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Kilhaven Police #2
Same Old Shift
Working nights for the Kilhaven Police just got a hell of a lot messier.
Officer Norman Green would love to hit a rhythm in his new job with the Kilhaven Police.
But that's not how it works on the Fang 900s. Not while the leprechauns and cherubim are engaged in an all-out gang war and people are inexplicably exploding in a spray of purple goo.
Officer Heather Valance, a terrifying werewolf bitch and Green's former field training officer, is convinced that the recent problems in Kilhaven share a common cause. And rooting out that cause is her new favorite cruisade... even as those on the top try to cover it up.
Of all the terrifying skills Officer Valance possesses, creating airtight conspiracy theories is Green's least favorite. So much for settling into the job. Now he's faced with a decision no rookie cop should have to make.
Is he with Officer Valance, or against her?
If you’re hungry for a heaping pile of police procedural with a sloppy side of paranormal creatures and a sprinkle of vulgar jokes, buy Same Old Shift to satisfy your unhealthy cravings.
Officer Norman Green would love to hit a rhythm in his new job with the Kilhaven Police.
But that's not how it works on the Fang 900s. Not while the leprechauns and cherubim are engaged in an all-out gang war and people are inexplicably exploding in a spray of purple goo.
Officer Heather Valance, a terrifying werewolf bitch and Green's former field training officer, is convinced that the recent problems in Kilhaven share a common cause. And rooting out that cause is her new favorite cruisade... even as those on the top try to cover it up.
Of all the terrifying skills Officer Valance possesses, creating airtight conspiracy theories is Green's least favorite. So much for settling into the job. Now he's faced with a decision no rookie cop should have to make.
Is he with Officer Valance, or against her?
If you’re hungry for a heaping pile of police procedural with a sloppy side of paranormal creatures and a sprinkle of vulgar jokes, buy Same Old Shift to satisfy your unhealthy cravings.
206 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 29, 2018
23 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 29, 2018
Same Old Shift is anything but when Officer Norman Green, human officer on the Killhaven Police Department takes to the streets! With a call always ending up to be out of the ordinary, Green knows to always be prepared… for the worst possible scenario. Too bad that always isn’t the case and he ends up in some ooey…gooey situations that makes even the most harden officer cringe. Green learns fast and is always looking for cover which is needed more often than not. With leprechauns, cherubs and shifters this story is fast becoming one of my favorites. The characters are well developed and more of their history is coming to light to let us know why they are the way they are. The story line is a good one and really different than the same old stories about weres and shifters that are out there. Brock Bloodworth is an author who spins his tale and ensnares you in the web of the story, not letting go until that last page is turned. This is a series that I definitely recommend to everyone who enjoys a good story. Be warned though…it does contain adult language so if you don’t enjoy a story with swearing then this is not a book for you. To me the cursing makes this story more true to life and isn’t anything that I have heard before.
March 21, 2020
The saga continues
I wasn't sure what to expect with the second book, but I did enjoy it. Maybe not as exciting as book 1, now that we are more familiar with this universe, the novelty has worn off a little, but that didn't detract from the enjoyment. Book 2 definitely had a "middle book" feel to it. Everyone has been introduced and we know how things work, but it isn't the end of the series, so it wasn't full of excitement and closure. Mostly, it was about the investigation and development of the characters, watching Green grow as an independent police officer and try and balance being a good cop against the politics of policing and the confusion of colleague interaction. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to book 3 being released.
I wasn't sure what to expect with the second book, but I did enjoy it. Maybe not as exciting as book 1, now that we are more familiar with this universe, the novelty has worn off a little, but that didn't detract from the enjoyment. Book 2 definitely had a "middle book" feel to it. Everyone has been introduced and we know how things work, but it isn't the end of the series, so it wasn't full of excitement and closure. Mostly, it was about the investigation and development of the characters, watching Green grow as an independent police officer and try and balance being a good cop against the politics of policing and the confusion of colleague interaction. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to book 3 being released.
November 8, 2021
Same Old Shift, by Brock Bloodworth and H. Claire Taylor is book 2 in the Killhaven Police series. I was pretty satisfied with the previous entry, and I wanted to see how far down the shifter hole this went.
After the traumatic events of Shift Work, Norman Green has gained a margin of respect from his colleges. But there’s clearly more going on in Killhaven than anyone in the department is willing to admit to the public, and Green’s former FTO, Heather Valance, has a nose for corruption and is willing to dig deeper to root it out. Will Green walk the straight and narrow and remain in the good graces of the department, or will he follow Valance into the dark and risk his career and his life?
If you’re wondering if the dark and irreverent humor established by the first entry in the series has remained, it has. The story had several laugh-out-loud moments that had me turning to my wife and saying: “I don’t know… you’ve just got to read this. It’s hilarious.”
Now that we’re well acquainted with the characters in the Fang 900s, Same Old Shift finally begins to uncover the larger story at work in the series. And while this story is definitely leading to a large event, I felt like this book suffered a little from being what I sometimes call a “bridge novel.” A bridge novel is often a necessary evil in a series, but the author’s strong grip on character, humor, and pacing saves the story from feeling anti-climatic.
If you enjoyed Shift Work, don’t stop there. There’s more for you in this paranormal, darkly comedic, police procedural. And it certainly feels like the best is yet to come!
After the traumatic events of Shift Work, Norman Green has gained a margin of respect from his colleges. But there’s clearly more going on in Killhaven than anyone in the department is willing to admit to the public, and Green’s former FTO, Heather Valance, has a nose for corruption and is willing to dig deeper to root it out. Will Green walk the straight and narrow and remain in the good graces of the department, or will he follow Valance into the dark and risk his career and his life?
If you’re wondering if the dark and irreverent humor established by the first entry in the series has remained, it has. The story had several laugh-out-loud moments that had me turning to my wife and saying: “I don’t know… you’ve just got to read this. It’s hilarious.”
Now that we’re well acquainted with the characters in the Fang 900s, Same Old Shift finally begins to uncover the larger story at work in the series. And while this story is definitely leading to a large event, I felt like this book suffered a little from being what I sometimes call a “bridge novel.” A bridge novel is often a necessary evil in a series, but the author’s strong grip on character, humor, and pacing saves the story from feeling anti-climatic.
If you enjoyed Shift Work, don’t stop there. There’s more for you in this paranormal, darkly comedic, police procedural. And it certainly feels like the best is yet to come!
April 2, 2018
"There are horrible people out there, Officer Green."
Missing children, a demon possession, fire outbreaks and bodies exploding into purple too - now that one was unusual - just another day for rookie officer, Norman Green on the job in Fang, a metropolis of paranormal beings.
Cherubim and leprechauns, imps and pixies, harpies, necromancers, vampires and werewolves, shifters, and even the occasional, unexpected zombie. Add in secretive internal politics, mixed race prejudice, inter-racial gang wars and a foretold vision of dead human bodies everywhere, not to mention his terrifying partner Heather Valance and the Sensitivity Training, it's all a bit much for officer Green.
Well written, fast and often funny with excellent characterisation, it all feels somehow very human and real. Good story, too.
Recommended. Just don't forget the holy water
Missing children, a demon possession, fire outbreaks and bodies exploding into purple too - now that one was unusual - just another day for rookie officer, Norman Green on the job in Fang, a metropolis of paranormal beings.
Cherubim and leprechauns, imps and pixies, harpies, necromancers, vampires and werewolves, shifters, and even the occasional, unexpected zombie. Add in secretive internal politics, mixed race prejudice, inter-racial gang wars and a foretold vision of dead human bodies everywhere, not to mention his terrifying partner Heather Valance and the Sensitivity Training, it's all a bit much for officer Green.
Well written, fast and often funny with excellent characterisation, it all feels somehow very human and real. Good story, too.
Recommended. Just don't forget the holy water
September 13, 2022
As the plot thickens, so does the resolve of our unlikely hero.
The side cases are fun and occasionally frivolous, adding to the gravity of the main plot thread but also richly developing the characters and the confidence of the one human on the Kilhaven force.
Once again, Bloodworth & Taylor create a dense tapestry of colour and culture. Not only do we get a great feel for the inner workings of both Green’s mind and the Kilhaven precinct, but we are also thrown into the sordid underworld and criminal subculture.
The characters get more believable in a directly inverse proportionality to the quandaries they find themselves in, yet it all fits neatly and I never put it down thinking “that’s just ridiculous”, even when frankly, it was!
Looking forward to the neck instalment [sic].
The side cases are fun and occasionally frivolous, adding to the gravity of the main plot thread but also richly developing the characters and the confidence of the one human on the Kilhaven force.
Once again, Bloodworth & Taylor create a dense tapestry of colour and culture. Not only do we get a great feel for the inner workings of both Green’s mind and the Kilhaven precinct, but we are also thrown into the sordid underworld and criminal subculture.
The characters get more believable in a directly inverse proportionality to the quandaries they find themselves in, yet it all fits neatly and I never put it down thinking “that’s just ridiculous”, even when frankly, it was!
Looking forward to the neck instalment [sic].
March 29, 2018
For lovers of the paranormal, sarcasm and hair-raising plots, this is for you. Kilhaven residents are mysteriously exploding into a purple sludge, vampires are planning to take over the town and there are kidnappings galore. Officer Norman Green is trying to separate the battling leprechauns and cherubims, at the same time attempting to save the town from a major battle between werewolves and vampires. Nothing strange here, just a normal day's work for a human cop in Kilhaven, a town populated with unnatural beings.
I was delighted to receive an ARC of Same Old Shift from the author, my review is completely impartial.
I was delighted to receive an ARC of Same Old Shift from the author, my review is completely impartial.
February 6, 2022
This is the second book of the Kilhaven Police Series. The third book - “Shift Out Of Luck” - is a continuation, picking up immediately after book two left off, so I’m writing almost identical reviews for both.
This book brings back Norman Green, the main character from Book One of the series, “Shift Work.” He is the sole human police officer in a town full of were-animals, shapeshifters, magicians, leprechauns, cherubs vampires, and other non-humans. Most of the rest of the Kilhaven Police Squad are were-wolves, or some other form of were-animal. In Kilhaven, humans are considered the weakest of all these, though not the worst of them.
The book is humorous, despite - or sometimes because of - its gooey and bloody crimes. Much of the other humor comes from the descriptions and general character of the various groups: The Leprechauns with their shileleighs and their curses of bad luck (which partially accounts for the third book’s title) the babyish faces of the mean cherubs, the various types of shapeshifters, the evil, mocking Magicians, the Vampires (who are not that different from traditional vampires), the Were-animals, who are the most prevalent species in these books, and the ones who seem to be most tolerant of the human Norman, (though not always friendly towards him). Beneath the fast-moving plot and the comic aspects of the novel runs a commentary on racism, though in this fictional setting it’s disguised as “speciesism” (not a real word, but it fits), in which humans replace people of color - or any disparaged group - as those who are looked down upon, and/or discriminated against.
For a humorous novel, the running story is dark: young children are disappearing from a well-to-do neighborhood. Only a few members of the police force - primarily Norman, and were-wolves Heather Vance and Corporal Bannockburn - are willing to suspect vampires are the most likely group of kidnappers, while the top brass discounts their theories and attempts to bury any evidence relating to it. Although Norman spends a lot of his time interacting with other species in a variety of often humorous, sometimes dangerous police calls - which have nothing to do with missing were-children or vampires - the story always does come back to that ; by the end of the third book, there is a resolution.
Otherwise, this book tells the story of how Norman goes from being an inexperienced and often clueless human, working in a police force filled with different species, to a policeman who gradually becomes respected as just one of the members of the Kilhaven Police, despite (because of?) his humanness, quick thinking, loyalty and semi-reluctant bravery.
As did the first book in this series, this book has story, plot, humor, interesting and fun characters, and a lot of heart. A very entertaining read.
