Restless Nights

Badlands #1.4

by Morgan Brice

When a shopping center demolition reveals the bones of a murder victim and the dead man’s ghost begs for justice, psychic medium Simon Kincaide and his partner/boyfriend Vic D’Amato must solve a fifty year-old crime. The killer’s gotten away with murder...and he’s willing to kill again to keep it that way, which puts Simon and Vic at the top of his hit list.

Genres: Paranormal, M M Romance, Mystery, Romance, Ghosts, Fantasy, Contemporary

32 pages, ebook

First published October 26, 2018

About the author

Morgan Brice writes Urban Fantasy M/M Paranormal Romance with lots of magic, spooky stuff, and sexy men.

Pen name of author Gail Z. Martin.

Reviews

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sharp, sweet novella set about six months after the events of book one.

Simon is awoken by a nightmare in which he's seeing a murder through the victim's eyes and it coincides with the discovery of a body on a demolition site.

Fast paced and detailed for such a short story, this is a great addition to the series.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was pretty entertaining. I haven't read this author before and I was pleased that I enjoyed this enough to go back and read the first book in the series. I'd recommend this to those of you who like romances w a paranormal twist.

[Gerbera_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this short snippet! Cold case that is long forgotten, the ghost that wants justice and my fave guys Vic and Simon - it was awesome! There was a bit of danger, humor and steamy times! I love Myrtle Beach and all its inhabitants, so this was a treat for me!

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Danielle Gypsy Soul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book packs a lot in for such a short story! I'm really enjoying this world and these characters.

[Dolorianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a quick cold case story that ended up pushing Simon and Vic to take the next step in their relationship. A fun read.

FYI ... this happens over Halloween. It's listed as 1.6 and Lucky Town is listed as 1.5 ... but the blurb for Lucky Town says it happens over Thanksgiving so it should be read after Restless Nights.

[Saimi Vasquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

En esta historia corta, Simon comienza a tener visiones de un fantasma de los anos 1960-1970, y cada vision comienza a ser mas y mas especifica, lo que hace que Vic comience a ver en el archivos de "casos no resueltos". Pero cuando un esqueleto es encontrado en las bases de un centro comercial en demolicion, se dan cuenta que el asesino puede todavia estar vivo y que el fantasma quiere justicia para poder descansar en paz.
Simon y Vic deben encontrar y detener al asesino, antes de que el asesino los detenga a ellos.

Es una pequena historia corta, donde vemos como la relacion entre Simon y Vic se ha establecido, y como han hecho para mantener a Simon como "consultor" de la policia ayudandolos a cerrar casos que no han sido resueltos. Entretenido y rapido de leer.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

[ⓀⒶⓇⒾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, meh

[Gail Overholt · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read my review of Lucky Town (book #1.5 in the Badlands series ) you know I thought that the novella felt out of order. That's because it was! This short story (available from Prolific Works) is listed as book #1.6, but it takes place before Lucky Town. In fact, I'd highlighted this sentence in Lucky Town

Vic winced, remembering the part Simon left out, that confronting the killer had almost gotten Simon shot, again.

because I didn't remember this incident from Badlands, the first book in the series. That's because it's from this story. Geez. See what happens to my brain when things don't follow a logical order? I get waaaaaaay sidetracked and confused.

So, the proper reading order for the Badlands series is:
1) book #1, Badlands
2) short story #1.6, Restless Nights
3) novella #1.5, Lucky Town, and
4) book #2, The Rising
I assume from here on out the books will be more logically numbered.

Anyway, this story feels much more in sync with the characters and how their relationship is shown in Badlands and The Rising. Plus the mystery is intriguing, and Simon sees dead people.

[Fritz42 · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I'm so glad that I stuck with this series, even though initially Vic's behavior in the first book, Badlands, didn't endear him to me. Secondly, this book should be read before Lucky Town, even though it's numbered 1.6 in the sequence here on Goodreads. Events in this book occur before that one.

Once again, Simon is contacted by a murdered ghost, and he has to slowly try to put the pieces together to help out Vic with a case. And once again, the case puts Simon in danger. It was thrilling and nail-biting exciting when Simon was in danger, and I love how he utilizes the help of the spirits in these situations.

Now I'm off to read The Rising because I can't get enough of Simon and Vic.

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Halloween-themed short story didn't do much for me, as it was SUPER short. I enjoyed spending more time with Simon and Vic, but I'm not sure the mystery was long enough to be deserving of the word.

The real mystery was figuring out that the series order on Goodreads is different from that of the author's website (at least at the time of this review). To keep the rest of you from reading about Thanksgiving and then venturing backwards to Halloween, here is the order from Morgan Brice:

1 - Badlands
1.5 - Restless Nights
2 - Lucky Town
3 - The Rising
3.5 - Cover Me
4 - Loose Ends
4.5 - Night
4.6 - Leap of Faith

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little novella that revisits Morgan Brice's Badlands novel and lets us know this is going to be a series.

I'm a fan of Simon Kincaide, the psychic medium former professor now business owner and the go to research guy of the hunters in Brice's Witchbane books. Simon together with his partner Vic D'amato, the cop, is just plain fun.

As an aside, this was a lovely spooky novella to read on the day of the dead!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short, gives a better view of Simon and Vic down the road working together officially. Can be read without the benefit of the first novel, as it gives enough details and has an easy rhythm to fall into, but is best read in sequence. A good indication that this will be a series as it is clear that Vic and Simon working together is official, normal, and something that works well with Vic's partner and captain. A good fast paced short.

[Debbie Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon is getting woken up by dreams where a young man was murdered. Each dreams gives a little more detail. When a skeleton is found in a shopping mall being torn down, Simon and Vic begin to look into it. One of the leads Simon follows tips off the killer and he comes to kill Simon. Vic saves Simon at the last minute. In the heat of heightened emotions, Simon asks Vic to move in with him and Vic accepts. The nice thin is a very cold case is solved and the guilty will be punished in some way.

[Maijie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short, nicely paced story is set between Badlands and Lucky Town. It gives a look on how Simon and Vic works officially. The mystery is simple but with just the right amount of spookiness, action and questions to keep one reading. There's also some nice tender moments between the two leads. It is a nice additional entry for the series for people who want more.

3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

[ButtonsMom2003 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packs a punch!

Wow, for such a short one this story really packed a punch for me. Vic and Simon always seem to have trouble following them around. This story has a ghost, a murder, a mystery and it kept me on the edge of my seat – especially near the end. I’ve had this story on my e-reader for exactly 4 years and I have no idea why I didn’t make time to read it before this. I’m really glad that I finally made time to read it.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon is going to give Vic premature gray hair. When a ghost comes to Simon asking to be found, it coincides with the demolition of an old mall and the discovery of a body. But 50 years is a long time however Simon starts digging and gets himself up the creek, again. It's just a cute short freebie and you see Simon and Vic continuing to develop their relationship. So a cute little interlude for fans of the series.

[W.A. Ashes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Restless Nights takes place almost immediately following book one of Badlands. It focuses on the aftermath of Simon's injury and how he and Vic are coping with the dangers of their two worlds. The homicide case here is short and straight to the point. The ghost ends up giving them almost all of the answers instead of them having to go searching for them. It felt a little too clean-cut, but I love this series and was glad to be able to read a shorter story about Vic and Simon.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another M+M Short involving Simon and Vic. This time Simon has flashbacks to a cold case that suddenly gets rather hot. But there's always time for hot loin. Another M+M Short involving Simon and Vic. This time Simon has flashbacks to a cold case that suddenly gets rather hot. But there's always time for hot lovin.

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite short, and the murder case could have been a little bit more flesh-out. This novella only has 32 pages so everything had a quick wrap-up.
Anyway, I love the two main characters Vic & Simon, their relationship is so sweet.
The Badland series have become one my favorite so it always a pleasure to read more of it.

[SFBookReviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Restless Nights is a short story in the badlands series and follows the story of medium and psychic Simon and his detective boyfriend Vic. The book is very well written and contains adventure, mystery, and some steamy scenes. As well as magic and ghosts. The characters are interesting and the story really good. Overall a very enjoyable ready and looking forward to more in the series.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good for how short it was. Good danger and suspense. Their love is palpable. I wanted one of them to get injured just a little, like a billet craze or a magazine rack fell in him or something but just sick like that. The sex scene was shorter and not as hot as usual but it was appropriate for the length of the story.

[Molly Otto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story of Simon & Vic after the events of Badlands and Simon being part of the MBPD as a consultant. You get a mystery, Simon's dreams and some sexy times to see these men's relationship build to a better place.
Great short read wish more authors put out these fun stories on Prolific Works for readers to get more stories of our favorite couples.

[BevS · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars from me. Find it hard to credit that a murderer from 50 years ago [so in his 70's at least] would be able to get one over on a guy who's 40+ years younger than he is, sorry. Thank goodness for Simon's ghosts...

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in an Prolific Works newsletter, never heard of this author before but thought I give it a try. It's a nice short story about medium Simon who helps detective Vic clear old cases when ghosts appear in his dreams.

[Ken Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story in the Badlands series, giving Brice's characters Simon and Vic a bit more showcase for the psychic/cop pair. Readers get a touch of the tourist center of Myrtle Beach through a mild plot to solve an old murder.

[Benoitcesoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A “quickie”, just enough of Simon and Vic to make me want more. This was a short story following the events in the first book. I enjoyed the story overall, but wish it was a standalone story developed into a novel. I wouldn’t be mad if there was more going on since it is set around Halloween.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this short tale of Vic and Simon a while after they started seeing each other. Simon had a premontion of a teen being murdered in the 1960's and wanting to be found. Simon and Vic work together to solve the mystery as only they can do.

[CARISSA E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good but short lil story with more Vic and Simon from Badlands....