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Arkham Detective #1-4
The Arkham Detective Collection
"Some cities grew; Arkham just festered," so said the hard-boiled police detective that oversees the Mythos Division, a department that is mandated, by his superiors, to investigate things that go bump in the night . . . Lovecraftian things! The Arkham Detective hunts down oddities that are misshapen, vague or unseen, and at other times, material horrors, all of which usually leave bloody trails wherever they go. Byron Craft has mastered Cthulhu Mythos pulp stories set during the era of the Great Depression. His nameless plainclothes officer pursues ungodly terrors in four riveting stories that propel the reader through Arkham, Innsmouth, Dunwich and, of course, Miskatonic University. Lovecraft and detective fans alike will enjoy this collection.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 12, 2017
31 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Byron Craft
21 books27 followersIt was decided that the best person to tell you about Byron Craft and “THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK” project would be me…Byron Craft.
“THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK” was originally a movie that was in preproduction several years ago titled, “The Cry of Cthulhu.” Unfortunately the project, like many good intentions, never came to fruition. My concept was an all new Cthulhu Mythos story to be put on film that would have done H.P. Lovecraft proud. At the time, there had been several poor attempts to place Lovecraft and his dreaded Necronomicon on the big screen. I had a notion to make an exciting, plus mind-boggling, Cthulhu movie that had the look and feel as if Lovecraft had stood behind the camera.
“THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK” embodies the same vision in a literary format. I have endeavored to pen this Cthulhu Mythos novel as it may have been done if H.P. Lovecraft were alive in the 21st century. Nevertheless, “THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK” consists of three separate narratives that link together a single story, where when one account leaves off, the other continues leading you, the reader, through a terrifying Lovecraftian web of mystery, horror and apocalyptic doom.
I have been known to refer to this work as “THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK PROJECT,” because it is the first in a five novel mythos series dealing with mankind’s internal, as well as, outward struggle to control his own destiny while encountering malicious beings from another time and space.
I hope you will enjoy, in addition to being scared stiff, the first of my five part series…“THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK.”
Cthulhu Lives!
Byron Craft
Byron@byroncraftbooks.com
“THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK” was originally a movie that was in preproduction several years ago titled, “The Cry of Cthulhu.” Unfortunately the project, like many good intentions, never came to fruition. My concept was an all new Cthulhu Mythos story to be put on film that would have done H.P. Lovecraft proud. At the time, there had been several poor attempts to place Lovecraft and his dreaded Necronomicon on the big screen. I had a notion to make an exciting, plus mind-boggling, Cthulhu movie that had the look and feel as if Lovecraft had stood behind the camera.
“THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK” embodies the same vision in a literary format. I have endeavored to pen this Cthulhu Mythos novel as it may have been done if H.P. Lovecraft were alive in the 21st century. Nevertheless, “THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK” consists of three separate narratives that link together a single story, where when one account leaves off, the other continues leading you, the reader, through a terrifying Lovecraftian web of mystery, horror and apocalyptic doom.
I have been known to refer to this work as “THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK PROJECT,” because it is the first in a five novel mythos series dealing with mankind’s internal, as well as, outward struggle to control his own destiny while encountering malicious beings from another time and space.
I hope you will enjoy, in addition to being scared stiff, the first of my five part series…“THE ALCHEMIST’S NOTEBOOK.”
Cthulhu Lives!
Byron Craft
Byron@byroncraftbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 4, 2023
Mr Craft here has made a world inside a world. Pulpl fiction has been around for awhile we know this but how do you feel this? Is it too fear? Is it winnie the pooh with a pink shirt and a chain saw? There really is no real answer. But thats is rthe fear of the unknown. And the un-understandable. We act like we know more then we never have and because fo this we think we can handle and guess what will come next. In this book you really don’t.
The best thing a writer can do is a read and the best thing a reader can do is writer. This story makes you feel that! You want to try and write a Love Craft style story like the main char but alos not be caught down by the idea of its been done cause its doesnt matter here. Take 1st story we know whats going to happen? Until we actually learn the truth and its like umm okay wow.. And you keep saying wow..
On to story two. The Look as a I nicknamed it. This here is as if Love Craft himself looked it over and said. A little bit more creepier perfect absolutely perfect. It makes you feel like you inside innsmouth but also a part of a bigger world. Whats makes it even more astounding is the characters direct connections to the first story. Not easily done except here.
We Move on to the third story The devil came to Arkaham. Just gonna say this. MIND BLOWN! The ideas in this story are complex but they are also sad and provoking. Not over spell or ritual details but in fact a down right insane story of how magic simplicity can be easily ober lookd ( not a spoiler just like wow watch who you know right?) it is true how ever that I adored the stories inside the stories which leads us too!
Story number Four That I will just say this…Mr Craft Bravo, I will be buying Volume 2 shortly. As well as the rest of your works. ( too many spoilers to really speak of ) I will say I love every char even those with fur and feathers.
The last thing id like to note is Mr Craft thanks and Shout outs other authors and friends he considers to matter. A old thing that is not practicied enough. Mr Craft I hope shall be with us for a while.
The best thing a writer can do is a read and the best thing a reader can do is writer. This story makes you feel that! You want to try and write a Love Craft style story like the main char but alos not be caught down by the idea of its been done cause its doesnt matter here. Take 1st story we know whats going to happen? Until we actually learn the truth and its like umm okay wow.. And you keep saying wow..
On to story two. The Look as a I nicknamed it. This here is as if Love Craft himself looked it over and said. A little bit more creepier perfect absolutely perfect. It makes you feel like you inside innsmouth but also a part of a bigger world. Whats makes it even more astounding is the characters direct connections to the first story. Not easily done except here.
We Move on to the third story The devil came to Arkaham. Just gonna say this. MIND BLOWN! The ideas in this story are complex but they are also sad and provoking. Not over spell or ritual details but in fact a down right insane story of how magic simplicity can be easily ober lookd ( not a spoiler just like wow watch who you know right?) it is true how ever that I adored the stories inside the stories which leads us too!
Story number Four That I will just say this…Mr Craft Bravo, I will be buying Volume 2 shortly. As well as the rest of your works. ( too many spoilers to really speak of ) I will say I love every char even those with fur and feathers.
The last thing id like to note is Mr Craft thanks and Shout outs other authors and friends he considers to matter. A old thing that is not practicied enough. Mr Craft I hope shall be with us for a while.
December 23, 2024
Cthulhu meeting the hardboiled PI— this has been explored and experimented upon by numerous authors. Some has massacred Lovecraft, while some has enlivened the mythos.
This book contains four adventures that stand somewhere in-between.
These tales are~
1. Cthulhu's Minions: Short, crisp, witty, and brutal. Liked it very much.
2. The Innsmouth Look: Mostly copy-paste of 'Shadows Over Innsmouth', with the navy thrown in. Weakest of the lot.
3. The Devil Came to Arkham: this was NOT a mythos-story at all. But it was OK.
4. The Dunwich Dungeon: It seemed that suddenly the author was in a rush to ensure dmooth sailings for our protagonist. Hence we have a wish-fulfilling long tale, without much teeth.
Rather uneven, and not very witty or mysterious. But the writing was good, ably supported by artwork.
This book contains four adventures that stand somewhere in-between.
These tales are~
1. Cthulhu's Minions: Short, crisp, witty, and brutal. Liked it very much.
2. The Innsmouth Look: Mostly copy-paste of 'Shadows Over Innsmouth', with the navy thrown in. Weakest of the lot.
3. The Devil Came to Arkham: this was NOT a mythos-story at all. But it was OK.
4. The Dunwich Dungeon: It seemed that suddenly the author was in a rush to ensure dmooth sailings for our protagonist. Hence we have a wish-fulfilling long tale, without much teeth.
Rather uneven, and not very witty or mysterious. But the writing was good, ably supported by artwork.
May 5, 2025
I love hard-boiled detective fiction along with noir but I also love anything cryptid related and everything in between relating to the unexplained so was a no-brainer to pick up Byron Craft's first volume of (The Arkham Detective Collection) all set in the midst of the 1930's great depression. I had absolutely no idea who Byron Craft was until I saw the two volumes and after reading the premise, I just had to give them a go. What can one say about these stories, well let me first start out by saying that it's fresh and unique in the sense that Craft has created a world within a world which draws inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft's unsettling realm of things which go bump in the night, add the moody, hard-boiled detective element in order to solve supernatural crimes and you've got yourself (The Arkham Detective) series. In saying all of this, does it work? I think it did but will I read volume two? Yes but I will be in no rush to do so. I think Byron is a super talented and creative mind and although the pulp style of writing is strong for the genre I can honestly say that I really only enjoyed the two novellas out of the four which are listed below.
1)- Cthulhu's Minions- The Arkham Detective finds an old partner of his dead in an alley with a chewed off face. Oddities namely, pilot demons begin to terrorize the city of Arkham. The pilot demons however are just the tip of the iceberg with something far more sinister pulling the strings. I thought that this was a fairly strong start to the collection and wetted the appetite for more.
