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Hell's Detective
Kat Murphy is a private detective tortured by demons. Real ones. She is serving a death sentence in Lost Angeles, the dark and depraved city in Hell where a beast known as a Torment forces her to relive, night after night, the moment she killed her lover and put a bullet in her own skull.
Kat longs to make amends for her sins. So when the city’s Chief Administrator hires her to retrieve a stolen box with a mysterious power, offering to call off her Torment in return, she gets the chance to do just that.
But if Kat has learned one thing, it’s that every case has a wrinkle. As she trawls drug dens, casinos, and fighting pits in search of the thief, she discovers that both box and city contain secrets darker than she could ever have imagined. And with time running out, Kat must choose between her own desire for peace and the fate of the world above in Hell's Detective, the electrifying new mystery from award-winning author Michael Logan.
Kat longs to make amends for her sins. So when the city’s Chief Administrator hires her to retrieve a stolen box with a mysterious power, offering to call off her Torment in return, she gets the chance to do just that.
But if Kat has learned one thing, it’s that every case has a wrinkle. As she trawls drug dens, casinos, and fighting pits in search of the thief, she discovers that both box and city contain secrets darker than she could ever have imagined. And with time running out, Kat must choose between her own desire for peace and the fate of the world above in Hell's Detective, the electrifying new mystery from award-winning author Michael Logan.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2017
11 people are currently reading
1250 people want to read
About the author
Michael Logan
5 books232 followersMichael Logan is an award-winning Scottish writer, whose career has taken him across the globe.
His debut novel, Apocalypse Cow, won the Terry Pratchett First Novel Prize. Since then, the sequel, World War Moo, and two unrelated novels, Wannabes and Hell's Detective, have hit the shelves.
Michael’s short fiction has appeared in publications such as The Telegraph, Chapman and Underground Voices. He won Fish Publishing’s 2008 international One-Page Fiction Prize with We Will Go on Ahead and Wait for You.
His debut novel, Apocalypse Cow, won the Terry Pratchett First Novel Prize. Since then, the sequel, World War Moo, and two unrelated novels, Wannabes and Hell's Detective, have hit the shelves.
Michael’s short fiction has appeared in publications such as The Telegraph, Chapman and Underground Voices. He won Fish Publishing’s 2008 international One-Page Fiction Prize with We Will Go on Ahead and Wait for You.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 20, 2025
The powers that be had dumped me into a one-room flop in Desert Heights, a slice of urban squalor clinging to the northwest perimeter of the city like a boil and oozing up against the moat surrounding the Black Tower. That was where all newcomers started out. Nobody told me this was Hell. I didn’t have to pass under the drooling heads of Cerberus. I didn’t have to pay the ferryman to navigate the River Styx—you could cross the torpid, orange-brown water free of charge every day courtesy of the Route 666 bridge. There wasn’t even a welcome brochure. I’d opened my eyes to a squalid room, the shot still ringing in my ears, and known.If you thought your life was an affliction when you were alive, you are in for a surprise once you are selected for residence downstairs. Instead of getting to toast marshmallows on your own burning flesh, it is back to the grindstone. You still have to eat, find a place to live, and cope with a distilled collection of the worst assholes from upstairs. Maybe it’s like being a White House correspondent. But I guess that depends on when you take that long step down.
Michael Logan - from his twitter page
This noir vision of hell has a set design firmly fixed in the 1950s. And each resident’s knowledge of the world above tends to remain set to the era in which he or she arrives. As the stay can be a long one, that leaves most of the downstairs residents somewhat out of touch with the latest technology. Sadly, Logan’s notion of the hereafter is not the political scourging that Dante managed in his vision. Where are the unscrupulous political leaders, the sheep-fleecing clerics, the depraved media stars? Sorry Charlie, it’s mostly gangsters from sundry rings within the criminal tiers, the odd killer, and far too many suicides. Logan calls his hell-hole Lost Angeles. Snicker, and he might separate you from your favorite ear.
I see French actress Audrey Fleurot as Kat - image from Cineuropa.org
Kat Murphy is hanging out at her favorite watering hole, Benny’s, when in walks Franklin Johnson, an innocent, newly arrived, he says. There is no exit, she can inform him, having tested out all the possibilities and maybe a few impossibilities. Kat is 5’10”, with flaming red hair and a take-no-prisoners attitude. A group of goons makes sport of Franklin, and wind up stabbing him in the eye. He does not die. Well, he does, but fails to stay that way. Death does not take here. What’s the point of eternal damnation if you can skip out by snuffing it? Kat knows a bit about this as well, having expired too many times to count, in diverse and sometimes interesting ways. And then a very special dame walks into the bar.
She wore a smart lilac jacket cinched around the waist and a hip-hugging skirt that advertised her curves. She had curly black hair and cheekbones so sharp that a man could kiss her and shave at the same time…Her lips were kinked into a smile that offered a potential lover damnation or salvation in equal measure. Despite the conclusions people drew from my penchant for trousers and close-cropped red hair, I didn’t swing that way. Even if I did, I already had damnation, and salvation was out of my reach. I wasn’t buying what she was selling.Laureen wants Kat to find something that had been taken from her. And Kat is the best detective Way Down Under. Kat blows her off, smelling way too much brimstone in this job,
There was something…I didn’t like about her, something I couldn’t put my finger on. It wasn’t how she was dressed, the way she so clearly used her looks to get what she wanted; a smart operator used every tool at her disposal. No, my disquiet went deeper than that. She hadn’t even gotten to the proposition, and I already knew my answer would be no. When you worked enough cases, you developed a nose for when a job was going to be a heap of trouble—the kind of assignment you only took when the rent was long overdue and the dumpsters outside restaurants were beginning to look appetizing.but Laureen, one of the people in charge of the nether world, can be very…um…persuasive and the search is engaged.
As one might expect, and hope for, the landscape is decorated with an array of dodgy characters, this inferno, like LA, being a place where crime lives, however dead its participants. Enitan George was a Nigerian doctor, who’d moved to Texas, met a dark end and is now the best fence in town, and an excellent font of intelligence. He is also Kat’s best friend. There is a brutal gang leader named Flo, an impressive female enforcer named Yolanda, and a police lineup of others. None is terribly deep, but that does not really matter much.
Gary Anthony Williams is my pick for Enitan George, Kat’s bff and fence – image from Scoobypedia
This underworld features an actual Black Tower, (a stairway to heaven?), the top of which is as visible as upper floors of the Wilshire Grand on a particularly smoggy day, in which reside harpy-like critters called Torments, who take flight every night and visit a special form of unpleasantness on the condemned. Sartre wrote “hell is other people,” but it may be the one in the mirror who deals the harshest blows.
We get the flashback details of Kat’s days upstairs and what led to her demise. A major player was Danny Ainsworth, a fellow PI she fell for big time, and still loves. Another was a gambling mogul named Bruno, effectively the means of her passing. She did not much care for him.
No-brainer - Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Danny Ainsworth - Image from SciFiNow
Logan has cadged together an array of abysmal references from sundry religions and cultures, and knows enough to wink at readers about having done so. One particularly fun item is a beastie from Egyptian mythology that is made flesh here. You don’t want to think too hard about the logistical details of Logan’s vision of hell. Hoist your disbelief on a strong pair of red suspenders. Or maybe plug it between the eyes with your .38. Don’t worry, it will come back in a short while.
Don’t expect high literature here. Hell’s Detective is more a pure infernal fun sort of read. Your brain will not be much troubled with ongoing thought after putting this one down. There are probably references here that sailed past my head, but which may resonate with readers well versed in the noir genre (this means you, Keeten). Still, one does not need to be a Marlowe-maven or a Spade-specialist to appreciate this fun send-up of the genre, or genres. I suppose it counts as Noir-Fantasy (Noirasy? Fantanoir?) I am not sure this book would count as heavenly, and you will not be consigned to everlasting fire if you let it slip by, but it is definitely a hell of a read.
Review first posted – November 10, 2017
Published – June 13, 2017
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal and Twitter pages
Writer’s Digest - 7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Michael Logan, Author of APOCALYPSE COW - an interesting article on marketing one’s writing - November 1, 2013
Interview - My Bookish Ways - Catching up with Michael Logan, author of Wannabes and Apocalypse Cow - by Kristin - September 4, 2014
November 17, 2017
I received a copy of Hell’s Detective from Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review.
I have to say, this was one HELL of a book! This was a DAMN fine action/mystery that will keep you enthralled from the beginning to the end! It would be a SIN to miss out on reading this one!
Imagine you are a detective and you are trying to solve a mystery while avoiding seedy characters and nefarious plotting . . . but, you are in Hell – so, every character is seedy and every plot is nefarious.
Michael Logan creates a fantastically interesting and creative depiction of Hell. It is not your typical hellfire and damnation. The lost souls of Hell (who all live in the less than picturesque city of Lost Angeles) get a chance to fulfill their every sinful desire over and over again until the end of time, BUT they also have to relive the sins that brought them to Hell every night as the appropriately named Torments come to pay a visit. Through the eyes of our hard-boiled, badass detective Kat Murphy we get to tour the underbelly trying to not only figure out a mystery that could easily end in total Armageddon but also determine if there is any hope for the souls doomed to roam the metropolis on Route 666.
I loved pretty much everything about this book. Kat will remind you of any classic, hard-boiled detective. Interestingly, in the afterward the author mentions a friend suggesting he do some “gender reassignment” for this novel – having a female gumshoe ends up working out quite well. Also, the people Kat encounters along the way are interesting because they are damned to hell, so, what have they got to lose? How would you act if you knew every day was just another day to stew in your sin juices? How could you approach solving a crime when most crime has no consequence anyway? How do you convince someone to help you at gunpoint when they know if you shoot them, they will just be back to their same, old damned selves in a few minutes? Logan works his way masterfully through all of these questions and it never feels forced, contrived, or like he is leaving plot holes you could drive a car through.
Another great thing about this book is the questions it raises about the afterlife, paying for your sins, religion, etc. But, at no point does it feel like he it is approaching it from any particular standpoint. I feel like this book could be enjoyed by someone of any religion, agnostic, atheist, etc. without any issue. In fact, I think that this might be a great conversation starter for a group of people with lots of different viewpoints (as long as everyone in the group is open to a lively but friendly discussion!)
If you like hard-boiled mysteries with a twist of horror and you are looking for a new setting for a story, why not try Hell? I can guarantee that Hell’s Detective will be happy to give you a thrilling tour you will not be able to put down!
I have to say, this was one HELL of a book! This was a DAMN fine action/mystery that will keep you enthralled from the beginning to the end! It would be a SIN to miss out on reading this one!
Imagine you are a detective and you are trying to solve a mystery while avoiding seedy characters and nefarious plotting . . . but, you are in Hell – so, every character is seedy and every plot is nefarious.
Michael Logan creates a fantastically interesting and creative depiction of Hell. It is not your typical hellfire and damnation. The lost souls of Hell (who all live in the less than picturesque city of Lost Angeles) get a chance to fulfill their every sinful desire over and over again until the end of time, BUT they also have to relive the sins that brought them to Hell every night as the appropriately named Torments come to pay a visit. Through the eyes of our hard-boiled, badass detective Kat Murphy we get to tour the underbelly trying to not only figure out a mystery that could easily end in total Armageddon but also determine if there is any hope for the souls doomed to roam the metropolis on Route 666.
I loved pretty much everything about this book. Kat will remind you of any classic, hard-boiled detective. Interestingly, in the afterward the author mentions a friend suggesting he do some “gender reassignment” for this novel – having a female gumshoe ends up working out quite well. Also, the people Kat encounters along the way are interesting because they are damned to hell, so, what have they got to lose? How would you act if you knew every day was just another day to stew in your sin juices? How could you approach solving a crime when most crime has no consequence anyway? How do you convince someone to help you at gunpoint when they know if you shoot them, they will just be back to their same, old damned selves in a few minutes? Logan works his way masterfully through all of these questions and it never feels forced, contrived, or like he is leaving plot holes you could drive a car through.
Another great thing about this book is the questions it raises about the afterlife, paying for your sins, religion, etc. But, at no point does it feel like he it is approaching it from any particular standpoint. I feel like this book could be enjoyed by someone of any religion, agnostic, atheist, etc. without any issue. In fact, I think that this might be a great conversation starter for a group of people with lots of different viewpoints (as long as everyone in the group is open to a lively but friendly discussion!)
If you like hard-boiled mysteries with a twist of horror and you are looking for a new setting for a story, why not try Hell? I can guarantee that Hell’s Detective will be happy to give you a thrilling tour you will not be able to put down!
October 2, 2017
Hell's Detective: A Mystery by Michael Logan is not a book I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be a detective story and Hell was a metaphor. No, this had so many surprises in it the first few pages because I didn't read any blurbs on it at all. I glanced at the picture and the ratings and thought it would be good. It was GREAT!!! This was sooo good. It had so many twists, turns, surprises that I was in a loop! I enjoyed this book completely and didn't want it to end! Tell me there is book 2! PLEASE?? There is a detective, yes, works in hell, yes, hell. There are a lot of things that happen in hell. Wow, I won't tell but, WOW. You can go to a bar, the detective does, takes jobs, you can gamble, smoke, etc. What makes it hell, well....I can't tell you...no spoilers here. This is so thought out and plotted. I truly love this book. I was offered to read this book but a few pages in I just bought it. I wanted to read it for me! I will be watching this author now. I hope he has more fantasy. This was fantastic, sorry if I can't quit raving about it but I don't normally gush about a book, read other reviews. Do pick this up! You will be glad you did. I am glad I did. I don't normally re-read books but this one I would!
November 24, 2017
Treat yourself to a smorgasbord of metaphors. It has a strong taste of those old-style hard-boiled detective novels, but is served up with a sense of humor that is more tongue in cheek. Quite simply, it is lip smackin' delicious fun.
Lost Angeles, circa 1950. Welcome to hell. It's full of prisoners of their own vices. It's not so bad, really. You can never leave, of course, because you've died and gone to hell. But you can continue to ply your favorite sin.
Because it is hell, there is a fair amount of horrifying things to experience. Dust devils that writhe rather than whirl, squirming memories, sneaky worms, souls reflected in black mirrors, and just around midnight, the Torments come to call. Everyone has one. Your screams will soon join the cacophony of other shrieking souls.
Lost Angeles, circa 1950. Welcome to hell. It's full of prisoners of their own vices. It's not so bad, really. You can never leave, of course, because you've died and gone to hell. But you can continue to ply your favorite sin.
Because it is hell, there is a fair amount of horrifying things to experience. Dust devils that writhe rather than whirl, squirming memories, sneaky worms, souls reflected in black mirrors, and just around midnight, the Torments come to call. Everyone has one. Your screams will soon join the cacophony of other shrieking souls.
October 30, 2017
In life Kat Murphy was a tough talking private investigator, and in death . . . she's pretty much the same. Now her beat is the hellish city of Lost Angeles, and she's just been hired to search for a stolen box, the owner of which will hold the fate of the world in his or her hands. And, as Kat soon learns, the biggest problem is not finding the missing box, but deciding exactly who can be trusted not to misuse the powers contained within.
Oh,Hell . . .
It's a strange place, where the inhabitants are allowed to sin and sin again without any apparent further penalty. If you get killed, you come back to life again a few minutes later. Well, you may be thinking, that doesn't sound so bad. Just keep in mind, there are some drawbacks. All there is to read are "reauthored" books like Moby Dick which has been rewritten into a salty sea dog tale of pirates, high-seas battles, and sexual congress with attractive mermaids and War and Peace which is a suspiciously thin book. rewritten by a guy who liked war so much, he left out all the peace.
And then there's the Torments - dark demons that descend every evening like nightmares, forcing everyone to relive the worst moments of their lives . . . over, and over, and over again. By now you may be screaming, how do I make it stop?
Well, you can always get eaten and shat out by this thing:
The insatiable Ammit
I genuinely enjoyed this one. Even up to the last few pages, I had no clue what was coming next. This is HELL we're talking about - literally anything could happen. Clever, witty writing, and an interesting plot - I have no complaints . . . unless this turns out not to be a series.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Publishing for providing this sinner with a review copy.
Oh,Hell . . .
It's a strange place, where the inhabitants are allowed to sin and sin again without any apparent further penalty. If you get killed, you come back to life again a few minutes later. Well, you may be thinking, that doesn't sound so bad. Just keep in mind, there are some drawbacks. All there is to read are "reauthored" books like Moby Dick which has been rewritten into a salty sea dog tale of pirates, high-seas battles, and sexual congress with attractive mermaids and War and Peace which is a suspiciously thin book. rewritten by a guy who liked war so much, he left out all the peace.
And then there's the Torments - dark demons that descend every evening like nightmares, forcing everyone to relive the worst moments of their lives . . . over, and over, and over again. By now you may be screaming, how do I make it stop?
Well, you can always get eaten and shat out by this thing:
The insatiable Ammit
I genuinely enjoyed this one. Even up to the last few pages, I had no clue what was coming next. This is HELL we're talking about - literally anything could happen. Clever, witty writing, and an interesting plot - I have no complaints . . . unless this turns out not to be a series.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Publishing for providing this sinner with a review copy.
January 23, 2018
Hell’s Detective is going to be a different review from me then the usual. I need to explain why I started this three months ago and almost did not finish this book at around the 40% point.
I started this book in November and that’s where I started having issues. Thanksgiving came up, then Christmas, then New Years and I was not focusing on this book. I was reading too many buddy reads and then #bookgreed set in.
#Bookgreed is a rare condition in bibliophiles in where you want to read every fucking book at once because you love books way to much.
Yep, it’s a description in Webster’s Dictionary. Check it out. 🤣
I didn’t give this book the focus that I should have. I was reading 4-5 books at a time and this book ended up suffering! So, I just kept slowly working on it because I really liked the main character Kat and loved the premise of the book.
Kat’s a detective that lives in Lost Angeles which is a section of Hell. She’s been down there for decades and must relive her sin/death every night from beast known as the Torments. Everyone must relive it every night down in Lost Angeles. It’s a HELL living there.
*see what I did there*
Every type of vice, deadly sin and perversion is allowed in Lost Angeles. It makes evil people turn worse and decent people that committed an unforgivable sin suffer even more.
The whole city of Lost Angeles aka Hell was well thought out. The world building, characters and concept was well done by Michael Logan!
I’m so glad I finished this book now! At about the 1/2-way point in the book, the plot and players all came together. I was into it now, knew who was who, where the plot was finally going and reading at a fast pace to find out who was blackmailing who. At about 60% in the book, a YUGE plot twist happens and I just couldn’t quit reading.
So, take a note readers. Sometimes you need to give a book time to develop, understand who all the characters are and keep pushing on. You’ll find a real gem and this was one of them!
Recommended to fans of horror, mystery and detective genres!
I started this book in November and that’s where I started having issues. Thanksgiving came up, then Christmas, then New Years and I was not focusing on this book. I was reading too many buddy reads and then #bookgreed set in.
#Bookgreed is a rare condition in bibliophiles in where you want to read every fucking book at once because you love books way to much.
Yep, it’s a description in Webster’s Dictionary. Check it out. 🤣
I didn’t give this book the focus that I should have. I was reading 4-5 books at a time and this book ended up suffering! So, I just kept slowly working on it because I really liked the main character Kat and loved the premise of the book.
Kat’s a detective that lives in Lost Angeles which is a section of Hell. She’s been down there for decades and must relive her sin/death every night from beast known as the Torments. Everyone must relive it every night down in Lost Angeles. It’s a HELL living there.
*see what I did there*
Every type of vice, deadly sin and perversion is allowed in Lost Angeles. It makes evil people turn worse and decent people that committed an unforgivable sin suffer even more.
The whole city of Lost Angeles aka Hell was well thought out. The world building, characters and concept was well done by Michael Logan!
I’m so glad I finished this book now! At about the 1/2-way point in the book, the plot and players all came together. I was into it now, knew who was who, where the plot was finally going and reading at a fast pace to find out who was blackmailing who. At about 60% in the book, a YUGE plot twist happens and I just couldn’t quit reading.
So, take a note readers. Sometimes you need to give a book time to develop, understand who all the characters are and keep pushing on. You’ll find a real gem and this was one of them!
Recommended to fans of horror, mystery and detective genres!
September 28, 2017
Kat Murphy is a resident of Lost Angelos, a city in Hell where sinners have been sent to live out their deaths over and over night after night. Ever since the night Kat shot her partner and then ended her own life with a bullet to her brain she has been stuck in this version of hell. During the day all of those that have arrived in the city live as much in sin as they did while on earth with anything from gambling to prostitution available to all. Lucky for Kat though those in the city still have a need for a private detective so she can continue on in her profession even in death.
When Kat is approached by the Chief Administrator of the city she isn't too sure about accepting a job from a demon but the stakes are high when offered to take away her nightly punishment. All Kat has to do is track down a stolen box that seems to be pretty valuable to the administrator and she won't have to live through the nightly torment that goes on for every citizen. However as Kat finds herself searching out the box she finds that the box and the city itself have more secrets than she ever bargained for.
The best way to describe Hell's Detective by Michael Logan is somewhat of a raunchy fantasy/mystery read. This one is definitely not for those that do not like foul language or violence etc in their books but it was certainly a creative idea for a private investigator mystery read. The setting in here was done rather well giving enough details that it's really brought to life in the book with some rather interesting ideas for this version of an afterlife.
Believe it or not for a citizen of hell Kat was a likable main character. I did find however that others in the book would just rather blend in with the action moving along and didn't get to know anyone else as well. Another complaint for me though in this one was I had a bit of trouble getting excited over some of the action in the book because early on you learn that no one there can die so it lost a bit of intensity thinking oh well, they'll just wake up again. In the end I'd probably give this one 3 stars as I think some things could be better but I did enjoy the creativity for the most part.
I received a copy of Hell's Detective from the publisher.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
When Kat is approached by the Chief Administrator of the city she isn't too sure about accepting a job from a demon but the stakes are high when offered to take away her nightly punishment. All Kat has to do is track down a stolen box that seems to be pretty valuable to the administrator and she won't have to live through the nightly torment that goes on for every citizen. However as Kat finds herself searching out the box she finds that the box and the city itself have more secrets than she ever bargained for.
The best way to describe Hell's Detective by Michael Logan is somewhat of a raunchy fantasy/mystery read. This one is definitely not for those that do not like foul language or violence etc in their books but it was certainly a creative idea for a private investigator mystery read. The setting in here was done rather well giving enough details that it's really brought to life in the book with some rather interesting ideas for this version of an afterlife.
Believe it or not for a citizen of hell Kat was a likable main character. I did find however that others in the book would just rather blend in with the action moving along and didn't get to know anyone else as well. Another complaint for me though in this one was I had a bit of trouble getting excited over some of the action in the book because early on you learn that no one there can die so it lost a bit of intensity thinking oh well, they'll just wake up again. In the end I'd probably give this one 3 stars as I think some things could be better but I did enjoy the creativity for the most part.
I received a copy of Hell's Detective from the publisher.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
January 28, 2018
An action-adventure noir detective story set in hell frozen in time at 1950’s America. It’s a bit more of romance than I prefer. But detectives Kat and Danny are as hopelessly in love decades after death as they were in life. Bound beyond death sounds like the marriage vows Jim Morrison took in The Doors (1991). But, that’s our story, so be it.
