaths that create ghosts, so mummies can see where vamps are committing murder. Cool.
The Reveal - vampires are real! - happened because human blood can now be made in the labs. All the Vampires Are Hawt books and movies helped, and were prob sponsored by vamps. (Conspiracy theory, anyone?) Werewolves and-or werecats are also real, but less talked about.
Any good drug will be spiked eventually: and when synthetic blood gets spiked, which side will the cops be on? Oooh, good question. Bigots are everywhere.
Mummies work day while Vampires work nights: nope! Mummies work around the clock. Vamps can work by day if they are very very (very very very) careful.
Church of Vampire Redemption: check! Aaaand, they just put in stained-glass windows. *snicker*
Obligatory Ancient Vampires Are Frenemies trope: check!
Ancient Vampires rule the world trope: nah, it's too much work.
90% of women are described in terms of shmexiness. The first woman we meet spends about two pages slowly pulling on her shmexy stockings and putting on her shmexy makeup, but that's OK! She's really a cold killer just acting as bait. So it's not like she's a real slut or anything. The semi-naked and totes naked women later on are just victims. They don't count either, they're just window dressing!
0% of men are described in terms of shmexiness. It's a little unbalanced. I guess all the female vampires are lesbian? or maybe women don't need hawt guys as victims.
Next
August 21, 2017
A promising start to an urban fantasy that stars a pair of leads with a significant past in a world where vampires are part of the population, set in Miami
Its becoming increasingly to differentiate one work from the other in the urban fantasy space esp when the leads are cops. This one twists it by having one of them as an 4 millenia old Egyptian Pharaoh and the other as a Roman imperator turned vampire. Further complications are through their shared history working for a deadly and secret organization that has now been disbanded
With vampire-civilian tensions running high, there is a new player in town willing to stoke this further and gets our lead pair interested. Of course, there are significant betrayals and coverups while the action and the revelations keep on coming. There is a lot that is packed in the book but the pacing esp towards the end makes things happens rather quickly and conveniently. There is also a lot hid from the readers and just hinted at. For a book 1, the ending of the book and the potential way forward seem significantly important as compared to other similar books. Will definitely be interested in checking out the sequel whence its released
Its becoming increasingly to differentiate one work from the other in the urban fantasy space esp when the leads are cops. This one twists it by having one of them as an 4 millenia old Egyptian Pharaoh and the other as a Roman imperator turned vampire. Further complications are through their shared history working for a deadly and secret organization that has now been disbanded
With vampire-civilian tensions running high, there is a new player in town willing to stoke this further and gets our lead pair interested. Of course, there are significant betrayals and coverups while the action and the revelations keep on coming. There is a lot that is packed in the book but the pacing esp towards the end makes things happens rather quickly and conveniently. There is also a lot hid from the readers and just hinted at. For a book 1, the ending of the book and the potential way forward seem significantly important as compared to other similar books. Will definitely be interested in checking out the sequel whence its released
July 15, 2017
If you're a fan of Larry Correia or Jim Butcher than GRAVEYARD SHIFT is the perfect book for a Saturday afternoon. Debut author Michael Haspil spins a cool tale of a Mummy cop (Alex) and his Vampire partner (Marcus) seeking justice in a world where vampires and werewolves are real. There's certain an UNDERWORLD vibe going on here and, as far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing. The action is fast paced and gory and the characters are a lot of fun. It also leaves itself open for a sequel and I for one would welcome the further adventures of Alex and Marcus. GRAVEYARD SHIFT is pulpy, comic book fun.
August 19, 2017
The only real flaw in this book is the opposite of most first books in a series, which I hope this is, is that instead of over sharing it doesn't give you quite enough info about the characters and the world. That said, I liked the plot a great deal and the characters with a tad bit of work would be great, as is they are still likeable and interesting.
Straight up UF
Straight up UF
January 20, 2018
My Rating: 3 Vampires
An interesting book where vampires run the police force and get along with humans, mostly.
It went on a little too long, but it was fun.
An interesting book where vampires run the police force and get along with humans, mostly.
It went on a little too long, but it was fun.
Read
July 13, 2017I wanted to like this book SO MUCH. A guy who used to be a mummy but who's now part of a special vampire branch of the police? Sign me the heck up. But I just could not get into the writing style. It's very detail-packed, down to the specific type of gun used, and I just could not connect with the voice. But that's a 100% personal thing, and I know a tonne of people will love this book.
July 17, 2017
Mon avis en Français
My English review
I am always attracted to urban fantasy novels and as soon as I saw this one I confess that I was very intrigued. How not to be with such a cocktail? I was excited by the idea of mixing everything with Egypt.
In this story, we mainly follow Alex Menkaure, a character full of complexity. It was nice to learn more about him, to see how much he had changed in his lifetime. Alex is part of a special police unit that deals with renegade vampires. A vampire problem? It’s up to Alex and Marcus to handle that! But here, someone seems to contaminate the blood of the vampires and it is necessary for our heroes to discover very soon what happens.
It was a pretty nice story to discover but I confess that I had a hard time really getting into it. It must be said that I always have a lot of trouble as soon as we find several characters and I did not see how everything was going to regroup. There are many things happening in parallel, several characters, a lot of complexity and at the same time I would have liked a little more development for each of them.
It was an interesting and very rich reading but I think it was a little different from what I was expecting. I think it will be very interesting to read and learn more about all the characters!
My English review
I am always attracted to urban fantasy novels and as soon as I saw this one I confess that I was very intrigued. How not to be with such a cocktail? I was excited by the idea of mixing everything with Egypt.
In this story, we mainly follow Alex Menkaure, a character full of complexity. It was nice to learn more about him, to see how much he had changed in his lifetime. Alex is part of a special police unit that deals with renegade vampires. A vampire problem? It’s up to Alex and Marcus to handle that! But here, someone seems to contaminate the blood of the vampires and it is necessary for our heroes to discover very soon what happens.
It was a pretty nice story to discover but I confess that I had a hard time really getting into it. It must be said that I always have a lot of trouble as soon as we find several characters and I did not see how everything was going to regroup. There are many things happening in parallel, several characters, a lot of complexity and at the same time I would have liked a little more development for each of them.
It was an interesting and very rich reading but I think it was a little different from what I was expecting. I think it will be very interesting to read and learn more about all the characters!
September 12, 2018
The discovery of a blood substitute and a monumental Supreme Court ruling were two events that changed the face of the world forever. Due to these two events, vampires and other mythological creatures were able to integrate in to society. There was no longer a need for them to hide as they had done for centuries before.
Alex Menkaure is a mummy and former Egyptian pharaoh; and along with his partner Marcus, a vampire born in ancient Rome, the two once hunted evil vampires for a super-secret arm of the NSA. When the program was dissolved the two became police officers in a special unit where they continue to keep the streets safe from the monsters they hunted once before.
When bottles of tainted artificial blood begin turning up on store shelves, the already tremulous relations between humans and vampires becomes even more fragile. It soon becomes a race against time for the two detectives to find who is behind the tainted blood and what their end game is.
There are times when writing a review is the easiest thing in the world; the words just flow from my fingertips and I am (hopefully) able to get my point across when I say how much I liked or dis-liked a book. There are other times, however, where trying to write even a mediocre review is akin to pulling teeth; the words simply do not want to come and each one is a struggle.
Sadly, it seems that this particular review falls more in to the latter than the former. It has been over a week since I finished reading Graveyard Shift and still I do not know where to begin in reviewing it.
Perhaps I should start with the overall plot. Broken down, it comes across as simple enough. For countless centuries vampires and other creatures have existed behind the scenes. A recent turn of events outs them and their existence is finally able to be acknowledged. While there are many who embrace this new truth, there are those who would see things go back to the way they were; where vampires skulked in shadows and humans were afraid of them. Certainly a plot that has been used before, not just in books but in movies and television shows.
The main characters themselves, however are a completely different story. One is a centuries old vampire while the other is a millennia old mummy; both immortal in their own way. Sadly, we aren’t given much on them aside from the most basic information. Haspil spends too much time focusing on secondary characters and the surrounding events as a whole instead of giving us more with the main characters. If this were the second or even third book in a series, this wouldn’t be a problem as we would already be familiar with the two detectives.
Overall, Graveyard Shift is a fairly good book. Marketed as an urban fantasy meets film noir type of story, it certainly meets that description. Gritty and at times bloody, it might not be for the more feint of heart reader. Otherwise, this is a somewhat decent start to a series and I am curious to see more.
October 4, 2017
This was great.
When is the next one?
Definitely reminded me of Stross' Atrocity Archives due to the legalistic and procedures of the happenings throughout the book.
So much world building and intrigue with Alex and Marcus. So there is a ton of potential here.
Granted the beginning started off kinda iffy as it was busy setting up a lot of side characters and they weren't very compelling reads. But once it got back to Alex and Marcus, I couldn't put it down.
I love how the vampires here are not your Hollywood ones bur rather ones with a society and ones that you just don't mess with.
Alex on the other hand is a very interesting character but granted with his skill set you would wonder where is the risk. But that is probably something going forward that will be addressed. Cause I mean, how do you kill the undead?
Anyway, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would and I am totally down for the next book.
And I'm glad that on his site, it introduces this book as the beginning of an epic new series. So yeah!
Sidenote: reading up his background, I get why the action in this are pretty top notched and a riff off the typical military action thrillers. It reads well but with the characters it feels much more entertaining than just simply describing fast paced action.
When is the next one?
Definitely reminded me of Stross' Atrocity Archives due to the legalistic and procedures of the happenings throughout the book.
So much world building and intrigue with Alex and Marcus. So there is a ton of potential here.
Granted the beginning started off kinda iffy as it was busy setting up a lot of side characters and they weren't very compelling reads. But once it got back to Alex and Marcus, I couldn't put it down.
I love how the vampires here are not your Hollywood ones bur rather ones with a society and ones that you just don't mess with.
Alex on the other hand is a very interesting character but granted with his skill set you would wonder where is the risk. But that is probably something going forward that will be addressed. Cause I mean, how do you kill the undead?
Anyway, I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would and I am totally down for the next book.
And I'm glad that on his site, it introduces this book as the beginning of an epic new series. So yeah!
Sidenote: reading up his background, I get why the action in this are pretty top notched and a riff off the typical military action thrillers. It reads well but with the characters it feels much more entertaining than just simply describing fast paced action.
October 10, 2017
Stars: 5 out of 5
Alex and Marcus are detectives at the Nocturne Squad in modern day Miami. Except in this Miami, vampires live in the open and are considered as much citizens of the United States as humans are, obeying the same laws and enjoying the same rights. Oh and "vampire" is not a politically correct word. They are called nocturnes, and the Nocturne Squad is in charge of investigating all crimes perpetrated by and against nocturnes.
Oh I forgot to mention that Marcus is a few thousand years old vampire who knew Julius Ceasar, and Alex is even older than that. He is the mummy of pharaoh Menkaure, cursed to walk this world until the end of times…
I have been spoiled with excellent first books in new series lately and Graveyard Shift is no exception. I love the world; I love the main characters. I really have nothing to complain about.
So the worldbuiding. After the discovery and mass production Hemo-Synth, an artificial blood substitute, the vampires revealed their existence to the general public. And thanks to a successful PR campaign, they even persuaded said general public that they weren't a danger to anyone and that human and vampires could coexist peacefully.
I like how much thought the author put into this idea. If vampires are regular citizens now, they also need regular jobs and places to live, places to go to relax and have fun, places to buy their artificial blood at. So there is a huge economical shift worldwide - the world literally never sleeps. Everything is open 24/7. Humans work during the day, and vampires do the same jobs at night. Even the smallest bodegas and grocery shops carry Hemo-Synth blood on their shelves.
And there is a bigger legislative shift as well. What was considered a monster and a creature of legend before is now a citizen of the United States. Staking a nocturne through the heart and cutting their head off will land you behind bars for premeditated murder just as easily as shooting a regular guy through the head. Now there are laws and procedures in place to deal with the paranormal citizens. Which calls for nocturne cops, or the Nocturne Squat.
Alex and Marcus are a few thousand years old each, and it shows in their generally pessimistic outlook on life and the world in general. But where Marcus tends to be mostly broody, Alex exhibits a pronounced lack of interest for anything. Alex, or Mankaure, has pretty much grown tired of petty human squabbles that never change, no matter how many millennia pass him by. He does his job not because he likes it or needs the money, but because the shadow powers that stand behind the government said so. And since those powers have a certain set of canopic jars in their possession that Alex might possibly not be able to exist without, he has no choice but to comply. It is implies that they hold something against Marcus as well but what that is Alex never asked his partner.
There is also no love lost between the two. Alex thinks (for good reason) that all vampires are predators and ruthless killers, no matter the tamed and friendly picture the media are painting of them. A wolf in sheep's skin is still a wolf. And Marcus… well Marcus is an Ancient who thrives in secrets within secrets, and who lives for intrigue and conspiracies. And also doesn't care about anybody but himself.
And at the same time, those two have a grudging respect for one another and sufficient trust that their partner will have their back in a bad situation. After all, they had been partners for the better half of a century: first as part of a secret organization called UMBRA in charge of eliminating the vampires, and that killing them is frowned upon by society, as cops trying to uphold law and order.
I also love how dark and gritty this world is. These vampires are the sparkly type with a tortured soul. They are ruthless predators who prefer real blood to the synthetic thing whenever possible. And while some are content to visit bleeder bars and take a little from willing participants, others prefer the trill of the hunt and the kill, and a bit of torture thrown in the mixt as well…
The story itself was really well done. It kept you at the edge of your sit from the very first page. And since I couldn't help but love the characters, I was hoping for their survival and wellbeing. And while this books story arrived to a rather satisfying resolution, it left a lot of questions as to what will happen next, which is an excellent tactic for a first book in a series.
I want to know what happens to Alex and Marcus now. I want to see the fallout the events in this book have on human-vampire relations. And I want to learn more about Father Aguirre and his church. And is it really possible for vampires to grow back their soul?
So good job Mr. Haspil, good job. I am a fan now and I am eagerly awaiting the next book.
PS. I received and advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alex and Marcus are detectives at the Nocturne Squad in modern day Miami. Except in this Miami, vampires live in the open and are considered as much citizens of the United States as humans are, obeying the same laws and enjoying the same rights. Oh and "vampire" is not a politically correct word. They are called nocturnes, and the Nocturne Squad is in charge of investigating all crimes perpetrated by and against nocturnes.
Oh I forgot to mention that Marcus is a few thousand years old vampire who knew Julius Ceasar, and Alex is even older than that. He is the mummy of pharaoh Menkaure, cursed to walk this world until the end of times…
I have been spoiled with excellent first books in new series lately and Graveyard Shift is no exception. I love the world; I love the main characters. I really have nothing to complain about.
So the worldbuiding. After the discovery and mass production Hemo-Synth, an artificial blood substitute, the vampires revealed their existence to the general public. And thanks to a successful PR campaign, they even persuaded said general public that they weren't a danger to anyone and that human and vampires could coexist peacefully.
I like how much thought the author put into this idea. If vampires are regular citizens now, they also need regular jobs and places to live, places to go to relax and have fun, places to buy their artificial blood at. So there is a huge economical shift worldwide - the world literally never sleeps. Everything is open 24/7. Humans work during the day, and vampires do the same jobs at night. Even the smallest bodegas and grocery shops carry Hemo-Synth blood on their shelves.
And there is a bigger legislative shift as well. What was considered a monster and a creature of legend before is now a citizen of the United States. Staking a nocturne through the heart and cutting their head off will land you behind bars for premeditated murder just as easily as shooting a regular guy through the head. Now there are laws and procedures in place to deal with the paranormal citizens. Which calls for nocturne cops, or the Nocturne Squat.
Alex and Marcus are a few thousand years old each, and it shows in their generally pessimistic outlook on life and the world in general. But where Marcus tends to be mostly broody, Alex exhibits a pronounced lack of interest for anything. Alex, or Mankaure, has pretty much grown tired of petty human squabbles that never change, no matter how many millennia pass him by. He does his job not because he likes it or needs the money, but because the shadow powers that stand behind the government said so. And since those powers have a certain set of canopic jars in their possession that Alex might possibly not be able to exist without, he has no choice but to comply. It is implies that they hold something against Marcus as well but what that is Alex never asked his partner.
There is also no love lost between the two. Alex thinks (for good reason) that all vampires are predators and ruthless killers, no matter the tamed and friendly picture the media are painting of them. A wolf in sheep's skin is still a wolf. And Marcus… well Marcus is an Ancient who thrives in secrets within secrets, and who lives for intrigue and conspiracies. And also doesn't care about anybody but himself.
And at the same time, those two have a grudging respect for one another and sufficient trust that their partner will have their back in a bad situation. After all, they had been partners for the better half of a century: first as part of a secret organization called UMBRA in charge of eliminating the vampires, and that killing them is frowned upon by society, as cops trying to uphold law and order.
I also love how dark and gritty this world is. These vampires are the sparkly type with a tortured soul. They are ruthless predators who prefer real blood to the synthetic thing whenever possible. And while some are content to visit bleeder bars and take a little from willing participants, others prefer the trill of the hunt and the kill, and a bit of torture thrown in the mixt as well…
The story itself was really well done. It kept you at the edge of your sit from the very first page. And since I couldn't help but love the characters, I was hoping for their survival and wellbeing. And while this books story arrived to a rather satisfying resolution, it left a lot of questions as to what will happen next, which is an excellent tactic for a first book in a series.
I want to know what happens to Alex and Marcus now. I want to see the fallout the events in this book have on human-vampire relations. And I want to learn more about Father Aguirre and his church. And is it really possible for vampires to grow back their soul?
So good job Mr. Haspil, good job. I am a fan now and I am eagerly awaiting the next book.
PS. I received and advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2017
3.75 (I did request this from the publisher for review)
Graveyard Shift has all the hallmarks of an Urban Fantasy, but with a very nice Police Procedural twist. Taking those two basic pieces it mixes them with some gritty elements, an unusual creature for a lead, and a pretty intriguing plot and comes out… maybe not as strong as I’d hoped but still pretty solid. Alex Menkaure, our main character is also a former pharaoh and mummy. He works with a vampire by the name of Marcus, who is from Ancient Rome (a fact that means he is part of an upper echelon of vampires known as ‘Ancients’). The two together work evening shift, Graveyard Shift, if you will and take cases as part of a special unit that handles those people that go ‘Boo’ in the night. This is all set in a world where vampires and thropes have been living in the open, among normal every day citizens. You can buy blood packs in a gas station for your vampiric boyfriend or pick up medication to help a thrope friend with their shape-shifting.
These are all things I’ve seen before in various forms such as other books, table top games (most glaringly Vampire the Masquerade), and even Tv/Movies. So I’m not going to say it breaks the mold on urban fantasy. I will say it was a hell of a lot of fun. Alex is your usual snarky main lead. Marcus is the straight man, a little suspicious but very much the solemn partner to the exasperated, tired lead. Besides those two you get glimpses of other characters, both on the legal and illegal side of things, but you get don’t get much. A secondary batch of characters shows up about a third of the way through and introduces a few new characters that you’ll follow all the way through the end of the novel. On the whole however the story stays fixed to Alex.
For this type of story that works. This is a fast paced and constantly moving piece. We only ever get to follow Alex home once that I can recall and that’s pretty much how the pacing felt. We were going, going, going. If you want a quick and engaging read this is one to pick up. That, unfortunately, did leave some things lacking. We got glimpses, teases even, of the world and social structure. We only see the segments of the city that the author wants us too and don’t really get a feel for it overall, forget the outside world. And the characters seem to be about the same at the beginning as at the end. This is clearly our setup, introductory book to a new urban fantasy series. It throws you in and gives you the basics, shows you what our characters are capable of and then leaves you wanting more of it.
All that makes to a pretty good start to a series. The one peeve I had of the whole book, once the setup and style is taken into account, is that Alex and Marcus are always hinting at how awesome and amazing he as a mummy is but we see it once in the last 10% of the book. Even then it was all it was built up too, possibly due to the speed and size of the scene. It became a game to me after a point ‘oh here comes a hint at Menkaure’s power, what’s it going to be this time?’. For someone who loves ancient Egypt mythology I was really hoping for a bit more of it. I will definitely still be reading the next in the series, just don’t go into expecting to get a lot of ‘mummy’ with this duo.
So to round it up. A really fun, really fast and engaging urban fantasy with a police procedural flavor. It’s heavy on the vampire, and very light on the mummy, but creative and intriguing. This is a great teaser for what could a really interesting series. If that sort of thing is up your alley and you eat these up, go for this. It’s definitely something I’d recommend to fans of Dresden or The Iron Druid.
Graveyard Shift has all the hallmarks of an Urban Fantasy, but with a very nice Police Procedural twist. Taking those two basic pieces it mixes them with some gritty elements, an unusual creature for a lead, and a pretty intriguing plot and comes out… maybe not as strong as I’d hoped but still pretty solid. Alex Menkaure, our main character is also a former pharaoh and mummy. He works with a vampire by the name of Marcus, who is from Ancient Rome (a fact that means he is part of an upper echelon of vampires known as ‘Ancients’). The two together work evening shift, Graveyard Shift, if you will and take cases as part of a special unit that handles those people that go ‘Boo’ in the night. This is all set in a world where vampires and thropes have been living in the open, among normal every day citizens. You can buy blood packs in a gas station for your vampiric boyfriend or pick up medication to help a thrope friend with their shape-shifting.
These are all things I’ve seen before in various forms such as other books, table top games (most glaringly Vampire the Masquerade), and even Tv/Movies. So I’m not going to say it breaks the mold on urban fantasy. I will say it was a hell of a lot of fun. Alex is your usual snarky main lead. Marcus is the straight man, a little suspicious but very much the solemn partner to the exasperated, tired lead. Besides those two you get glimpses of other characters, both on the legal and illegal side of things, but you get don’t get much. A secondary batch of characters shows up about a third of the way through and introduces a few new characters that you’ll follow all the way through the end of the novel. On the whole however the story stays fixed to Alex.
For this type of story that works. This is a fast paced and constantly moving piece. We only ever get to follow Alex home once that I can recall and that’s pretty much how the pacing felt. We were going, going, going. If you want a quick and engaging read this is one to pick up. That, unfortunately, did leave some things lacking. We got glimpses, teases even, of the world and social structure. We only see the segments of the city that the author wants us too and don’t really get a feel for it overall, forget the outside world. And the characters seem to be about the same at the beginning as at the end. This is clearly our setup, introductory book to a new urban fantasy series. It throws you in and gives you the basics, shows you what our characters are capable of and then leaves you wanting more of it.
All that makes to a pretty good start to a series. The one peeve I had of the whole book, once the setup and style is taken into account, is that Alex and Marcus are always hinting at how awesome and amazing he as a mummy is but we see it once in the last 10% of the book. Even then it was all it was built up too, possibly due to the speed and size of the scene. It became a game to me after a point ‘oh here comes a hint at Menkaure’s power, what’s it going to be this time?’. For someone who loves ancient Egypt mythology I was really hoping for a bit more of it. I will definitely still be reading the next in the series, just don’t go into expecting to get a lot of ‘mummy’ with this duo.
So to round it up. A really fun, really fast and engaging urban fantasy with a police procedural flavor. It’s heavy on the vampire, and very light on the mummy, but creative and intriguing. This is a great teaser for what could a really interesting series. If that sort of thing is up your alley and you eat these up, go for this. It’s definitely something I’d recommend to fans of Dresden or The Iron Druid.
February 14, 2024
Vampires 'came out' in society a few years ago and society has morphed to fit them in. Traffic is bad all the time, even the middle of the night. There are synthetic blood products, and a special police unit just for Nocturne affairs. Alex is a cop with a mysterious past involving ancient Egypt and less-ancient special-ops forces (where he used to hunt vampires...that's a no-no now). Tensions have been rising with vampire-hunters, blood clubs, and (of course) politics, and Alex finds himself in the middle of a very, very long night at work. Luckily, he doesn't actually need to sleep.
Ok so I am so glad I read this book without knowing what it was about. That is, I didn't read the blurb on the back, which is fine, or the blurb here, which basically gives away all the good stuff. I thought it was some basic urban fantasy (I don't usually like urban fantasy much). Then I read the word 'vampire' and I have to backtrack and wonder if that's like a slang term of if he's really talking about a vampire. Fun little reveals like that are scattered throughout the book ... and if you read the blurb you are missing out on the joy of discovery. (But if you are here now...it's too late, and I'm sorry.)
I like the vampire-reveal politics stuff. Immigration, slang terms, cop details—I found this quite fun. Rather than just being vampires though, there's a whole mix of creatures. Werewolves of course. The main character is some kind of ancient Egyptian god-king. And distinctions of power even within the vampires.
I had a lot of fun with the world Haspil created. And the gadgets, like the UV strips that can distract a vampire for a moment.
I also don't usually care for 'gritty' books. In this book, for whatever reason, that didn't bother me. Maybe it's because it seems very natural considering the subject matter.
One thing that really bothered me was the dialog quotes. Just the formatting. It made it really hard to tell who was talking and I definitely confused some character motivations because I thought one guy was saying one thing. (And it was NOT him talking....)
Ok so I am so glad I read this book without knowing what it was about. That is, I didn't read the blurb on the back, which is fine, or the blurb here, which basically gives away all the good stuff. I thought it was some basic urban fantasy (I don't usually like urban fantasy much). Then I read the word 'vampire' and I have to backtrack and wonder if that's like a slang term of if he's really talking about a vampire. Fun little reveals like that are scattered throughout the book ... and if you read the blurb you are missing out on the joy of discovery. (But if you are here now...it's too late, and I'm sorry.)
I like the vampire-reveal politics stuff. Immigration, slang terms, cop details—I found this quite fun. Rather than just being vampires though, there's a whole mix of creatures. Werewolves of course. The main character is some kind of ancient Egyptian god-king. And distinctions of power even within the vampires.
I had a lot of fun with the world Haspil created. And the gadgets, like the UV strips that can distract a vampire for a moment.
I also don't usually care for 'gritty' books. In this book, for whatever reason, that didn't bother me. Maybe it's because it seems very natural considering the subject matter.
One thing that really bothered me was the dialog quotes. Just the formatting. It made it really hard to tell who was talking and I definitely confused some character motivations because I thought one guy was saying one thing. (And it was NOT him talking....)
August 1, 2017
I received a complementary copy from the author / publisher but all opinions are my own.
Note: This review contains NO spoilers
So... This was definitely a read that I got into! I was intrigued by the synopsis, especially it covered much of the paranormal/supernatural lore that I enjoy reading. The story is written in a police procedural style with the main characters as vice cops dealing with supernatural beings while solving/fighting crime. Kinda reminded me of Lethal Weapon, but, obviously, with a supernatural twist. This also gave me a Grimm-ish feel to it; however, Graveyard Shift was darker and grittier. Moreover, Michael F. Haspil made it work with this debut novel of his.
The character development and world-building had a lot of depth and substance with all the descriptive writing. The book is told in the point of view (POV) of Alex and Marcus; however, there are also other characters' point of views told which connects to each other that is relevant to the storyline. At least, the various POVs are mostly separated by chapters that way it doesn't get too confusing. Well, if you don't pay attention, details and clues can be missed. So, yeah, there's a lot of twists to this case that Alex and Marcus is working on.
I would have to say that the highlight(s) of this book is the incredible description of characters and setting; the consistency of story flow; the twists and turns that kept me guessing; and the action-packed scenes. However, the only thing that I could find is that the read slow to start, and the varying character POVs could be distracting. But, then again, those POVs are important in solving this mystery, especially when each of these POV is connected to each other one way or another. Well, other than that, I enjoyed this mystery. I can even see this turning into a whole series of Alex and Marcus' exploits as vice cops in Miami!
Graveyard Shift is a gritty and dark police procedural with a supernatural twist that drags readers into the crime underworld they live in.
Note: This review contains NO spoilers
So... This was definitely a read that I got into! I was intrigued by the synopsis, especially it covered much of the paranormal/supernatural lore that I enjoy reading. The story is written in a police procedural style with the main characters as vice cops dealing with supernatural beings while solving/fighting crime. Kinda reminded me of Lethal Weapon, but, obviously, with a supernatural twist. This also gave me a Grimm-ish feel to it; however, Graveyard Shift was darker and grittier. Moreover, Michael F. Haspil made it work with this debut novel of his.
The character development and world-building had a lot of depth and substance with all the descriptive writing. The book is told in the point of view (POV) of Alex and Marcus; however, there are also other characters' point of views told which connects to each other that is relevant to the storyline. At least, the various POVs are mostly separated by chapters that way it doesn't get too confusing. Well, if you don't pay attention, details and clues can be missed. So, yeah, there's a lot of twists to this case that Alex and Marcus is working on.
I would have to say that the highlight(s) of this book is the incredible description of characters and setting; the consistency of story flow; the twists and turns that kept me guessing; and the action-packed scenes. However, the only thing that I could find is that the read slow to start, and the varying character POVs could be distracting. But, then again, those POVs are important in solving this mystery, especially when each of these POV is connected to each other one way or another. Well, other than that, I enjoyed this mystery. I can even see this turning into a whole series of Alex and Marcus' exploits as vice cops in Miami!
Graveyard Shift is a gritty and dark police procedural with a supernatural twist that drags readers into the crime underworld they live in.
August 6, 2018
Vampires are out in the open now and UMBRA, a top secret group of government-funded vampire hunters, has been dismantled. Now Alex, a former UMBRA agent, has to navigate a new world of bloody drinks at every corner store and a good chunk of the world that operates at night instead of the day. Instantly, I was captivated by this main character. Alex isn’t your typical vampire hunter. He’s got some supernatural secrets of his own. And a cat.
The former Pharaoh, Alex Menkaure, now lives in Miami working as Detective Alex Romero. A murder mystery needs to be solved fast before more civilians and Nocturnes (as vampires like to be called) die. When it became apparent that someone has been tampering with commercially available blood drinks (Hemo-Synth), I did flash to True Blood briefly. While this central plot point may not be original, the story still worked really well.
Marcus, Alex’s partner, is also a vampire, one who once was a Roman Imperator. So the two do most of their work at night. They eventually team up with some unlikely allies to solve this murder mystery and bring down the criminal mastermind going by the name Abraham. Marcus and Alex have great banter between them. I often enjoyed a dark chuckle.
Betrayal and dangerous enemies make life hard for Alex. I enjoyed all the action. There was never a dull moment. I really hope for a sequel. 4.5/5 stars.
The Narration: Michael Kramer has long been a favorite voice to listen to. I was quite pleased to hear him give life to this story. He had distinct voices for all the characters, including a variety of accents. His female voices were believable. All around, it was a great performance. 5/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book.
The former Pharaoh, Alex Menkaure, now lives in Miami working as Detective Alex Romero. A murder mystery needs to be solved fast before more civilians and Nocturnes (as vampires like to be called) die. When it became apparent that someone has been tampering with commercially available blood drinks (Hemo-Synth), I did flash to True Blood briefly. While this central plot point may not be original, the story still worked really well.
Marcus, Alex’s partner, is also a vampire, one who once was a Roman Imperator. So the two do most of their work at night. They eventually team up with some unlikely allies to solve this murder mystery and bring down the criminal mastermind going by the name Abraham. Marcus and Alex have great banter between them. I often enjoyed a dark chuckle.
Betrayal and dangerous enemies make life hard for Alex. I enjoyed all the action. There was never a dull moment. I really hope for a sequel. 4.5/5 stars.
The Narration: Michael Kramer has long been a favorite voice to listen to. I was quite pleased to hear him give life to this story. He had distinct voices for all the characters, including a variety of accents. His female voices were believable. All around, it was a great performance. 5/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book.
July 14, 2017
Vampires and mummies as part of today’s society? Interesting….
Alex Menkaure works in a special police unit in Miami that oversees vampire crimes. Since a blood substitute was released, legislation was passed that allowed vampires to integrate into society. However, that doesn’t mean that everything runs smoothly. Alex has been fighting vampires for years, centuries even. You see, he was a Pharaoh and then mummified and since then he has lived through wars, revolutions, and vampires. But when a group begins poisoning the blood substitute, tensions between vampires and humans rise to a new level that threatens to destroy Miami. Can Alex put a stop to it before it is too late?
So this was different! A mummy has a main character that has a good friend that is a ancient vampire? Not at all what I expected when I picked up the book, yet overall it was a very interesting story that I couldn’t put down. However, there are a lot of viewpoints throughout the book that a reader has to keep following that can bog down the read a little bit. The descriptions given throughout the book are also very detailed and could have been left more generic to keep the pace moving faster. One of the things that I love about book from tour is they keep exposing me to new genres.
There is a lot of harsh language throughout the book as well as some sexual references. I recommend this book for mature readers who love a new reading experience.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
Alex Menkaure works in a special police unit in Miami that oversees vampire crimes. Since a blood substitute was released, legislation was passed that allowed vampires to integrate into society. However, that doesn’t mean that everything runs smoothly. Alex has been fighting vampires for years, centuries even. You see, he was a Pharaoh and then mummified and since then he has lived through wars, revolutions, and vampires. But when a group begins poisoning the blood substitute, tensions between vampires and humans rise to a new level that threatens to destroy Miami. Can Alex put a stop to it before it is too late?
So this was different! A mummy has a main character that has a good friend that is a ancient vampire? Not at all what I expected when I picked up the book, yet overall it was a very interesting story that I couldn’t put down. However, there are a lot of viewpoints throughout the book that a reader has to keep following that can bog down the read a little bit. The descriptions given throughout the book are also very detailed and could have been left more generic to keep the pace moving faster. One of the things that I love about book from tour is they keep exposing me to new genres.
There is a lot of harsh language throughout the book as well as some sexual references. I recommend this book for mature readers who love a new reading experience.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
August 2, 2017
I was given a copy of this title, free, in exchange for my honest opinion.
3 Stars ***
I believe that this is Tor’s first foray into urban fantasy, and that this is Haspil’s debut novel. And to both I say good job. While this may not have been the absolute best UF that I’ve read, it was still pretty decent. It makes me optimistic about any future projects that Tor or Haspil undertakes in UF.
The premise of the story was very original, and immortal pharaoh with a story that I definitely want to know more about and an ancient vampire that is cloaked in mystery. They are sent off to investigate the causes behind vampires going into a blood frenzy, but are distracted into several smaller cases that are in need of their attention. If you are familiar with the urban fantasy genre, then you know that the smaller issues all tie into a much bigger plot point. And if it is the beginning of a series then you know that the bigger plot point only leads to something much bigger at play. And Graveyard Shift follows this formula, and for the most part not in a bad way.
This story is told from multiple viewpoints, and this is only confusing in one scene. It works to give the bigger picture of the world, the key players and how they all connect. Because we don’t know the characters very well, and some we don’t know until the make a formal entrance into the story (even though they are at work behind the scenes), it is hard to see how all of the pieces fit together. At times the pacing is a bit off, and the action sequences don’t carry enough of a punch-for me. Other times I am fully engaged in the action and I’m able to see how it all works together.
Overall, I did enjoy the story and I am looking forward to the next one.
Always Shine!
3 Stars ***
I believe that this is Tor’s first foray into urban fantasy, and that this is Haspil’s debut novel. And to both I say good job. While this may not have been the absolute best UF that I’ve read, it was still pretty decent. It makes me optimistic about any future projects that Tor or Haspil undertakes in UF.
The premise of the story was very original, and immortal pharaoh with a story that I definitely want to know more about and an ancient vampire that is cloaked in mystery. They are sent off to investigate the causes behind vampires going into a blood frenzy, but are distracted into several smaller cases that are in need of their attention. If you are familiar with the urban fantasy genre, then you know that the smaller issues all tie into a much bigger plot point. And if it is the beginning of a series then you know that the bigger plot point only leads to something much bigger at play. And Graveyard Shift follows this formula, and for the most part not in a bad way.
This story is told from multiple viewpoints, and this is only confusing in one scene. It works to give the bigger picture of the world, the key players and how they all connect. Because we don’t know the characters very well, and some we don’t know until the make a formal entrance into the story (even though they are at work behind the scenes), it is hard to see how all of the pieces fit together. At times the pacing is a bit off, and the action sequences don’t carry enough of a punch-for me. Other times I am fully engaged in the action and I’m able to see how it all works together.
Overall, I did enjoy the story and I am looking forward to the next one.
Always Shine!
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