2)- The Innsmouth look- Easily for me the strongest novella of the book and one which I highly enjoyed from start to finish. A man brutally murders a woman and kidnaps her child in Arkham which in turn leads our trusty detective of all things strange on a wild goose chase in pursuit of the killer and kidnapper. All roads lead to Innsmouth, a crumbling seaside town where the locals are nothing but of the strangest order and a place where obsession with the esoteric order of Dagon is prevalent. Byron Craft is exceptional here and really paints a picture of grim atmosphere within the festering bowels of Innsmouth. If you are familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's (The shadow over Innsmouth) then I'm sure you will appreciate Byron Craft's extension and love letter to Lovecraft here.
3)- The Devil Came To Arkham- The mysterious Corvus Astaroth arrives in Arkham and quickly rises to prominence in terms of financial status and influence. Asaroth eventually gathers a cult of women to surround himself with who start to show signs of ill health and become deathly thin. An ex-cop shows up with a dossier on Corvus Astaroth which reveals enough for Arkham's finest to unravel the mystery behind the veil of the newly arrived influencer. For the most part I enjoyed this novella until the highly packed action stuff to conclude.
4)- The Dunwhich Dungeon- My least favorite and most drawn out of the collection which brings back a character from (The Innsmouth Look) a traveler of dreams or more to the point, visions. Meanwhile, in Arkham, a stray dog hanging around the police station leads the Detective to an abandoned mansion with strange markings on the walls. With references to the Windlass device and Otto Meldinger everything comes full circle. I couldn't wait for this concluding entry of the collection to end, I found it tiresome and an utter slog to get through unfortunately.
In closing if you are a fan of hard-boiled detective fiction and also love a good supernatural mystery then you won't go far wrong with these easy to understand pulp stylized novellas. The detective protagonist is super likable, super relatable and humorous too. Ultimately I wanted it to be a little more subtle with added layers as opposed to just, BANG, here it is, this is what we need to catch then onto the next but that's down to personal preference I guess so it's all perceptive in that sense. I didn't love the collection but I liked it and am in no rush to read volume two yet.
1)- Cthulhu's Minions- The Arkham Detective finds an old partner of his dead in an alley with a chewed off face. Oddities namely, pilot demons begin to terrorize the city of Arkham. The pilot demons however are just the tip of the iceberg with something far more sinister pulling the strings. I thought that this was a fairly strong start to the collection and wetted the appetite for more.
2)- The Innsmouth look- Easily for me the strongest novella of the book and one which I highly enjoyed from start to finish. A man brutally murders a woman and kidnaps her child in Arkham which in turn leads our trusty detective of all things strange on a wild goose chase in pursuit of the killer and kidnapper. All roads lead to Innsmouth, a crumbling seaside town where the locals are nothing but of the strangest order and a place where obsession with the esoteric order of Dagon is prevalent. Byron Craft is exceptional here and really paints a picture of grim atmosphere within the festering bowels of Innsmouth. If you are familiar with H.P. Lovecraft's (The shadow over Innsmouth) then I'm sure you will appreciate Byron Craft's extension and love letter to Lovecraft here.
3)- The Devil Came To Arkham- The mysterious Corvus Astaroth arrives in Arkham and quickly rises to prominence in terms of financial status and influence. Asaroth eventually gathers a cult of women to surround himself with who start to show signs of ill health and become deathly thin. An ex-cop shows up with a dossier on Corvus Astaroth which reveals enough for Arkham's finest to unravel the mystery behind the veil of the newly arrived influencer. For the most part I enjoyed this novella until the highly packed action stuff to conclude.
4)- The Dunwhich Dungeon- My least favorite and most drawn out of the collection which brings back a character from (The Innsmouth Look) a traveler of dreams or more to the point, visions. Meanwhile, in Arkham, a stray dog hanging around the police station leads the Detective to an abandoned mansion with strange markings on the walls. With references to the Windlass device and Otto Meldinger everything comes full circle. I couldn't wait for this concluding entry of the collection to end, I found it tiresome and an utter slog to get through unfortunately.
In closing if you are a fan of hard-boiled detective fiction and also love a good supernatural mystery then you won't go far wrong with these easy to understand pulp stylized novellas. The detective protagonist is super likable, super relatable and humorous too. Ultimately I wanted it to be a little more subtle with added layers as opposed to just, BANG, here it is, this is what we need to catch then onto the next but that's down to personal preference I guess so it's all perceptive in that sense. I didn't love the collection but I liked it and am in no rush to read volume two yet.
August 2, 2020
Author Craft has given us his own take on the Lovecraft and Cthulu mythos, which may not sit well with some, but is perfectly fine in its own niche. After all, Craft isn't Lovecraft (even if he has half of the last name) and this is HIS version of what goes on in the towns of Lovecraft Country, so if you're looking for genuine HPL look elsewhere for the limited selection of that.
These stories, a good blending of noir and paranormal, a series the first four of which are in this collection follows an unnamed detective (he simply introduces himself as "Detective" when asked) who works in Arkham. He was there when Wilbur Whately made his ill-fated attempt to steal the Necronomicon from Miskatonic U and is in the know when it comes to Cthulu et al., but still has much to learn about the Old Ones, as these stories show.
There are "normal" people in Arkham, of whom the detective and his friends are some, though they interact with the supernatural on a daily basis. Craft blends the mundane with the unearthly with ease.
In these volumes, the Detective will lose two partners, adopt a little girl kidnapped by a follower, gain a wife, and end up rescuing an associate who provides him with more than friendship.
Tough we always there's More To come, each novel finishes with a Happily At The Moment ending. The writing is crime noir, told in the first person by the Detective, with a cast of characters that are true to these mixed genres. There is at least one more in the series and I have that waiting to be read. It won't stay that way long.
No remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
These stories, a good blending of noir and paranormal, a series the first four of which are in this collection follows an unnamed detective (he simply introduces himself as "Detective" when asked) who works in Arkham. He was there when Wilbur Whately made his ill-fated attempt to steal the Necronomicon from Miskatonic U and is in the know when it comes to Cthulu et al., but still has much to learn about the Old Ones, as these stories show.
There are "normal" people in Arkham, of whom the detective and his friends are some, though they interact with the supernatural on a daily basis. Craft blends the mundane with the unearthly with ease.
In these volumes, the Detective will lose two partners, adopt a little girl kidnapped by a follower, gain a wife, and end up rescuing an associate who provides him with more than friendship.
Tough we always there's More To come, each novel finishes with a Happily At The Moment ending. The writing is crime noir, told in the first person by the Detective, with a cast of characters that are true to these mixed genres. There is at least one more in the series and I have that waiting to be read. It won't stay that way long.
No remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
January 7, 2026
The story of a detective who navigates 4 different stories to battle Eldritch monsters. The first story has a lot of American detective slang in it that I didn’t enjoy, as I had to try and work out what it meant. That does reduce a lot later on in the book.
I liked that the main character has progression from one story to the other and there is an overall story arch to his adventures. The first 2 stories felt a little short and unsatisfying and they are a lot shorter than the last 2. As the book goes on the author improves and the 3rd and 4th were much better. It did suffer from the main character making big assumptions that always ended up being the right thing to do. There was not a lot of detecting from the detective. As it was 4 short stories in one book there wasn’t time for a hugely complex story to evolve. I would have preferred if there was a little bit more to the stories even if there were 2 or 3 stories in the book instead of 4. All things considered I feel it was an ok book which I enjoyed but I won’t rush to reread it.
I liked that the main character has progression from one story to the other and there is an overall story arch to his adventures. The first 2 stories felt a little short and unsatisfying and they are a lot shorter than the last 2. As the book goes on the author improves and the 3rd and 4th were much better. It did suffer from the main character making big assumptions that always ended up being the right thing to do. There was not a lot of detecting from the detective. As it was 4 short stories in one book there wasn’t time for a hugely complex story to evolve. I would have preferred if there was a little bit more to the stories even if there were 2 or 3 stories in the book instead of 4. All things considered I feel it was an ok book which I enjoyed but I won’t rush to reread it.
June 29, 2019
A COP WHO WORKS IN THE STRANGE CASES, IT IS.
Hello, I really enjoyed these stories. The are well written and very entertaining to read. Great characters abound. There's a dog too. Thanks.
Hello, I really enjoyed these stories. The are well written and very entertaining to read. Great characters abound. There's a dog too. Thanks.
April 19, 2022
Do you enjoy Lovecraftian horror? How about hard-boiled detectives (with maybe a couple of tiny soft spots)? Otherworldly threats? A writing style that produces the same tension and background chill as Lovecraft, respects the “reality” he invented, and makes reference too many of his works, but comes up with original stories? If so, do yourself a favor. Read Byron Craft’s THE ARKHAM DETECTIVE COLLECTION. It’s all there, and it is excellent.
January 31, 2018
I’ve never read anything like this before, very different and interesting. Really enjoyed it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews