Signs of Portents

Greystone #1

by Lou Paduano

Portents is a city like no other—and one that Detective Greg Loren can’t wait to escape. Since his wife’s death years earlier, Loren has looked forward to the moment he can leave the city of Portents for good—and never look back. But fate has another plan for Loren. Called back to duty, Loren finds himself embroiled in a series of murders that has shaken the city. Together with Soriya Greystone, a young woman with unearthly powers, Loren must work quickly to find the otherworldly being that is killing citizens of Portents one at a time. Loren is tasked with deciphering the mysterious signs left at each of the crime scenes…even if it means traveling to worlds not his own to do so. Fast-paced and thrilling, Lou Paduano’s debut novel Signs of Portents will leave you on the edge of your seat and turning page after page.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks

303 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2016

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread January 2025 to refresh my memory so that I can complete the rest of the series.
I have revised my original review to: This is a 4.25 🌟 read rounded ⬇️ to 4 🌟.

Original Review:
This is a 4.5 star awesome read.

[Ashley]

I love this cover!

[Beagle Lover (Avid Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Signs of Portents A solid 4 stars. This book had everything from police, the supernatural, good vs. evil to two protagonists finally realizing that their jobs are more important than they could have ever imagined.

Mr. Paduano has a deft skill the plot in this novel, as well as a talent for gradually making his characters real even though the world around them has gone crazy and they city of Portents is ravaged by an evil from the past. I found the novel smoothly moving me along the storyline without many bumps along the way. It has plenty of twists and an extremely bold heroine who finds her inner strength to do the job she was she was raised to do - protect the city from supernatural beings. along with the help of a burnt-out detective and his superior.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves plot twists, paranormal and supernatural events and creatures, murder, redemption and the ever-present battle of good vs. evil. Who wins in this wonderfully written novel?? Read and find out...you might just be surprised.

[Sara Frandina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's the thing about Portents: it's equally terrifying + intriguing. So much so that I couldn't put the book down, but I didn't want it to end. The mystery weaved around Detective Loren and Soriya Greystone from the dual prologues that start the book had me fully entwined in seeing where the characters were going. The book ends with the promise of Tales of Portents coming in 2017, and I seriously can't wait.

[Michelle Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally don't do full book reports on books I have read.. but this book was good..

This book is gonna be part of a series, which is a plus in my mind as I prefer them.. The book started off with 2 prologues, which confused me at first, but after reading a few chapters in, I realized that it was the back draft for the main characters... Greg Loran and Soriya Graystone..

The book is full of dark atmosphere with hidden undercurrents, which is appropriate to the storyline.. He has alot of descriptions, which helps you visualize both the scenery.. and which is going on in the minds of the characters. I also liked how it ended.. which definitely lets you know there will be another book.. (hopefully soon!!).. I cant wait to read the next one..

[Melissa Wadsworth-miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's great that this novel has a strong African American woman as the main character. I haven't seen this in the fantasy genre before, and I think it's very inspirational. I also am interested to read Tales of Portents to get the backstories that go along with the mythical characters. Overall, this novel is a nice blend of modern day fantasy and classic mythology.

[Texjim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads with a nice personal note from the author. The story is a fantasy-mystery novel set in the fictional mid-west city of Portents. The city is a strange mixture of humans and mythical creatures including helpful but unseen werewolves and orcs, Two protectors, a young woman Soniya and her aging mentor roam the city at night and intervene when needed with the aid of mysterious dice-like magical stones. The other characters are two policemen whom they help in solving crimes. The first is the older Ruiz, the night shift captain and the other is Greg Loren his efficient but now burned out 36 year old detective. Loren is in a destructive down spiral after the unsolved death of his spouse four years earlier. Greg is recruited back into service after several horrific serial killings with missing body parts with cryptic runes scrolled at each crime scene. All are trying to solve the mystery and identify the killer, a traveler from the past seeking revenge on the city for old grievances. Overall this is a detailed story of the thoughts and interactions of the primary characters. The writing is clear and held my interest throughout a concentrated three day read. There are a few illogical sequences including a visit to an extra dimensional part of the city to consult with a giant, menacing, oracle crow. Loren's spouses death remains unresolved and final resolution of the mystery and defeat of the evil one is a bit strange and a little too easy at its conclusion. I like sci-fi fantasy and I enjoyed the one.

[Kathi Simmons-Kuebler · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book does start out a bit slow , however the writing is great, the characters are too. I do thing there was a bit of unnecessary stuff in the book which makes it a much slower read than it had to be.
With that being said the storyline is great. We have basically 2 main characters. 1 can see the mythical and fights against the bad stuff, then we have a normal detective who befriends her and she helps him see the bad things in Portents.
There is a killer , killing mythical beings and stealing their supernatural talents to make themselves whole again.
But you gotta get past the slowness to get to the good stuff. Plus it's the first book he ever wrote so you gotta give the Author a chance like I am. I plan to read book 2 next.

[Aron Reina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did, but Paduano's focus on scene setting and overdescription of character feelings prevented my engagement. Instead, I found my reading pace disrupted. For instance, a character might say or do something, followed by a few lines of description of why they internalized the rationale for doing so, or a short disconnected history lesson of the town. With significant editing, or perhaps changing this to a movie script (this would be a great sci-fi detective noir!), it might shift from 3 stars to an easy 5.

Overall, I did enjoy the concept, and the gritty, dark, noir setting was clear. It's likely I'll try another book.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Format: audiobook
Narrator: J S Arquin

Portant is an interesting slightly terrifying city, the majority of people go about their daily lives unaware of the underlying deadly secrets that their city is hiding!
This book had no trouble holding my attention and keeping me invested in the story from beginning to end, in fact, it left me wanting more, I want more from the city, more from Detective Greg Loren and especially more from Soriya Greystone.
Someone point me towards the next book.
A brilliant story with amazing characters and the narration was perfect.
An easy 5 stars for me

[Lynn Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre

The storyline was good, but I found the action writing diluted by unnecessary ruminations on the emotions of the central characters. It slowed down the action and really got to be annoying by the end. Life is too short for this crap.

[Melissa Laidman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t the type of book I normally read. But it was super fast paced and action packed. It seems like it would make an excellent graphic novel. The writing is excellent and I enjoyed how the author built up the mystery and suspense little by little in the first portion of the book.

[Trinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supernatural

If you like the Supernatural series, this is a great read. I'm looking forward to the rest of the books!

[John Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional mystery/paranormal story set in a grim city. The stretched police force have to deal with a normal caseload as well as dealing with 'underground' paranormal horrors rarely seen in a novel and certainly never described in such vivid detail as Mr Paduano achieves.
The characters are magnificent and again is down to the descriptive talent of the author who takes us on a magical ride of daily horrors normal people face to those paranormal horrors that the public would rather not know about.
A very satisfying read and well worthy of a five star review. I for one cannot wait for the next instalment in the series.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have been looking for quite some time for a solid fantasy/mystery/horror by a male author. i am quite glad to have found this book, which thankfully is part of a series! there was no shortage of twists and turns. emotions and tension ran high, and the conclusion was satisfying- no stupid cliffhangers or even worse, the dreaded 'too-neat-of-an-end' end.
im blathering. words are still hard to write, but are thankfully easy to consume. i will gladly continue to do so with the Greystone series.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Signs of Portents by Lou Paduano is an awesome story. All I can say is OH WOW!!!! this story blew my mind away and I nver read anything by Lou Paduano before this story. I love mysteries and this one is a mystery with a paranormal twist to it and I love it. I highly recommend this to everyone who loves to read a mystery and paranormal stories, if you but this story you will not be disappoint I sure was not,

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

[Paula Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was hard to put down-- the writer is truly gifted ..The plot has many twists and turns ..And takes you on a ride throughout the entire book.....I want more more more

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entry into a dark, gritty, new world!


I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a local convention. He had me sold on the premise of the book.

This is a great book for fans of urban fantasy novels. It was very reminiscent of the Dresden Files. The author does a great job of building a new city for the readers to discover. He makes you understand, and care for, the main characters.

I'm glad i started on this journey, and cant wait to continue the story of the Greystone!!

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a dark supernatural crime story about a town where more than just your usual criminals come out at night but not many residents are willing to recognise what is really going on.

I don't know why I struggled to stay interested in this book, it is exactly the type of story I like to read but the writing style was a bit slow apart from the final showdown & I kept putting it aside to read later.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Lou Paduano. I love reading fantasy and mystery/supernatural intertwined. Greg Loran and Soriya Graystone are the main characters in this tale of mystery and science fiction. This is a must read! I'm getting ready to go out and purchase Tales from Portent. Cannot wait.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing book. Detective Greg Loren wants to leave the City of Portents as quickly as possible. There is nothing there for him since his wife died a few years back. Portents is a different type of place, unfortunately he has to use his skills as detective first, before he can consider leaving. Received an ARC and enjoyed the book immensely

[Nancy Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I liked that one of the main characters (Detective Loren) was lost and found himself again and decided to stay in portent. With the help of Soriya Greystone and Captain Ruiz. There's A lot of great action and friction between a hard headed detective and the paranormal world that is Portent. This book is well worth reading.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read by a new author. Just read on his blog that he is releasing a book of short stories based on the characters in this book in February. Can't wait to read it. Love the world he created in this book!

[Susan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an interesting combination of Science Fiction and Mystery. The Author gives the reader a very descriptive look at the city so its easy to picture the story. This is a worthwhile read, but not a light read.

[TE · Rating 4 out of 5]

This paranormal thriller was pretty intense at times. You could feel the emotion of the main characters and I was never bored reading it. Different from most of the paranormals I read. Good read for 18+ (for violence & cussing).

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

He wants to leave and it cannot be quick enough but he is pulled into more murder cases but this time he will have a partner. She has powers. Follow them as they try to find the one or ones that are doing it

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

[Pat Eroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book I have read by this author, I am hooked on this series. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. This book has the perfect blend of mystery and thriller, with fantasy thrown in for good measure. Well-written with awesome characters, I am a fan for life.

[Michelle Olms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Hector Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and all the intrigue love the way it come together love this book

[Ken Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cop must try to find killers who are paranormals. He teams up with an outside partner and they battle the killers.