The Administrators run Hell. They are more corporate management than pitchfork-wielding demons. A swarm of inky flying torments poor out of the central Central Tower each night to make the damned relive their unforgivable deeds or deeds as the case may be. A torment is kind of cute when nuzzles one of the Administrator’s hand.
There are fantastic characters. I especially liked Enitan. He is a fence and purveyor of books. Kat’s go-to guy for information. Best of all there is Ammit. She is crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus hybrid Egyptian goddess that devourer of the dead.
This detail scene from the Papyrus of Hunefer (ca. 1375 B.C.) shows Hunefer's heart being weighed on the scale of Maat against the feather of truth, by the jackal-headed Anubis. The ibis-headed Thoth, scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart is lighter than the feather, Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the waiting Ammit. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead.[1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammit)
The Administrators run Hell. They are more corporate management than pitchfork-wielding demons. A swarm of inky flying torments poor out of the central Central Tower each night to make the damned relive their unforgivable deeds or deeds as the case may be. A torment is kind of cute when nuzzles one of the Administrator’s hand.
There are fantastic characters. I especially liked Enitan. He is a fence and purveyor of books. Kat’s go-to guy for information. Best of all there is Ammit. She is crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus hybrid Egyptian goddess that devourer of the dead.
This detail scene from the Papyrus of Hunefer (ca. 1375 B.C.) shows Hunefer's heart being weighed on the scale of Maat against the feather of truth, by the jackal-headed Anubis. The ibis-headed Thoth, scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart is lighter than the feather, Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the waiting Ammit. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead.[1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammit)
November 11, 2017
Great fun to start, then a bit too "Hollywood-please-buy-me" in the end...
(This book provided by NetGalley.com, Thank you)
A very clever and unusual concept, well-realised in the first half of the book. However, in the second half, the plot drags along too often, with clogged and often cornball dialogue and plotting, then a big action finish Hollywood-style, and a "happy ending" to allow more stories to piggy-back on this universe.
In the acknowledgements at the end, the author does thank a friend for pressing him to satisfy the Bechdel Test. WOOT !
The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added.
Notes -
11.0% ... clever, fun, different. A construct of damnation and entertainment. A possibility of relief from torment.... very cool
37.0% .... been there 😉
"He had more charisma than a Hollywood leading man and, according to the rumors, enjoyed nothing more than employing his vast repertoire of sexual techniques to bring about screaming multiple orgasms in his belles of the hour."
50.0% ... still great fun, a clever idea well-realised.
69.0% .... unfortunately, the author has slid into overwriting. Very disappointed
80.0% ..... I just hate when the protagonist keeps secrets from the reader just for drama. Los of authors do it, but I think it's lazy.
86.0% ...yet another cornball phrase
"I shrieked like a B-movie actress confronted by an extra in a latex monster suit"
92.0% ... blah, blah, stupid Hollywood action scene. Dull, dull, dull, stupid
99.0% ... Bechdel test
(This book provided by NetGalley.com, Thank you)
A very clever and unusual concept, well-realised in the first half of the book. However, in the second half, the plot drags along too often, with clogged and often cornball dialogue and plotting, then a big action finish Hollywood-style, and a "happy ending" to allow more stories to piggy-back on this universe.
In the acknowledgements at the end, the author does thank a friend for pressing him to satisfy the Bechdel Test. WOOT !
The Bechdel test asks whether a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added.
Notes -
11.0% ... clever, fun, different. A construct of damnation and entertainment. A possibility of relief from torment.... very cool
37.0% .... been there 😉
"He had more charisma than a Hollywood leading man and, according to the rumors, enjoyed nothing more than employing his vast repertoire of sexual techniques to bring about screaming multiple orgasms in his belles of the hour."
50.0% ... still great fun, a clever idea well-realised.
69.0% .... unfortunately, the author has slid into overwriting. Very disappointed
80.0% ..... I just hate when the protagonist keeps secrets from the reader just for drama. Los of authors do it, but I think it's lazy.
86.0% ...yet another cornball phrase
"I shrieked like a B-movie actress confronted by an extra in a latex monster suit"
92.0% ... blah, blah, stupid Hollywood action scene. Dull, dull, dull, stupid
99.0% ... Bechdel test
Read
May 8, 2018UPDATE 8/5/2018 - Out in paperback today, with a shiny new cover!
UPDATE, 11/11/2017 - Still cheap as chips
Ok, this isn't really an update, as I'm saying the same thing as before: the ebook is less than a buck, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
To help you put the price into perspective, below is a selection of some other things you can buy for a dollar:
A YOLO wristband, which the police can cut from your bloodied corpse when you do something really stupid in the YOLO spirit and end up falling from a high building.
A nail stencil set, so you can take lovely pictures of your manicured hands turning book pages.
A corn hair removal tool, because there's nothing worse than hairy corn.
A bottle-opener ring, which apparently you can use to win friends and influence people at parties.
A hilarious "stop looking at my cock" rooster fridge magnet.
A 12-pack of mini plastic tongs, for use in situations I can't possibly imagine
Another dollar.
UPDATE, 3/10/2017 - E-book version 99 cents in the US
That pretty much sums it up. Armed with your preferred e-reader, you can pay a paltry sum to buy the book. I'm sure you can find enough loose change, coated in fluff, down the back of your sofa or in the pocket of that winter coat you threw in the wardrobe in February. So get rummaging!
UPDATE, 2/5/2017 - Online launch of the novel
As it's #mysteryweek, and my next novel, Hell's Detective: A Mystery is a horrific and fantastical mystery, this seems like a good time to announce I'll be hosting a Facebook Live reading and Q&A at 2000 UTC on June 13 to celebrate the novel's release.
I'll read the first chapter, then you can ask me whatever you like. I will give away a signed copy to the asker of a randomly selected question.
As I will be sitting down, I may not wear any trousers, which means I won't be able to stand up should there be a child invasion in the style of the unfortunate BBC interview that got so much attention.
It's BYOB. If you don't have any, you can watch me drink instead.
There will be no subtitles, so I hope you can understand Scottish accents.
Full details are here.
***
I'm not going to review the book myself, even though it is clearly a work of stupendous genius that deserves 17.3 stars and to win every literary award, past and future, in multiple dimensions. (See what I did there? I said I wasn't going to review it, then I sneakily did, planting subliminal seeds that will make you BUY MY BOOK without realizing where the idea came from. Told you I was a genius.)
Instead, here is what others are saying about it:
“More fun than a barrel of flying monkeys. A fiendishly clever mash-up of noir and horror with a soupçon of hard-boiled humor. Set in a superbly realized corner of hell known as Lost Angeles, Logan has delivered a helluva great read.”
―Eric Van Lustbader, New York Times bestselling author of Any Minute Now (and the new Jason Bourne books)
“Logan's vision of hell is violent, gritty, and filled with evil. Incorporated into an action-packed mystery, this extreme universe should delight fans of Simon R. Green or Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.”
― Library Journal
“Logan takes readers on a dark-comedy tour of a Hell beyond our wildest dreams with this unpredictable detective novel.”
― Booklist
“[An] entertaining mystery... Logan has a knack for crafting lines that will gratify noir fans.”
―Publishers Weekly
“A sinfully good noir mystery. Think Raymond Chandler meets Stephen King.”
―Rebecca Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author
UPDATE, 11/11/2017 - Still cheap as chips
Ok, this isn't really an update, as I'm saying the same thing as before: the ebook is less than a buck, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
To help you put the price into perspective, below is a selection of some other things you can buy for a dollar:
A YOLO wristband, which the police can cut from your bloodied corpse when you do something really stupid in the YOLO spirit and end up falling from a high building.
A nail stencil set, so you can take lovely pictures of your manicured hands turning book pages.
A corn hair removal tool, because there's nothing worse than hairy corn.
A bottle-opener ring, which apparently you can use to win friends and influence people at parties.
A hilarious "stop looking at my cock" rooster fridge magnet.
A 12-pack of mini plastic tongs, for use in situations I can't possibly imagine
Another dollar.
UPDATE, 3/10/2017 - E-book version 99 cents in the US
That pretty much sums it up. Armed with your preferred e-reader, you can pay a paltry sum to buy the book. I'm sure you can find enough loose change, coated in fluff, down the back of your sofa or in the pocket of that winter coat you threw in the wardrobe in February. So get rummaging!
UPDATE, 2/5/2017 - Online launch of the novel
As it's #mysteryweek, and my next novel, Hell's Detective: A Mystery is a horrific and fantastical mystery, this seems like a good time to announce I'll be hosting a Facebook Live reading and Q&A at 2000 UTC on June 13 to celebrate the novel's release.
I'll read the first chapter, then you can ask me whatever you like. I will give away a signed copy to the asker of a randomly selected question.
As I will be sitting down, I may not wear any trousers, which means I won't be able to stand up should there be a child invasion in the style of the unfortunate BBC interview that got so much attention.
It's BYOB. If you don't have any, you can watch me drink instead.
There will be no subtitles, so I hope you can understand Scottish accents.
Full details are here.
***
I'm not going to review the book myself, even though it is clearly a work of stupendous genius that deserves 17.3 stars and to win every literary award, past and future, in multiple dimensions. (See what I did there? I said I wasn't going to review it, then I sneakily did, planting subliminal seeds that will make you BUY MY BOOK without realizing where the idea came from. Told you I was a genius.)
Instead, here is what others are saying about it:
“More fun than a barrel of flying monkeys. A fiendishly clever mash-up of noir and horror with a soupçon of hard-boiled humor. Set in a superbly realized corner of hell known as Lost Angeles, Logan has delivered a helluva great read.”
―Eric Van Lustbader, New York Times bestselling author of Any Minute Now (and the new Jason Bourne books)
“Logan's vision of hell is violent, gritty, and filled with evil. Incorporated into an action-packed mystery, this extreme universe should delight fans of Simon R. Green or Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.”
― Library Journal
“Logan takes readers on a dark-comedy tour of a Hell beyond our wildest dreams with this unpredictable detective novel.”
― Booklist
“[An] entertaining mystery... Logan has a knack for crafting lines that will gratify noir fans.”
―Publishers Weekly
“A sinfully good noir mystery. Think Raymond Chandler meets Stephen King.”
―Rebecca Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author
June 12, 2017
I’ve been a fan of Michael Logan’s writing for a while now, I can heartily recommend his magnum opus Apocalypse Cow and its sequel World War Moo. It’s probably no surprise then when I confirm I always look forward to anything new from him. His latest is a move away from the horrors of bovine zombification and towards a grittier sub-genre all together, something I’m going to nickname Hellish Noir.
Meet Kat Murphy, a detective in life who hasn’t let taking a bullet to the brain stop her from her chosen profession. It turns out that even the damned need assistance solving crimes from time to time, and Kat is the person who can offer that help. I warmed to her immediately. Kat has that down beat, world weary approach to her job that every good detective seems to exhibit. There is also her limpet like tenacity and zero fucks given attitude to contend with. She is more than a match for any criminal Hell has to offer. Just as well, as things are about to get a little complicated.
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Lost Angeles*. Not a massive surprise as the city’s inhabitants are a uniformly nasty bunch. Stuck in a permanent 1950s, Lost Angeles is split into multiple districts, each overseen by a crime boss. Each of these capos focus on a different aspect of sin. One looks after all the gambling, another manages all the drugs and yet another looks after prostitution and so on. You get the idea. Now part of you might be thinking that doesn’t quite so bad. There’s plenty of debauchery to go around for everyone, irrespective of which sin is your favourite flavour. Being a guest at the ultimate sin-fest when you’re a sinner doesn’t sound all that terrible does it. Thing is, there is one huge caveat when it comes to residing in Hell. Every individual is visited regularly by their own unique Torment. These visitations mean they must re-live over and over the reasons that got them sent to Hell in the first place. Suddenly it doesn’t sound quite so rosy, does it? Imagine, if every night you’d have to face the worst parts of your own character. The nasty things that most of us try to ignore and would rather not remember. If it wasn’t difficult enough being a detective already, Kat needs to try and navigate this morass of sleaze to uncover who is behind the theft. Solving a case in Hell was never going to be easy.
I only have one criticism of Hell’s Detective, and it is a minor one at that. Kat’s character is well realised, but I think some of the secondary characters could have been a bit more fleshed out. A place like Lost Angeles is going to have so much backstory, I’d like to see that reflected in the city’s other denizens. I suppose this is something that could be explored further if the characters return in the future. I can imagine meeting some of Hell’s senior management would also be very cool.
Part old school detective story, part subtle horror, I had a lot of fun with Hell’s Detective. Michael Logan rounds things off nicely, bringing the story to a suitable close yet setting things up for this to become a possible ongoing series. I do hope so. It turns out I very much enjoy hard boiled crime noir with a devilish twist. Hell’s Detective has bucket loads of potential and I’d love to see this grow into something bigger.
If you’ve tried and enjoyed the Sandman Slim novels of Richard Kadrey, or The Devil’s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth, then I reckon you’ll get a kick from Kat Murphy’s adventures.
*Ok, perhaps not the most wretched (apologies to all Star Wars fans) but certainly a close 2nd.
Meet Kat Murphy, a detective in life who hasn’t let taking a bullet to the brain stop her from her chosen profession. It turns out that even the damned need assistance solving crimes from time to time, and Kat is the person who can offer that help. I warmed to her immediately. Kat has that down beat, world weary approach to her job that every good detective seems to exhibit. There is also her limpet like tenacity and zero fucks given attitude to contend with. She is more than a match for any criminal Hell has to offer. Just as well, as things are about to get a little complicated.
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Lost Angeles*. Not a massive surprise as the city’s inhabitants are a uniformly nasty bunch. Stuck in a permanent 1950s, Lost Angeles is split into multiple districts, each overseen by a crime boss. Each of these capos focus on a different aspect of sin. One looks after all the gambling, another manages all the drugs and yet another looks after prostitution and so on. You get the idea. Now part of you might be thinking that doesn’t quite so bad. There’s plenty of debauchery to go around for everyone, irrespective of which sin is your favourite flavour. Being a guest at the ultimate sin-fest when you’re a sinner doesn’t sound all that terrible does it. Thing is, there is one huge caveat when it comes to residing in Hell. Every individual is visited regularly by their own unique Torment. These visitations mean they must re-live over and over the reasons that got them sent to Hell in the first place. Suddenly it doesn’t sound quite so rosy, does it? Imagine, if every night you’d have to face the worst parts of your own character. The nasty things that most of us try to ignore and would rather not remember. If it wasn’t difficult enough being a detective already, Kat needs to try and navigate this morass of sleaze to uncover who is behind the theft. Solving a case in Hell was never going to be easy.
I only have one criticism of Hell’s Detective, and it is a minor one at that. Kat’s character is well realised, but I think some of the secondary characters could have been a bit more fleshed out. A place like Lost Angeles is going to have so much backstory, I’d like to see that reflected in the city’s other denizens. I suppose this is something that could be explored further if the characters return in the future. I can imagine meeting some of Hell’s senior management would also be very cool.
Part old school detective story, part subtle horror, I had a lot of fun with Hell’s Detective. Michael Logan rounds things off nicely, bringing the story to a suitable close yet setting things up for this to become a possible ongoing series. I do hope so. It turns out I very much enjoy hard boiled crime noir with a devilish twist. Hell’s Detective has bucket loads of potential and I’d love to see this grow into something bigger.
If you’ve tried and enjoyed the Sandman Slim novels of Richard Kadrey, or The Devil’s Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth, then I reckon you’ll get a kick from Kat Murphy’s adventures.
*Ok, perhaps not the most wretched (apologies to all Star Wars fans) but certainly a close 2nd.
October 2, 2017
Full disclosure: I am married to the author.
This means that I've read this book in its many forms multiple times - from random brain farts to the final version. I have scrawled all over various drafts with my beloved red biro; ducking dirty looks and dodging dirty-sock missiles. For those of you who think being married to a creative type is awesome, I pity you.
This is my favourite book by Michael Logan (until this, my fave was
Wannabes). I won't describe the plot as you can read the blurb on the book page. Obviously, I experienced this book differently as I saw its gestation and growth, and by the final read, not all of the surprises maintained their impact. There are a few, and I love a book with a surprise or two. I also enjoy mysteries, strong female leads, and fantasy - this book ticked a lot of boxes for me. I enjoyed reading Hell's Detective: A Mystery for many reasons: the diverse band of characters, the personality of the main protagonist, the hilarious dialogue, and the dynamic world building.
I found the writing style more mature than in Apocalypse Cow, which I appreciate, and like all of Michael's stories it has many layers. They seem super silly and frivolous on the surface, but on reflection and in discussion with others, you can get into deep conversations about life, the universe, and everything.
While Michael isn't so into writing a series, I would love to see a follow-up or more to Hell's Detective.
This means that I've read this book in its many forms multiple times - from random brain farts to the final version. I have scrawled all over various drafts with my beloved red biro; ducking dirty looks and dodging dirty-sock missiles. For those of you who think being married to a creative type is awesome, I pity you.
This is my favourite book by Michael Logan (until this, my fave was
Wannabes). I won't describe the plot as you can read the blurb on the book page. Obviously, I experienced this book differently as I saw its gestation and growth, and by the final read, not all of the surprises maintained their impact. There are a few, and I love a book with a surprise or two. I also enjoy mysteries, strong female leads, and fantasy - this book ticked a lot of boxes for me. I enjoyed reading Hell's Detective: A Mystery for many reasons: the diverse band of characters, the personality of the main protagonist, the hilarious dialogue, and the dynamic world building.
I found the writing style more mature than in Apocalypse Cow, which I appreciate, and like all of Michael's stories it has many layers. They seem super silly and frivolous on the surface, but on reflection and in discussion with others, you can get into deep conversations about life, the universe, and everything.
While Michael isn't so into writing a series, I would love to see a follow-up or more to Hell's Detective.
March 18, 2017
I did receive this book free from Goodreads.
This is a refreshing, exciting read that I found very well executed and read in a couple sittings as it gets more enthralling as you go. Gives a mental picture of scene and characters, wrapping a bit of mystery in hell with secrets, sins and a box.
Would love to read more from this author and such clever writing.
I'm sure you will like this book also if you like an edgy mystery and an undercut of hell .
This is a refreshing, exciting read that I found very well executed and read in a couple sittings as it gets more enthralling as you go. Gives a mental picture of scene and characters, wrapping a bit of mystery in hell with secrets, sins and a box.
Would love to read more from this author and such clever writing.
I'm sure you will like this book also if you like an edgy mystery and an undercut of hell .
September 30, 2018
Noirish horror/crime/thriller (seriously, it manages to be all three) set in a version of Hell straight out of those gritty PI films of the 50s mixed with Stephen King - a tale I enjoyed a great deal. Hopefully, this won't be the last we see of Kat Murphy.
August 26, 2019
It’s taken me a few days to put some thoughts down after reading Hell’s Detective by Michael Logan.
Hell’s Detective is an ingeniously disturbing mystery that, despite being a page turner, I could not read into the early hours of the morning! The almost incessant and imaginative descriptions of endurance in the hell that is Lost Angeles together with the violence wreaked upon the characters was like a perpetual video game. I found myself trying to ‘avert my eyes’ in a vain attempt to get away from the palpable horror and gore.
Part way through, I began to feel that too much time was spent fleshing out historical and cultural concepts of hell. I was like, okay, I get the picture, and frankly, I’ve had enough! Fortunately there was a smidge of redemption, which softened the blow and led to a satisfying ending.
Hell’s Detective is an ingeniously disturbing mystery that, despite being a page turner, I could not read into the early hours of the morning! The almost incessant and imaginative descriptions of endurance in the hell that is Lost Angeles together with the violence wreaked upon the characters was like a perpetual video game. I found myself trying to ‘avert my eyes’ in a vain attempt to get away from the palpable horror and gore.
Part way through, I began to feel that too much time was spent fleshing out historical and cultural concepts of hell. I was like, okay, I get the picture, and frankly, I’ve had enough! Fortunately there was a smidge of redemption, which softened the blow and led to a satisfying ending.
December 21, 2017
I won a print copy of Hell's Detective by Michael Logan in a Goodreads Giveaway.
Hell's Detective is a seriously funny book. That is if you are a fan of dark humor. I am just such a reader. The story of Kat Murphy, recently deceased (read suicide) private investigator is set in Lost Angeles, an apparent subdivision of Hell. She is hired to retrieve a stolen item for the Chief Administrator.
There are so many twists on the real world that make this read like a plausible place. Our heroine(?) Kat learns how to use the system to her advantage. Herein lies the dark humor. Since I don't do spoilers, you'll just have to read for yourself. Suffice to say she comes up with some extremely out of the box methods of sleuthing.
Hell's Detective does leave the door open for continuation. The story is fully resolved here, but lends itself to a sequel. My plea to author Michael Logan: Please, please, PLEASE, give us more. This world is just too good to leave.
There is sex, violence, drugs, gangs, basically any vice you can imagine (it's Hell what else would you expect?). But there is also love, honor, and loyalty. Plenty of scheming, dirty dealing and back stabbing mystery to keep the reader hooked. If you are a reader who is concerned about reading books that glorify Hell, demons and evil, fear not, Hell's Detective does not. We know the inhabitants of Lost Angeles belong there and are getting precisely what they deserve. So read it guilt free.
Hell's Detective by Michael Logan is as I said, a seriously funny read, I recommend it. Give this one a look, I doubt you'll be sorry. Enjoy!
Mike
Hell's Detective is a seriously funny book. That is if you are a fan of dark humor. I am just such a reader. The story of Kat Murphy, recently deceased (read suicide) private investigator is set in Lost Angeles, an apparent subdivision of Hell. She is hired to retrieve a stolen item for the Chief Administrator.
There are so many twists on the real world that make this read like a plausible place. Our heroine(?) Kat learns how to use the system to her advantage. Herein lies the dark humor. Since I don't do spoilers, you'll just have to read for yourself. Suffice to say she comes up with some extremely out of the box methods of sleuthing.
Hell's Detective does leave the door open for continuation. The story is fully resolved here, but lends itself to a sequel. My plea to author Michael Logan: Please, please, PLEASE, give us more. This world is just too good to leave.
There is sex, violence, drugs, gangs, basically any vice you can imagine (it's Hell what else would you expect?). But there is also love, honor, and loyalty. Plenty of scheming, dirty dealing and back stabbing mystery to keep the reader hooked. If you are a reader who is concerned about reading books that glorify Hell, demons and evil, fear not, Hell's Detective does not. We know the inhabitants of Lost Angeles belong there and are getting precisely what they deserve. So read it guilt free.
Hell's Detective by Michael Logan is as I said, a seriously funny read, I recommend it. Give this one a look, I doubt you'll be sorry. Enjoy!
Mike
January 12, 2023
Saw this on Instagram and thought I'd give it go and boy am I glad I did. It was so good. I loved the characters and the storyline the only downside to this book is that there is only 1 in the series so far, I am really hoping there will be more.
July 5, 2017
Fun supernatural mystery. I hope there will be more by this author.
November 26, 2017
For some reason I like reading non-fiction, primarily true crime and the grislier the better. My other genre is fantasy. Which can also be grisly.
This is definitely fantasy. Dark fantasy. A detective among the damned. A detective haunted by what she did to go to hell. And then she gets a job offer from someone not among the damned, who offers her a price she cannot refuse.
It's not a simple case, the twist and turns could make you dizzy. Three stars because I wasn't "in love", don't know if I recommend it, but was able to finish it.
This is definitely fantasy. Dark fantasy. A detective among the damned. A detective haunted by what she did to go to hell. And then she gets a job offer from someone not among the damned, who offers her a price she cannot refuse.
It's not a simple case, the twist and turns could make you dizzy. Three stars because I wasn't "in love", don't know if I recommend it, but was able to finish it.
June 16, 2017
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Welcome, to Hell. Kat Murphy has been living in Hell for a while now. And every night she relives her greatest sin. But she is still working as a PI. But now the stakes are high as she works for one of the "administrators". On the line, no more nightly horrors.
I really enjoyed this book. The writing is gritty, no really, I could feel the heat and grit of a demonic Los Angeles. Although Kat is a tough cookie, she is very likable. The world of Hell seemed so real. I hope there are more books about Kat and this version of Hell. I would love to see where this idea can go.
Welcome, to Hell. Kat Murphy has been living in Hell for a while now. And every night she relives her greatest sin. But she is still working as a PI. But now the stakes are high as she works for one of the "administrators". On the line, no more nightly horrors.
I really enjoyed this book. The writing is gritty, no really, I could feel the heat and grit of a demonic Los Angeles. Although Kat is a tough cookie, she is very likable. The world of Hell seemed so real. I hope there are more books about Kat and this version of Hell. I would love to see where this idea can go.
May 6, 2017
A very different story than what I was expecting. It jumped around some at the start and was somewhat difficult to follow what was going on but once it got to the point of the administrator hiring Kat it was an interesting story.
June 8, 2023
I wanted to like this so bad. I was so sold in the first bits. I was so into it. I loved the worldbuilding, the premise, and the mystery building up. And then I kept reading, and the worse the protagonist got.
The author says the book underwent "gender-reassignment surgery". Admirable concept, but unfortunately, it was a botched one. The protagonist is deeply unpleasant, does not feel like a woman, and instead feels like a crude noir mouthpiece. There are a few moments with her love interest that start to few genuine, and they are then interrupted by cringey ingrained sexism despite the lip service about her being a feminist and not like other girls. There's a scene where the protagonist is tortured. The moment I realized she was tied in a chair, my first impulse was, "the torturer is going to do something that involves ripping open her shirt." I won't spoil it. But he tries to cut off her nipples. I suspect this section was not in the original conceived draft with a male protagonist.
I made it through the whole story because I was so curious about where it was going and... was really not rewarded. Literally nothing in this book sold me on the premise of . All the bite from the first half of the story was really gone. But that frustrated me far less than the characters and the author's complete inability to write a woman.
The stars go for the really great worldbuilding and premise of Hell, it was a treat to read about and was very immersive. The Torments, the neighborhoods and the gang/political structure, that was all really cool. This honestly actually reduced the stars granted because of how disappointing it was to see it not be fully taken advantage of. It's heartbreaking, I so wanted to love this, dude. But maybe next time, write what you know. Which is being a straight man.
And for the love of God, this was written in 2017. It is long past the time to be making extensive drag queen jokes or using "transexual" or "transvestite". I really don't care if the book is aping noir detective novels or if the narrator was from the 70s. I'm not asking for a nuanced understanding of gender identity here, but this is only excused in older media because of historical context. It is not what you bring into the future just because you're writing genre fiction. Also, "[the protagonist had previously dated men who were] obviously homosexual but didn't have the guts to admit it so picked the most masculine woman they could find and pestered her for anal sex" ??? Are we just making stuff up now? Fckin A, bro, if you were so keen to talk to a woman to write a female perspective right, talk to a queer person too next time or leave them the hell out of it. I can only hope that by 2023, you've managed to step it up.
This book was 5* for a good while! I liked that part. But please stay in your lane. It'll get you to hell faster.
The author says the book underwent "gender-reassignment surgery". Admirable concept, but unfortunately, it was a botched one. The protagonist is deeply unpleasant, does not feel like a woman, and instead feels like a crude noir mouthpiece. There are a few moments with her love interest that start to few genuine, and they are then interrupted by cringey ingrained sexism despite the lip service about her being a feminist and not like other girls. There's a scene where the protagonist is tortured. The moment I realized she was tied in a chair, my first impulse was, "the torturer is going to do something that involves ripping open her shirt." I won't spoil it. But he tries to cut off her nipples. I suspect this section was not in the original conceived draft with a male protagonist.
I made it through the whole story because I was so curious about where it was going and... was really not rewarded. Literally nothing in this book sold me on the premise of . All the bite from the first half of the story was really gone. But that frustrated me far less than the characters and the author's complete inability to write a woman.
The stars go for the really great worldbuilding and premise of Hell, it was a treat to read about and was very immersive. The Torments, the neighborhoods and the gang/political structure, that was all really cool. This honestly actually reduced the stars granted because of how disappointing it was to see it not be fully taken advantage of. It's heartbreaking, I so wanted to love this, dude. But maybe next time, write what you know. Which is being a straight man.
And for the love of God, this was written in 2017. It is long past the time to be making extensive drag queen jokes or using "transexual" or "transvestite". I really don't care if the book is aping noir detective novels or if the narrator was from the 70s. I'm not asking for a nuanced understanding of gender identity here, but this is only excused in older media because of historical context. It is not what you bring into the future just because you're writing genre fiction. Also, "[the protagonist had previously dated men who were] obviously homosexual but didn't have the guts to admit it so picked the most masculine woman they could find and pestered her for anal sex" ??? Are we just making stuff up now? Fckin A, bro, if you were so keen to talk to a woman to write a female perspective right, talk to a queer person too next time or leave them the hell out of it. I can only hope that by 2023, you've managed to step it up.
This book was 5* for a good while! I liked that part. But please stay in your lane. It'll get you to hell faster.
May 7, 2018
Kat was a private detective when she was alive. It was a dirty job, but she did it well - until one night it all went wrong
And it’s a night she relives over and over again in Lost Angeles - a cute name for hell. A place where she can never forget that terrible moment when everything went wrong
But also a place, for all its chaos and violence, where her skills are still in high demand. Even the secretive administrators of this hell want to recruit her - and offer some respite which is the most anyone can want from hell… but the stakes are high and who can she trust? In hell, can she trust anyone?
This review is hard to write - because some of the things I love the most is the world building and the twists connected to this world building. We have a lot of debate about the nature of hell, a lot of questions and a lot of debate as to which of the various factions are telling the truth, who is who, what powers they have and who can be trusted among the dross and doublecross.
And I can’t talk about any of it without including massive spoilers!!!! But it’s so excellent - the twists, the debates, how Kat tries to navigate through this despite the huge stakes involved. She has to choose who to trust with so much on the line - and those stakes even eclipse her own personal advantage
The way Hell works is fascinating - Lost Angeles, a city where you can’t leave, where you can’t die. A city with resources enough to continue indulging all the sins that got you there in the first place - but a city without rules, a city without any reassurances or security. And a city where, every night, everyone relives their worst sin, that which torments them with guild the most.
And a city where people eventually disappear.
It’s an interesting concept of hell in and of itself, this Lost Angeles. But as you learn more about it as Kat investigates we get more and more answers and more and more twists that really elevates Hell above what we see in the surface - as well as the nature of demons, god etc - and I can’t talk about any of it without spoiling this excellent book!
We have Kat as our protagonist, tough, smart, as good as she can be, as hard as she needs to be, all without any unnecessary super-power issues: she’s very human but also very skilled. And while we lack the corny voice over, she does have a lot of the classic noir traits - the hard drinking, the cynicism and the heart of gold under it all. I liked her a lot, she was just a perfect rough diamond, no longer shiny but the sparkle is still there. Following her investigation through all its twists and turns was an excellent way to both examine the city and factions, build the world and learn so much about her and how she works
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And it’s a night she relives over and over again in Lost Angeles - a cute name for hell. A place where she can never forget that terrible moment when everything went wrong
But also a place, for all its chaos and violence, where her skills are still in high demand. Even the secretive administrators of this hell want to recruit her - and offer some respite which is the most anyone can want from hell… but the stakes are high and who can she trust? In hell, can she trust anyone?
This review is hard to write - because some of the things I love the most is the world building and the twists connected to this world building. We have a lot of debate about the nature of hell, a lot of questions and a lot of debate as to which of the various factions are telling the truth, who is who, what powers they have and who can be trusted among the dross and doublecross.
And I can’t talk about any of it without including massive spoilers!!!! But it’s so excellent - the twists, the debates, how Kat tries to navigate through this despite the huge stakes involved. She has to choose who to trust with so much on the line - and those stakes even eclipse her own personal advantage
The way Hell works is fascinating - Lost Angeles, a city where you can’t leave, where you can’t die. A city with resources enough to continue indulging all the sins that got you there in the first place - but a city without rules, a city without any reassurances or security. And a city where, every night, everyone relives their worst sin, that which torments them with guild the most.
And a city where people eventually disappear.
It’s an interesting concept of hell in and of itself, this Lost Angeles. But as you learn more about it as Kat investigates we get more and more answers and more and more twists that really elevates Hell above what we see in the surface - as well as the nature of demons, god etc - and I can’t talk about any of it without spoiling this excellent book!
We have Kat as our protagonist, tough, smart, as good as she can be, as hard as she needs to be, all without any unnecessary super-power issues: she’s very human but also very skilled. And while we lack the corny voice over, she does have a lot of the classic noir traits - the hard drinking, the cynicism and the heart of gold under it all. I liked her a lot, she was just a perfect rough diamond, no longer shiny but the sparkle is still there. Following her investigation through all its twists and turns was an excellent way to both examine the city and factions, build the world and learn so much about her and how she works
Read More
February 10, 2024
Meh. I could've used less descriptions of the debauchery in hell but that's just personal preference. I think this book is for a certain reader and its not really me. An interesting premise that was obviously well executed as the author had full control of the story through out and the theme is fascinating so I would recommend this book but I found myself skipping over the filth described in hell.
The other disappointing theme of hell in this novel is that there's a God which this story perpetuates and the blaming of the victims of 'Fate & Choice', humanity. The Orwellian double speak is nauseating since fate and choice can not co-exist since they are oxymoronic to one another.
I think at this point in our evolution and suffering, its time to reveal that 'God' is the veil/mask/LIE to hide true nature of the vile beasts who run this world: "Evil"and "Satan" ... can't show your slaves all of the truth at the same time.
Im hoping authors do away with the duality of good/evil in their writings about this concept of hell and consequences.
The other disappointing theme of hell in this novel is that there's a God which this story perpetuates and the blaming of the victims of 'Fate & Choice', humanity. The Orwellian double speak is nauseating since fate and choice can not co-exist since they are oxymoronic to one another.
I think at this point in our evolution and suffering, its time to reveal that 'God' is the veil/mask/LIE to hide true nature of the vile beasts who run this world: "Evil"and "Satan" ... can't show your slaves all of the truth at the same time.
Im hoping authors do away with the duality of good/evil in their writings about this concept of hell and consequences.
November 7, 2017
This is a throwback to old, old school private eye books and movies, but it's in Hell.
It's not a parody of those old private eye stories as much as a homage to them, with cool characters, a complex mystery, and dialogue that you can quote for days.
"Of the myriad sins disfiguring the souls of the damned, mine was one of the worst. I didn't deserve a second chance, but I got one anyway."
That's just the first paragraph of the book.
This one is worth a reread, and I hope it becomes an episodic thing like Dresden Files. Author Michael Logan has created a series that he could write 38 novels about. I'm going to need him to get cracking on that right away.
(Review from an advance copy.)
It's not a parody of those old private eye stories as much as a homage to them, with cool characters, a complex mystery, and dialogue that you can quote for days.
"Of the myriad sins disfiguring the souls of the damned, mine was one of the worst. I didn't deserve a second chance, but I got one anyway."
That's just the first paragraph of the book.
This one is worth a reread, and I hope it becomes an episodic thing like Dresden Files. Author Michael Logan has created a series that he could write 38 novels about. I'm going to need him to get cracking on that right away.
(Review from an advance copy.)
May 18, 2019
Wow. This was much better than I expected. I had previously read another of Logan's books, Apocalypse Cow, a couple of years ago and while it was a decent read it didn't wow me like Hell's Detective did. The author has created quite the visuals here, and as I read I could damn near taste the grit and feel the oppressive heat of Lost Angeles. One thing i really liked about this book, is that despite the location in which the story takes place the best of humanity is on display with great examples of friendship and loyalty, and even true love makes an appearance. Please tell me there will be a sequel!
July 15, 2017
This was a thoroughly enjoyable, rollicking good read! I loved the world Logan has built, the atmosphere, and the rules-- admittedly, the stripped-down notions of irreligious morality appeal to my ideas of faith and spirituality. The twists, turns and tightly-told narrative were well-paced and well-spaced. I felt I had a good grasp on the characters, and I identified with some aspects of protagonist Kat. Archetypes well-used in a non-stereotypical, sardonic way. But, generally, overall, a great, satisfying detective/mystery adventure through a clever version of Hell. As someone who loves urban fantasy, I found this a real hidden gem.
September 30, 2018
This one is 3.5 stars rounded up. I picked it up because the basic premise was fascinating and really different to other novels in the same genre. "Hell's Detective" is not as dark as you'd think and once I'd suspended belief, I enjoyed the ride.
"Hell's Detective" is pure escapism all the way and it was surprisingly enjoyable. If you are looking for something deep and meaningful - this book is not it. If you are after some light reading with a decent ending then this could be just the ticket.
"Hell's Detective" is pure escapism all the way and it was surprisingly enjoyable. If you are looking for something deep and meaningful - this book is not it. If you are after some light reading with a decent ending then this could be just the ticket.
April 15, 2024
Detective novels just don't do it for me. This was a solid drag up til at least halfway through, when the action picks up. I'm disappointed in the author's choice to use slurs, even if they are theoretically period accurate to a 1970s detective. Maybe it's actually better than other similar genre reads? I couldn't tell you.
March 18, 2019
I've been a fan of Michael Logan's brand of ridiculous since the delightful Apocalypse Cow, but I have to admit that my favourite of his books are the ones which have nothing to do with zombie cows. However, with Hell's Detective, Wannabes has been knocked off the pedestal of Logan's best.
In this story, a Private Investigator trapped in a bizzare and terrifying afterlife takes on a job to find an artefact before (spoiler) can realise it's gone. Despite the utterly fantastical premise, the characters are well thought out and the location is so beautifully depicted you can almost feel the heat leaking through the pages, all coming together to make an utterly believable story. There's still a touch of the Logan brand of ridiculous in some of the similies, "as jumpy as a frog on a trampoline" comes to mind, but the story is engaging and nicely paced and a lovely spin on the classical detective story. Well worth a read.
In this story, a Private Investigator trapped in a bizzare and terrifying afterlife takes on a job to find an artefact before (spoiler) can realise it's gone. Despite the utterly fantastical premise, the characters are well thought out and the location is so beautifully depicted you can almost feel the heat leaking through the pages, all coming together to make an utterly believable story. There's still a touch of the Logan brand of ridiculous in some of the similies, "as jumpy as a frog on a trampoline" comes to mind, but the story is engaging and nicely paced and a lovely spin on the classical detective story. Well worth a read.
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