This book brings back Norman Green, the main character from Book One of the series, “Shift Work.” He is the sole human police officer in a town full of were-animals, shapeshifters, magicians, leprechauns, cherubs vampires, and other non-humans. Most of the rest of the Kilhaven Police Squad are were-wolves, or some other form of were-animal. In Kilhaven, humans are considered the weakest of all these, though not the worst of them.
The book is humorous, despite - or sometimes because of - its gooey and bloody crimes. Much of the other humor comes from the descriptions and general character of the various groups: The Leprechauns with their shileleighs and their curses of bad luck (which partially accounts for the third book’s title) the babyish faces of the mean cherubs, the various types of shapeshifters, the evil, mocking Magicians, the Vampires (who are not that different from traditional vampires), the Were-animals, who are the most prevalent species in these books, and the ones who seem to be most tolerant of the human Norman, (though not always friendly towards him). Beneath the fast-moving plot and the comic aspects of the novel runs a commentary on racism, though in this fictional setting it’s disguised as “speciesism” (not a real word, but it fits), in which humans replace people of color - or any disparaged group - as those who are looked down upon, and/or discriminated against.
For a humorous novel, the running story is dark: young children are disappearing from a well-to-do neighborhood. Only a few members of the police force - primarily Norman, and were-wolves Heather Vance and Corporal Bannockburn - are willing to suspect vampires are the most likely group of kidnappers, while the top brass discounts their theories and attempts to bury any evidence relating to it. Although Norman spends a lot of his time interacting with other species in a variety of often humorous, sometimes dangerous police calls - which have nothing to do with missing were-children or vampires - the story always does come back to that ; by the end of the third book, there is a resolution.
Otherwise, this book tells the story of how Norman goes from being an inexperienced and often clueless human, working in a police force filled with different species, to a policeman who gradually becomes respected as just one of the members of the Kilhaven Police, despite (because of?) his humanness, quick thinking, loyalty and semi-reluctant bravery.
As did the first book in this series, this book has story, plot, humor, interesting and fun characters, and a lot of heart. A very entertaining read.
April 1, 2018
With books out like this it's easy to see why so many people are fans of Urban Fantasy.
It's fast paced, littered with cop humour, supernatural goings on intermingled with the ordinary. There is never a dull moment and the main characters are a fascinating slice of uniformed life.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, my opinions are my own*
It's fast paced, littered with cop humour, supernatural goings on intermingled with the ordinary. There is never a dull moment and the main characters are a fascinating slice of uniformed life.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, my opinions are my own*
December 15, 2018
Continues the story of a rookie beat cop in a city where the residents are werewolves, and other fantasy creatures. Even so, the situations he experiences probably parallel those of a beat cop in the real world. Would be interested to know if a real patrolman has read this series, and what he thinks of it.
October 17, 2019
Yet More Fun Werecop Action.
Even when they're shifters, cops are still cops and the meth heads only get weirder. Funny, profane, and engrossing. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys police procedurals.
Even when they're shifters, cops are still cops and the meth heads only get weirder. Funny, profane, and engrossing. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys police procedurals.
May 14, 2018
I enjoyed the book and finished it in one day. The characters were interesting and enjoyable.
May 13, 2022
fun take on supernatural law enforcement
With likable characters, ongoing mysteries, and bizarre mishaps, a ride with the night shift in Kilhaven is a rare treat.
With likable characters, ongoing mysteries, and bizarre mishaps, a ride with the night shift in Kilhaven is a rare treat.
December 27, 2024
So far so good
Just waiting for Green to grow up a little. He's Human and has an inferiority complex. Good story so far though
Just waiting for Green to grow up a little. He's Human and has an inferiority complex. Good story so far though
April 1, 2018
More fun.
This is a fun book, with an interesting paranormal system. I liked it, and you can sign me up for the next book as soon as preorders are available.
This is a fun book, with an interesting paranormal system. I liked it, and you can sign me up for the next book as soon as preorders are available.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews