Sons of Darkness

Night Vigil #1

by Gail Z. Martin

We are the Night Vigil.

We keep the Vigil, looking for the ones who can still be saved, the ones who aren't too far gone. We're the misfits and the muck-ups, unwanted by Heaven or Hell, given one last chance to atone for all the mistakes and missed chances, the pain we've caused others and ourselves, the good things we were afraid to do, and the bad things we embraced with open arms.

Unfinished business ties us to the mortal world, to make atonement, find absolution, satisfy retribution, get things right. You won't find a sorrier group of halfway house heroes. No illusions left—about ourselves, humanity, or what's really out there in the darkness. Just a purpose, to go down fighting the good fight. Because this is our last chance.

One final chance to make it right, the thin red line of humanity against the evil that goes bump in the night, your best hope to make it through the hour of the wolf.

When a series of disappearances, suicides, and vengeful spirits cause havoc and death along a remote interstate highway, demon-hunting ex-priest Travis Dominick teams up with former special ops soldier and monster-hunter Brent Lawson to end the problem with extreme prejudice.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy, Audiobook, Magic, Supernatural, Mystery

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 2, 2018

About the author

Gail Z. Martin discovered her passion for science fiction, fantasy and ghost stories in elementary school. The first story she wroteat age fivewas about a vampire. Her favorite TV show as a preschooler was Dark Shadows. At age 14, she decided to become a writer.

She enjoys attending science fiction/fantasy conventions, Renaissance fairs and living history sites. She is married and has three children, a Maltese and a golden retriever.

Gail Z. Martin is also Morgan Brice, which is her pen name for urban fantasy MM paranormal romance.

In addition to the online sites listed below, you can find me on
Facebook.com/Groups/MartinShadowAlliance
Facebook.com/Groups/WorldsOfMorganBrice
Twitter: @GailZMartin and @MorganBriceAuthor
YouTube: YouTube.com/c/GailZMartinAuthor
IG: @MorganBriceAuthorGail & Larry newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj
Morgan Brice newsletter: http://eepurl.com/dy_8oL
BookBub for Morgan: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/morga...
Bookbub for Gail: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/gail-...
Amazon profile: https://www.amazon.com/Morgan-Brice/e...?
Amazon profile: https://www.amazon.com/Gail-Z-Martin/...
Pinterest (for Morgan and Gail) www.Pinterest.com/Gzmartin

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author’s Witchbane”, Badlands, Treasure Trail, and Kings of the Mountain series. I picked this one up because I recognized the characters of Travis and Brent that have made cameo appearances in those other series that I can't get enough of and have read over and over again. That’s one of the big attractions for me with Gail Martin/Morgan Brice book series...we never lose track of the characters we have learned to love in the other books. I had some of the same issues with this one that I had with some others that I was expecting more of. The plot meandered, and there was a lot of detail about research and rituals that added weight but not especially interest. Danny, Bret’s ghost brother, apparently had several conversations with Travis, but they were only mentioned in a sentence at the end and never detailed. That was frustrating, as I felt that the relationships between Danny, Brent and Travis, would have added to the story. Danny obviously had lots to tell in spite of being dead. I love this author and I already had formed an interest in the two hunters so I will continue to explore this series. Perhaps it will come to mean as much as the others that I mentioned. I’m giving it 4 stars because of the author. Gail Z. Martin/Morgan Brice has given me hours and hours of reading pleasure, and so many wonderful characters that have helped to enriched these series. I listened to the audio book of this one and even though the narrator had a great voice, he read very fast and didn’t give the characters their individual voices. For me the individual voices of the different characters do so much to make the story more enjoyable.

[Darrell Grizzle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting novel from Gail Z. Martin! This is urban fantasy, but there are elements of horror as well as crime drama here that make it feel reminiscent of another of my favorite series, the Griffin and Price novels by James A. Moore and Charles R. Rutledge. I am especially fascinated by the character Travis Dominick, an ex-priest who (like me) struggles with his faith and can’t quite leave the church behind, despite his best efforts. If you’re a fan of the books Martin writes under the pen name Morgan Brice, you’ll recognize Travis and his monster-hunter partner Brent Lawson from Dark Rivers (in the Witchbane series) and Lucky Town (a novella in the Badlands series). Here we get the story of how Travis and Brent first met and how they reluctantly teamed up to battle an ancient evil. Along the way we meet several fascinating members of Travis’ “Night Vigil,” a loose-knit network of misfits with paranormal abilities that more often seem like curses than gifts. Sons of Darkness is the first in what I hope will be a long series from this talented author.

[Dolorianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's 100% a love letter to Supernatural told in classic Gail Martin fashion. It had danger, twists that pull on the heartstrings, and a full-on monster hunting network. The story progressed episodically, with fires popping up everywhere, until it was clear everything was headed in the same direction, giving the finished novel the feel of it's own season.

I loved how Travis and Brent basically crashed into each other on a job, and then figured out how to work together when their cases ended up being linked. Add in overbearing organizations and "interested third parties" trying to manipulate the guys at every turn and it was almost non-stop action from beginning to end. Probably the most intense urban fantasy book in the 8 series universe so far. With a title like Sons Of Darkness, I'm sure you can guess what kinds of creatures the characters are up against. With very few warm/fuzzies and zero romance ... it's exactly the right book if you're looking for a wild paranormal ride.

[Lianne Pheno]

4/5
https://delivreenlivres.home.blog/202...

Cela faisait un moment que je voulais lire un nouveau livre de cette autrice, dont j’avais beaucoup aimé la série Deadly Curiosities il y a quelques années (avant même mon blog). Malheureusement je dois mal tomber parce que je choisi toujours les séries que l’autrice n’avance pas beaucoup ou de façon plus erratique que les autres. Celle ci n’a pas encore eu de second tome d’ailleurs. Mais ça ne me décourage pas parce que je sais que de toute façon je passerais un bon moment dans les livres (une fin n’est pas essentielle à une bonne lecture, surtout en urban fantasy).

Ce livre se déroule dans le même univers que toutes les autres séries d’urban fantasy de l’autrice, donc le même que Deadly curiosities. On y retrouve quelques clins d’œils et personnages cités qu’on connaissait avant.

Dans ce livre nous suivons deux personnages principaux qui vont se croiser et être amenés à collaborer sur une série d’événements mystérieux et très mortels.
D’un coté Travis Dominick. Celui ci est un ancien prêtre faisant parti d’un ordre secret chargé de combattre les ténèbres et le mal, qu’il a quitté car il sentait qu’il était utilisé par des fanatiques sans considération pour sa propre vie et surtout dans un but souvent politique qui n’avait rien à voir avec le bien être des humains en général. Il continue depuis la même tache, mais plus comme protecteur de la zone dans laquelle il s’est installé.

A force de rencontrer dans ses missions des humains avec des pouvoirs, il a monté la Night Vigil, un groupe de soutient composé de médiums et autres personnes avec des capacités spéciales chargés de lui indiquer tout ce qu’ils trouvent de bizarre dans la zone et de l’aider si un problème arrive près de chez eux.

Nous suivons aussi Brent Lawson. Ancien soldat des forces spéciales ayant survécu une rencontre avec un démon dans le moyen orient, une fois revenu à la vie civile il décide de continuer en devenant un membre du FBI. Après des années à lutter contre les criminels humains, il démissionne pour devenir détective privé. Il se spécialise dans les crimes surnaturels et fini par obtenir le surnom de « Monster-hunter » dans les forces de l’ordre chez qui il a toujours pas mal de contacts qui le mettent sur la pistes d’affaires un peu plus « bizarres » que la normale.

Les deux personnages ont tout les deux vécu des événements tragiques et difficile. Ils ont de la bouille dans leur travail, étant tout les deux dans la seconde moitié de la trentaine. Aucun des deux n’est un sur-homme, mais tout les deux savent se battre.

Travis est le plus réfractaire à l’idée de l’association entre les deux au départ. Malgré l’existence de la Night Vigil, en général ceux qui l’aident sont plus la pour fournir des informations que vraiment participer à la traque. Il est vraiment un chasseur solitaire. Mais force est de constater qu’ils sont sur la même affaire et que tout leurs contacts (médiums …) leurs disent que si ils ne travaillent pas ensemble ils vont se faire tuer. Du coup pas le choix.

On est vraiment sur un ambiance à la Supernatural (la série tv). De toute les livres d’urban fantasy que j’ai lu, c’est vraiment la série qui s’en rapproche le plus. Les deux hommes ne sont évidemment pas frères, mais ils ont des capacités complémentaires. Et en plus l’univers a vraiment un coté qui ressemble avec un surnaturel assez sombre (créatures de la nuit), et en plus le coté mythologie catholique (démons …).

Malgré son nombre de pages modéré j’ai trouvé l’ensemble très dense. A la fin on a l’impression d’avoir vécu une grande aventure et ça ne fait pas du tout trop peu ou trop précipité. L’autrice arrive vraiment à nous condenser tout son univers en peu de pages. L’ensemble est vraiment sombre, avec une ambiance qui fait frissonner. On est donc plus sur un coté qui se rapproche de l’horreur.

J’ai passé un bon moment dans cette lecture. Les deux protagonistes sont très intéressant à suivre. Ils ne sont pas des débutants, ils savent à quoi ils ont affaire et ne perdent pas de temps dans la résolution des problèmes.
La tension monte tout du long du tome, car notre duo sont submergé d’appels à l’aide et de cas de partout et doivent tout gérer eux même.

Encore une fois c’était une réussite.
Je pense que je vais me pencher un peu plus sur le reste de cet univers car il a vraiment du potentiel et j’aimerais en apprendre plus sur les liens entre les différentes séries de l’autre (et il y en a plein, on nous les détaille à la fin du livre).

[Westveil Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was granted complimentary review access to an audiobook copy of Sons of Darkness through the audiobooks.com platform in order to participate as a reviewer on the February blog tour for this title with Audiobookworm Promotions. Thank you to all involved in affording me this opportunity! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Tour blog post: https://www.westveilpublishing.com/?p...

Ex-priest Travis Dominick and former soldier turned private investigator Brent Lawson have something in common: They know what goes bump in the night and they're here to deal with it. This action-packed paranormal urban fantasy has all the best elements of a crime thriller while still maintaining the heavily paranormal category urban fantasy feeling. When links begin to show up between paranormal cases and it becomes clear that an entire town is under the influence of demonic forces, this unlikely pair have to set aside their differences and work with the believers among the town to rid it of its curse.

Every single character in this book is fleshed out and well rounded, and the reader is given ample opportunity to empathise with them and get attached. We feel for Travis and Brent. We feel for random townsfolk. We feel for actual zombies. Gail knows how to make us care about every character who walks across the page, and I love it!

This book is full of action with main characters and plot circumstances that make me think of a mix of Dresden Files and Supernatural with a sprinkling of Tad Hamilton's Dirty Streets of Heaven. The character development and interaction is more Dresden and Hamilton, while the paranormal mystery could easily be a lost episode from Paranormal itself. Fans of any of these will have a great time.

My critiques are minor, but I do feel the need to mention a couple of things. First, some of the backstory details we're fed come in the form of inner monologue tangents or verbalized responses to questions asked by other characters that don't necessarily warrant that kind of detail. In the beginning, I was really worried that this book was a victim of world-builders disease and I was going to be constantly annoyed by snippets of information I don't really need shoehorned into the story in awkward ways. As the book went on I stopped noticing it, so either it got better or it wasn't actually as bad as I first felt it was and I got used to it. Second, there were some unique, stand-out phrases (like "hard-used") that were utilized in clusters in the beginning and I was worried that they would start to become annoying overuse instances, but in every case by the time I took note that it had been said a lot in the last few minutes of playback, that ended up being the last time I noticed it. Once again, it got better as the book progressed. Because of these things, because I kept getting pulled out of the story to consider them, I was worried that I wasn't going to like the book. Even though it turned out great, these troubles at the start are the reason I'm rating it a 4 and not a 5. To be more succinct, it wasn't a smooth start, and as much as I loved the book by the end, I didn't forget about the start.

Jeffrey Kafer's voice and performance narrating this book were very good. It was easy to listen to and his voice suits the tone of the book quite well. I was rarely confused about which character's head we were in, and while that's partly due to Gail's strong writing, it's also largely due to how Jeffrey handled the different characters in his performance. I will say that I felt the default 1x playback speed for this book was rather slow. I acknowledge that I'm a fast listener, not everyone is, and listeners like me can always speed it up. I was forced to be aware of how slow the default speed was because of the platform I was invited to listen on (audiobooks.com in this case, not audible) where the computer browser cloud player doesn't allow speed adjustments and the mobile app only goes to 2x. I found myself wishing for 2.5x. I think that would have been the most comfortable playback speed for me. (For reference, my Libby settings is usually 1.75-2x, which means I listen to the average audiobook book at about 3/4ths the speed I wanted to listen to this one.)

Overall this was a great paranormal mystery read and I am absolutely going to keep the series and other books by this author in mind for future reading. I'm also impressed with this narrator and will feel confident selecting books with his name on the narrator credit line. I recommend this book (in any format) to lovers of grittier fantasy, especially if you love paranormal or mystery elements, and I think this book will appeal to fans of Dresden and Paranormal.

[Karolina Cebula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review in English and Polish || Recenzja po angielsku i polsku

Hunting down a creature that was a human being but now is only a bloodthirsty beast, Travis Dominick, ex-priest and former member of a secret church organization dealing with dangerous, supernatural creatures, crosses paths with Brent Lawson, private investigator, hunter and ex-soldier, whose past is no less interesting that his own. Although Travis saves the man's "lower back", their relation is far from being friendly, as they both are stubborn, proud and used to lonely hunts. But when people start to go missing, locals can't part with their dead relatives and misfortune chases misfortune, Travis and Brent are forced to work together if they want to prevent a catastrophe and survive.

"Sons of Darkness" is a new urban fantasy novel written by Gail Z. Martin, which begins a new series: "A Night Vigil", and which acquaints us with the new characters, with which we will experience several exciting adventures. As always with this author, she created some really interesting and multidimensional leads, whose charms we simply can't resist and whom we immediately love wholeheartedly. Mesdames et Messieurs, let me introduce you to Brent Lawson and Travis Dominick! Two in their own way charismatic men, whose lives fell apart like a sand castle due to demons and other infernal smut. They have many things in common, in even more ways they differ from each other, but one thing is certain, the author paired them in such a way that together they are able to bring out the best from each other. What's more, in the novel we get to know them really well from almost every angle and thanks to this fact, we immediately feel that to us they are more than just fictional characters. As we form closer bonds with them, they become almost our family members. The supporting characters are just as good, as they not only make us like them a lot but they also encourage us to get to know them better. In short, in this respect, Gail Z. Martin really showed how good she is in creating her characters.

Fast, well-constructed and smoothly presented action is another of the advantages of "Sons of Darkness". Thanks to it, the reader feels like being tied up to a chair with a string of words, completely drawn into the world of the novel and constantly wants more and more, unable to stop reading. It is also worth noting that Gail Z. Martin perfectly combined the investigation, construction and presentation of the characters and the world, as well as the already mentioned action. All these elements work together truly perfectly. I would also like to add that the author offered us a very interesting and eventful plot, thanks to which the pace of action remains dizzying from the beginning to the end, but in no case we can say that the novel is overly rushed, as all events are presented with necessary and relevant details. When we are reading this book, all this makes us feel as if we weren't just passive observers, but part of this adventure and were actively involved in everything that takes place there.

Another of the undoubted advantages of "Sons of Darkness" is a total lack of romance, which makes it a pure, one hundred percent urban fantasy novel. This makes this book rare and truly unique, if we consider the rather small number of fiction that can boast about being truly "romance-free". Let's be honest, not everyone is in favor of the novel, in which the romantic topic is one of the main plot elements. Even I, although I love m/m urban fantasy with all my heart, sometimes feel like reading a book without a love story in it and instead filled with action, adventure and magic. And that's what I found in "Sons of Darkness". What's more, I have the impression that thanks to the fact that the author doesn't dwell on the romantic aspects of protagonists' lives, she devotes even more space to their past and emotions that it still evokes in them, to working on the paranormal problem that is the main part of the plot, as well as to building mutual relations, both between Travis and Brent, and between them and the supporting characters. Therefore, in this case the lack of romance is a great thing and I hope that it won't change in the next volume.

I think that one of the main themes of the novel, which is grief, also deserves appreciation. The author really surprised me because in this case she didn't refer only to what is generally known from human experience but to some extent also to psychology. In this way, she also built some of the problems the characters face on a very human foundation, although they are connected with demons. It is also worth noting that she presented grief in two ways. On the one hand it heads towards "darkness", as in the case of two supporting characters who lost their loved ones, on the other "darkness" reaches for grief, which is illustrated by the demons feeding on human emotions. So I think that Gail Z. Martin approached the subject at a really interesting angle, which deserves our recognition.

"Sons of Darkness" is a novel in which three "literary forces" – characters, plot and action – combine to create a truly fantastic, addictive whole. The readers jump headlong into adventure alongside fascinating, beautiful and experienced by fate protagonists who immediately become part of their everyday life. This is not the novel you simply read, you live it!

__________________

Podążając śladami istoty, która kiedyś była człowiekiem, zaś teraz jest tylko krwiożerczą bestią, Travis Dominick, były ksiądz i dawniej członek tajnej kościelnej organizacji zajmującej się walką z niebezpiecznymi, nadprzyrodzonymi stworzeniami, spotyka na swojej drodze Brenta Lawsona, prywatnego detektywa, łowcę i byłego żołnierza, o równie bujnej przeszłości. Choć Travis ratuje mężczyźnie tyłek, ich relacje ciężko nazwać przyjaznymi. Obaj są bowiem uparci, dumni i przyzwyczajeni do samotnych polowań. Kiedy jednak zaczynają znikać ludzie, miejscowi nie potrafią rozstać się ze swoimi zmarłymi krewnymi, a nieszczęście goni nieszczęście, Travis i Brent zmuszeni są do współpracy, jeśli chcą zapobiec katastrofie i przy okazji przeżyć.

„Sons of Darkness” to nowa powieść urban fantasy pióra Gail Z. Martin, będąca początkiem nowej serii „A Night Vigil”, a tym samym prezentująca nam nowych bohaterów, u których boku przeżyjemy kilka ekscytujących przygód. Jak to zwykle u tej autorki bywa, mamy do czynienia z naprawdę interesującymi i wielowymiarowymi czołowymi postaciami, którym nie sposób się oprzeć i których nie sposób nie pokochać całym sercem. Mesdames et Messieurs, pozwólcie, że przedstawię wam Brenta Lawsona i Travisa Dominicka! Dwójkę na swój sposób charyzmatycznych mężczyzn, których życie posypało się niczym zamek z piasku za sprawą demonów oraz innego piekielnego świństwa. Wiele ich łączy, jeszcze więcej różni, ale jedno jest pewne, autorka dobrała ich w taki sposób, że wspólnie są w stanie wydobyć z siebie nawzajem to co najlepsze. Co więcej, w powieści poznajemy ich naprawdę dobrze niemal z każdej strony, dzięki czemu szybko czujemy, jak ze zwykłych fikcyjnych bohaterów stają się nam naprawdę bliscy, niemal jak członkowie rodziny. Równie dobrze prezentują się postaci poboczne, które nie tylko budzą sympatię, ale też zachęcają do dalszego ich poznawania. Krótko mówiąc, pod tym względem Gail Z. Martin naprawdę pokazała klasę.

Szybka, dobrze skonstruowana i płynnie przedstawiona akcja to kolejna z zalet „Sons of Darkness”. Dzięki niej czytelnik zostaje wbity w fotel, całkowicie wciągnięty do świata powieści i bezustannie pragnie więcej i więcej, nie potrafiąc oderwać się od lektury. Warto także zauważyć, że Gail Z. Martin idealnie połączyła ze sobą dochodzenie, budowę i przedstawienie bohaterów oraz swojego universum, jak również wspomnianą już akcję. Wszystkie te elementy współgrają ze sobą w sposób naprawdę doskonały. Dodajmy również, że autorka zaoferowała nam bardzo interesującą i pełną wydarzeń fabułę, dzięki czemu tempo akcji pozostaje zawrotne od początku do końca, ale w żadnym razie nie możemy zarzucić powieści nadmiernego pośpiechu, jako że wszystkie wydarzenia zostają przedstawione z dbałością o niezbędne i istotne szczegóły. Wszystko to sprawia, że czytając tę książkę czujemy się tak, jakbyśmy stanowili jej część i brali czynny udział we wszystkim, co ma tutaj miejsce, a nie byli tylko biernymi obserwatorami.

Kolejną z niewątpliwych zalet „Sons of Darkness” jest całkowity brak romansu, dzięki czemu mamy do czynienia z czystym, stu procentowym urban fantasy. Czyni to tę powieść rzadką i naprawdę wyjątkową, jeśli weźmiemy pod uwagę raczej niewielką liczbę tytułów, które mogą pochwalić się czymś podobnym. Bądźmy szczerzy, nie każdy jest zwolennikiem powieści, w których wątek romantyczny należy do głównych elementów fabuły. Nawet ja, chociaż kocham m/m urban fantasy całym sercem, mam czasami ochotę sięgnąć po książkę pozbawioną romansu, za to pełną akcji, przygody i magii. I właśnie to znalazłam w „Sons of Darkness”. Co więcej, mam wrażenie, iż dzięki temu, że autorka nie rozwodzi się nad miłosną stroną życia bohaterów, jeszcze więcej miejsca poświęca ich przeszłości i emocjom, jakie nadal w nich ona budzi, pracy nad paranormalnym problemem stanowiącym główną oś fabuły, jak również budowaniu wzajemnych relacji, zarówno między Travisem i Brentem, jak i nimi a bohaterami pobocznymi. Brak romansu jest więc w tym wypadku naprawdę fantastyczną sprawą i mam nadzieję, że w następnym tomie się to nie zmieni.

Sądzę, że na kilka ciepłych słów zasługuje także jeden z tematów przewodnich powieści, którym jest głęboki smutek. Autorka naprawdę bardzo mnie pod tym kątem zaskoczyła, ponieważ nie odniosła się tylko do tego, co ogólnie wiadome z ludzkiego doświadczenia, ale w pewnym stopniu sięgnęła do psychologii. W ten też sposób sprawiała, że część problemów, z jakimi zmagają się bohaterowie, choć demoniczna, budowana jest na bardzo ludzkim fundamencie. Warto również zauważyć, że przedstawiła smutek na dwa sposoby. Z jednej strony to on kieruje się w stronę „ciemności”, jak chociażby w przypadku dwójki bohaterów pobocznych, którzy stracili bliskie im osoby, z drugiej to „ciemność” sięga do smutku, czego obrazem są demony żerujące na ludzkich emocjach. Uważam więc, że Gail Z. Martin podeszła do tematu pod naprawdę interesującym kątem, co zasługuje na uznanie.

„Sons of Darkness” to powieść, w przypadku której trzy „literackie siły” – bohaterowie, fabuła i akcja – łączą się tworząc naprawdę fantastyczną, uzależniającą całość. Czytelnik wskakuje w wir przygody u boku postaci fascynujących, pięknych i doświadczonych przez los, które od razu stają się częścią jego codzienności. Tej powieści się nie czyta, nią się żyje!

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, that was unexpected... I love fun surprises ;)

So, I mentioned when I finished Sons of Darkness that it was a pleasant surprise. What I didn’t mention is that when I started this book I suffered from a serious case of Déjà Vu. You see, I went into this book totally in the dark (no pun intended.) I had just finished Dark Rivers and within the first few chapters I realized that a lot of these characters and places sounded awfully familiar. So familiar that I couldn’t ignore it so I did a little bit of research. Turns out I wasn’t going nuts. I knew that there was a connection between Morgan Brice’s Witchbane and Badlands series. What I didn’t know was that Morgan Brice and Gail Z. Martin are one in the same and Travis and Brent make an appearance in Dark Rivers. What is even better is that Gail Z. Martin and her husband, Larry N. Martin have another series that ties into all these series, Spells, Salt, & Steel – which BTW, I’m currently reading. Lots and lots of books! I’m one happy reader 😉

As for Sons of Darkness? Wow… a lot happened in this story. At first glance it seemed like a lot of random coincidences, but the scary part was that they were all tied together. Travis and Brent didn’t meet under the best of circumstances. It was actually pretty lucky that Travis found Brent when he did, although Brent didn’t appreciate it at the time. They were both a little “prickly” but I loved getting to know them. They both had their trusted contacts and the longer they worked together, the more they realized that they might actually need each other. They also both had pasts with groups that were trying to reel them back in. Groups that neither one of them wanted to have anything to do with, for good reason.

The danger was real in Sons of Darkness and although Travis and Brent were used to relying on their friends, neither one of them were really anxious to work with each other. That changed quickly with a little supernatural shove from Brent’s past. To end the terror that was threatening the area they had to rely on more than each other and risk more than they expected.

There were a lot of interesting twists and turns and the supporting characters, some that readers had met before, were just another thing to love about Sons of Darkness. I personally love it when one series run parallel to another series – in this case, more than one series. The connections are fun and the possibilities are endless, which is great. Through my “research” I found out that there’s lots more to come for Brent and Travis. I’ve quite literally found a literary gold mine and I can’t wait to see what Gail Z. Martin, Larry Martin and Larry N. Martin have in store for readers next. 😉

I received Sons of Darkness in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Carra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not often I read or listen to a book that isn’t a romance, but I’ve really enjoyed this authors romance novels and the main characters here in Sons of Darkness, Travis and Brent, have been mentioned in other books and their story naturally piqued my interest. I was definitely not disappointed and was as sucked into this book as I’ve been with everything else the author has written.

The idea of a group of loosely connected people with supernatural “gifts”, most of whom use those gifts to atone for their actual or perceived sins is intriguing at the very least, and something I think many can identify with, at least the atonement angle. Brent and Travis being brought together, first by apparent happenstance and later at the urging of someone close to Brent, makes for an interesting partnership and they do complement each others’ strengths.

You definitely won’t want for action, tension, or drama here as there always seems to be another evil to take on—and the more they face the more it seems they are all connected in a very big way. You get the chance to encounter several types of supernatural creatures right alongside the characters, and it’s a constant “what’s going to happen next” the whole way through.

With the promise of more adventures to come, Sons of Darkness is a great introduction to Travis and Brent that will snatch your attention and not give it back until it’s done. I loved the mentions and support from characters from the author’s other books, and am looking forward to reading more in the Night Vigil series. This story is getting 5 stars from me, and whether you’ve already read the author’s other stories or this is your first you’re going to get hooked.

The narration: This is the first story I’ve listened to with this narrator, and I think he did a good job at the differentiation of character voices, particularly for Travis and Brent. The pacing was spot on, and emotion was clearly communicated especially in scenes where the tension was ramping up. I’m looking forward to listening to more of his work, and am also giving 5 stars for the narration,

[The Book Junkie Reads . . . · Rating 5 out of 5]

***4.5stars

These men may be considered misfit, undesirables, muck up of the worlds (Heaven and Hell) but they were here to show us that there were more. Travis and Brent were that something more than their lives could hold. And something less to be granted life in either world. They were here to prove that it was that something more, that something right they were capable of. Theses man showed us that we need not fear the things that go bump in the night for they were here to bump back.

The listen was quick and very entertaining. Jeffrey did the job just nicely. He gave clear voicing of each character. I say this with the fact that I listen at minimum of twice the speed and I still felt like Brent and Travis were friends that I just needed to know just a bit more about. Gail Z. Martin creates such entertaining urban fantasy. You find a world that is vivid and entertaining with complexities of world, characters and plot.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This was another fantastic story, paranormal, crime, mystry but not romance. This is the story of how Travis and Brent first met. It's a story of misfits with paranormal abilities, things the go bump in the night and an ancient evil creature feeding on grief. The more grief the better. Travis, ex priest unable to give up the church. Brent,ex special ops, ex police lost his family one night and is consumed with grief and what if. They both met up as they are both trying to solve the same paranormal mystery. I enjoyed this story as we see them in her Witchband series and in Lucky Town (Badlands series). I also enjoyed seeing characters from her other series show up to help in this story. I hope we get to see more of Travis and Brent.

[ReviewerLarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked the story, although there were a lot of side characters we didn’t really got to know. It had a big Supernatural vibe. Looking forward to more.

The audiobook wasn’t bad, but the narrator doesn’t really distinguish between characters and his pronunciation wasn’t always solid.

[Tamye Whitener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense Action!

Intriguing characters drive this story of bad times, populated with nasty dark entities. The world-building is well done and the narrator does a good job.

I recommend this book to lovers of Urban Fantasy and things that go bump in the night.

[Anne Barwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story for so many reasons. When Travis and Brent first meet, there isn’t an instant feeling of friendship or that they’d be great working together. In fact it’s more the opposite, which adds a touch of realism. I liked the way they did slowly grow a friendship and reach the point where they felt they could trust each other. Although the tone is quite dark, it still has some humour in it as the banter is fabulous. I loved the conversation between Travis and Derek—the necromancer coroner—who tells Travis that getting the spirits to talk to him is like “confiding in a friend, instead of being called in to talk to the principal.”

The world building is fabulous, with the added bonus that it takes place within the same world as the author’s others series so Simon from Badlands and Mark and Chiara from Spells, Salt, & Steel make phone appearances, plus Travis gets regular stipends from Soren from Deadly Curiosities. for the St Dimas Outreach. I love the references to the Vatican Black Ops organization that Travis used to work for, plus the equally dark Occulatum, described as the church FBI, and CHARON. I’m looking forward to seeing these organisations directly clash in future stories. I was fascinated by the arcane archives, and the idea behind them, which makes perfect sense. I love how the supernatural/mythical lore is worked in, and well researched. It adds a huge degree of realism to the story.

Brent’s backstory is particularly tragic, and I loved his relationship with his brother Danny. I hope we haven’t seen the last of him. I liked how Travis, although he has left the priesthood, still can’t leave a lot of it behind, and has kept some of his beliefs, and the traditions that go with them. This added a layer of realism to his character. This is one of the things I love about this author and her characters—she doesn’t shy away from consequences, and her characters carry the burden of the past, and the things they have been through still haunts them. There’s no reset button at the end of each adventure, and I had a very real sense of their PTSD, which makes a lot of sense considering their lives and chosen paths. As an added note, Brent’s conversation with Travis’s mother is wonderful.

The supporting cast was great, and I loved the way they were all from different walks of life, and occupations, and came together with their different talents to fight against a common enemy. Each of them is quite different, yet similar in that they are aware of what is out there, and are drawn to help. They all have their own back stories, which adds to their depth of character. I also liked how ghosts play an active part in both the investigation and the final showdown. There are a lot of parallels with the Badlands series and I liked the feeling of similarity yet difference between them. The teamwork needed in the final showdown is a common theme through the author’s books, and something I really like about them. Also, that using their abilities has consequences, and it’s not always easy.

The city of Pittsburgh feels like a character in its own right, and many of the locations are real places. I liked how these guys spend time researching their foes, rather than just going in with guns blazing, and the strong sense of a team who feel like an extended family working together. One thing that really stood out was that at the end of the day, these are the good guys. The way they stopped to help out at an accident scene, and did what was needed showed that very clearly. It’s little things like that within a story that really cement a character, make them real, and make me want to come back for more.

I’d recommend Sons of Darkness to readers who enjoy well researched urban fantasy/paranormal stories with interesting characters, and a plot that keeps you turning pages. More please.

[Natalie Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

About four decades ago, I read The Stand by Stephen King and thought, "Wow! This is my writer!" But the decades passed by and I moved on to other things, namely those writers who promise the readers a happy ending. Yes, life can knock a person around enough that they simply MUST have a happy ending when investing their money and time in the escape that is reading non-fiction books. I thought something was lost in the translation to those books guaranteeing a happily ever after so I took only minor notice until lucking upon "Sons of Darkness" by Gail Z. Martin.
After saturating myself in a related series (Badlands series by Morgan Brice), I was primed for "Sons of Darkness". I wanted to know more about the demon-hunting ex-priest Travis Dominick who teams up with the demon-magnet former special ops soldier Brent Lawson to stop a series of disastrous occurrences, terrifying phenomena, and monstrous manifestations on a 50-year repeating cycle. They discover that the nexus of the incidences stem from a reasonably sentient malignant presence that feasts on the psychoemotional misery of the citizens living within a fifty miles radius of a defunct mine in Pennsylvania. Travis Dominick joins with the others of the Night Vigil to put an end to the feasting of horror before the final event that always culminates in a widespread conflagration.
The members of the Night Vigil will fight on two fronts with some preventing the huge fire that will decimate the surrounding communities and others seeking to confine the entity behind the rift from which its effects escape every 50 years. Needing ghosts to help to confine the entity from behind the rift while they work to bind it from without, Brent's dead brother Danny volunteers for his own special ops mission. They are successful, they are battered and bloodied literally and figuratively but they are successful! Knowing there will be a happy ending doesn't remove the level of anticipation, fear, thrill, and excitement a reader will experience in reading this remarkable story.
While Travis and Brent investigate the phenomena, the readers are treated to an introduction to the members of the Night Vigil. Talk about a creepy cast of totally human characters! Bound together by guilt and remorse, the members have each had their personal battles with the darkness that make them uniquely qualified to tackle the truly monstrous in all its forms. From the medium who was a Catholic priest well-used by The Church in hunting demons to the necromancer who works in the coroner's office to the hospital pharmacist hiding the soul of her 13-year-old dead sister to the special ops soldier whose family was killed by a demon when he was away at football camp, each story is personal and absolutely scary--and this is just book one! Readers aren't given a full treatment of Travis's experiences as a medium ordained as a priest in the Catholic Church. That The Church wants him back "on the job" is compelling enough--that they suffered a medium is beyond disturbing and promises plenty to keep readers wide awake. In addition, there has to be something about Brent that IS attracting demons as there are several instances of him encountering them throughout the narrative. In addition, a government agency named Charon (In Greek mythology he is the ferryman of Hades who carries the souls of the recent dead across the river Styx) is interested in 'hiring' Brent. There has to be a reason for it and it is hoped that readers will be able to gain insight as to the series progress.
All in all, the novel is an amazing first book of a very promising series that has elicited the same impressive, yet unnerving reaction I had to Stephen King's work from the late seventies to the late eighties! Gail Z. Martin is especially gifted in giving readers a complete story without the complete picture--there's plenty for the writer to tell her audience about the past experiences and the current work of the Night Vigil's members. In addition to striking world-building and impressive character building, the writer provides perfect pacing (the rate at which the writer introduces key elements in the story) and beautiful balance (the distribution of varying types of elements in the narrative) to an extraordinarily compelling storyline! Very well done, Gail Z. Martin!

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story with two main characters, working separately, but to the same sort of aims. They work to remove the monsters from their surroundings. One is Brent, a former soldier, police officer and FBI agent, who now works as a PI. He is haunted by something he saw in Mosul, whilst trying to save his team and the death of his twin brother, Danny. The other is Travis, a former priest and member of the church’s monster hunting elite warrior priests group called The Sinistram, who currently helps run St Dismas Centre for the homeless, whilst hunting monsters with his contacts.

The name for Travis’ contacts are the Night Vigil. They work at night when monsters of all kinds are more active. Most of the members of the Vigil team are oddballs, loners, who have all suffered some sort of suffering in their lives or have some sort of magic or power that they didn’t know how to control when younger and caused pain to others. They work on the Vigil team to help make up for their pasts or to help with the painful memories.

Travis left the Sinistram, without their consent and they want him back. Brent is also wanted by a government group called CHARON, who also hunt monsters, but on a huge scale. It seems they may have to team up, as a larger threat is coming. There are multiple disappearances, suicides and over blown shows of grief, all along a particular part of one highway and the unusual activity seems to be centered around a couple of towns, one now deserted. Something big is working up the level of evil in the area.

The events are all leading to something so much bigger than Travis and his team or Brent have ever dealt with before! All they can do is their best and go down fighting if need be and take down as many of the monsters as they can, whilst they do so.

This book brings together two very diverse men, in the main characters, who you would never presume knew so much about the dark side of evil all around us. The events are well described and while some of the monsters might be familiar to readers of books in the same genre, the author has also added in some unusual creatures. There are very good, detailed descriptions of how to fight each creature, built up from past experience.

A great read with lots of monster hunting and killing, mixed in with the back stories of the main characters and how they have reached the point they have. Lots of creatures of the night and evil beyond what you can imagine. I really enjoyed it and look forward to some more books with Travis, Brent and the Night Vigil team gang fighting the evils of the night.

I have read a few other books from this author and so grabbed the chance to read this ARC copy I received from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[JJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could be the best paranormal thriller I've ever read!

*** NO SPOILERS ***

This is my first read of this author's work. I'm a little surprised at some of the complaints in other reviews. As Jules from Pulp Fiction said "Allow me to retort"

I like paranormal thrillers. Like my headline says, this either the best, or darn close to it, of all that I've read. I could easily see this playing on the big screen inside my mind and I think it would render itself well if converted to film. But I digress.

There are two protagonists, starting out working from opposite ends at the same problems on their own. There is friction because each feels the other is an interference with their work. Their different histories, backgrounds and skills makes seeing eye to eye that much more difficult. Eventually the forces they are facing are of such a magnitude that for them to succeed, they must work together. Still, it is an uneasy alliance. The plot lines of individual problems with paranormal forces begin to converge indicating something much larger than they realized. As they and their associates continue to deal with the individual problems popping up, their collective research provides clues as to what is happening and how little time they have to counter it. Worse, unlike the individual problems they've been handling, there is no clear path to follow on whether their approach is correct, or if correct will be in time. Win, lose, or draw, there's no guarantee whether any or all of them will walk away unscathed, or even at all.

I found the intertwining of classic folklore from the area, myths and legends from the old country, postulation about institutional forces that may play a role, and the various individual abilities of friends of one of the protagonists to be interesting and I thought it worked quite well. No individual piece could do much on their own, but the sum of their contributions results in a greater than expected result. I thought the character development did what it needed to do to convey the story and did that successfully, though some others wanted more.

I did have one disappointment, though it does not affect the five stars of my review. This tale is listed as Book one of one. I think there is great potential for some or any combination of the leads and supporting cast members to carry additional paranormal stories, and I sincerely hope the author considers giving us readers more.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in paranormal thrillers. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Deborah Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Gail Z. Martin through her #HoldOnToTheLight campaign and was curious to see what kind of fiction she writes (there’s a lot of it, which is a good thing because she’s very good!) I didn’t know that Sons of Darkness is tied into several of her other series, but no prior experience was necessary to enjoy this story.

Martin is highly experienced in her genre and handles pacing, tension, character development, and a host of new twists on old horror themes with deceptive ease that makes for a smooth, fast-paced reading experience.

The book revolves around two men who are both mirrors of one another and distinct individuals. Travis Dominick, ex-priest, psychic medium, and former member of a secret Vatican order of demon hunts, encounters Brent Lawson, vet, ex-cop, ex-FBI agent, former member of a supernatural-black-ops, and surviving twin whose ghost brother hangs around, trying to make contact. Travis’s first thought about Brent as he rescues him from a psi-vampire is: There’s a newbie out there who thinks he’s Van Helsing.

Soon, however, the two overcome their animosity to work together as supernatural invasions mount and a pattern emerges: every fifty years, a hell gate opens and increasingly terrible disasters feed the spirit dwelling there, climaxing in a horrific blood bath.

One of the challenges of writing a stand-alone book within a series, or linked to other series, is the balance between giving the new reader all the necessary background, developing the characters well enough, and yet not boring readers who are already familiar with the cast and setting. Martin does a fine job here, and although not every secondary character came fully alive for me, I always knew enough about them each time they were mentioned so as to not be confused. As I mentioned earlier, the handling of exposition, action, and pacing was top-notch, except for a couple of minor bobbles late in the book when a small but essential piece of action happened (unnecessarily, I thought) off-stage, but these flaws were minor compared to the overall pleasure of the story.

Now that I’m hooked on Travis, Brent, and the crew, I’ll be looking to follow their previous and future adventures with anticipation.

The usual disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book, but no one bribed me to say anything in particular about it, one way or the other.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sons of Darkness is a great start to another Gail Z. Martin series. Urban Fantasy is one of my most favorite genres and this is a very fun addition to the genre. I loved the serious side to this story with Travis and Brent both treating hunting monsters as a calling. Both guys have had some special training and have their personal scars that motivate them to protect society in general from these monsters.

Travis is ex-clergy and that made him extra interesting. He’s got his solid reasons for leaving the church but much of it has stayed with him. Brent is ex-military and much of that has also stayed with him. Basically, both these guys have a lot of baggage and they work it out by taking down monsters. lol Maybe not what a therapist would suggest but it makes for a great story.

One of the main themes in this tale is grief and what it can drive people to do. Some process grief better or faster or in a more healthy way than others. Those that struggle with loss also struggle with other supernatural entities in this story. This is a more subtle attack than the guys are used to tackling and it takes them some time to find a way to successfully push back the darkness.

Meanwhile, we learn their favorite burger toppings and preferred donut. Ha! I enjoyed the humor and these little touches of normalcy. I also liked how there’s a few nods to another Gail Z. Martin series with the references to Simon Kincaide, from the Deadly Curiosities series (which I quite enjoy). Overall, it was a fun, well balanced supernatural mystery. If you’re a fan of The Dresden Files or the Kitty Norville series, then I think you would enjoy this book. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer is always a joy to listen to. He does this book justice. I really liked his serious, no-nonsense voice for Travis and his regional accent for Brent. Kafer was excellent with the emotional scenes where people are dealing with grief. I also liked his little old lady voice. The pacing was perfect & there were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Gail Z. Martin. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of SONS OF DARKNESS: A NIGHT VIGIL NOVEL
by Gail Z. Martin

What an exciting, adventurous, magnetic urban fantasy! So glad SONS OF DARKNESS is the first of a series, and I for one cannot wait! Brent and Travis are demon-kickin', vulnerable, guilt-ridden, grief-laden, past-baggaged, heroes; but they are so good at it! I just want to start reading all over again at Page One because I adore this novel!

Night Vigil is a loosely-knit organization of individuals who have psychic and or/magical gifts, of whatever stripe, who have not had training in those gifts and consequently have failed, made serious mistakes, perhaps cost lives, and so forth. So they band together to do whatever they can, using their gifts, to fight evil and supernatural intrusion. Travis is a former priest, also a former agent of the covert Vatican agency Sinistram, and is now director of a halfway house in Pittsburgh. He also spends his nights (and sometimes days) hunting demons.

Brent was eighteen when his parents and twin brother were brutally destroyed by demons. He went straight into the military, then the Pittsburgh police department, and is now a licensed private investigator—who also hunts demons.

Their first encounter is grisly and testosterone-laden; but after Brent's dead twin Daddy contacts Travis, who is also a medium, the two agree to partner to counteract what appears to be a cycle of inhuman evil centering about an abandoned mining town in North Central Pennsylvania.

[Jessica Bronder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travis Dominick was a priest that fought the paranormal but he had a change of heart and is no longer a priest. He still uses his abilities and a network of others that he has helped to stop the things that go bump in the night. Recently he has noticed that women have been disappearing along a stretch of highway related to a black pickup truck. He has also found that bad things have been happening in the smaller surrounding area.

Brent Lawson is a former ops soldier/cop that has turned private investigator. After a run in of his own Brent seems to be a demon magnate. Although he prefers to work alone his, dead brother is telling him that to survive what is to come, he better team up with Travis.

Both men work together well and have one heck of a mess to deal with and surprisingly work well together. I felt for Travis with everything he went through but glad that he is still trying to help others after his past. Brent is pig headed but compliments Travis well. And the nasty demon mess, they have their work cut out for them.

I absolutely love Gail Z. Martin’s stories and am super happy to be part of this tour. If you like paranormal stories you need to check this one out. I can’t wait for the next book in the series but I think I can keep myself happy by reading others books that Gail is written.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to listen to and post an honest review.

[Iain Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to the book one in an exciting new series Night Vigil. Not had much exposure to urban fantasy so this is a fairly new genre to me, so as little as i have to compare this too i really enjoyed this first in the series.

A fairly easy to follow storyline, mixed in with believable action and if there was music I could hear a rock soundtrack from start to finish

Both leading characters were troubled but very well written and although we find out a little about each man, I would love to know more and hope than we learn more back story as this series progress.

As you all know I’m a very visual listener and this was a journey , the scenes and locations all came alive in my imagination as I listened along.

Let’s talk about the artwork for a second, so vivid as you can see from the banner and picture, it’s a visual feast.

Let’s welcome the narrator of this fine tale , a new name to me but someone I will definitely want to hear more from, Jeffery Kafer, his tone and way he reads the story and characters, every word sets the scenes perfectly.

Gail is a new author to me , but I like her writing style is straight to the point and weather the research was real or fictional a lot of work went into the background and characters and creatures . If you are looking for something that bit different to distract you from wherever your head may be then I recommend this as a good starting point.

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gail Z. Martin is a new author for me, but based on her Sons of Darkness: A Night Vigil Novel, I’m promising myself that we will become well acquainted. I loved the world-building in this book as it came off as totally realistic despite the paranormal / fantasy elements so intrinsic to the story. I also loved the whole concept of the Night Vigil, a loosely organized group of “misfits and the muck-ups”, each with psychic and or/magical gifts, who are atoning for past actions by taking on the evil infesting the back areas of society and preying on its easy marks and desperate souls. Add to that a couple of superb leads, Travis Dominick (a demon-hunting ex-priest) and Brent Lawson (an ex-special ops operator turned monster-hunter) and a superb cast and you’ve the makings for a superb and exciting thriller of a novel, which is cooked to perfection thanks to top-notch writing. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises - the book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, it is easy to highly recommend and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author.

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so good, i loved to discover how Travis and Brent met and started working together, it was very informative and the story full of different creatures and with high level of tension was really fabulous!!

I do love how the different groups interact together like Brent calling Mark ( from the spells, salt and steel series) and travis calling Simon kindcaid or receiving money from Sorren ( deadly curiosities) it just makes me want to discover more and more.

Travis is an ex-priest from a powerful group but he chooses to leave not happy with the way the sinistram acted. Helping people during the day, fighting demons and other creatures during the night he sure needs help and while the Night Vigils , people aware of the paranormal existence and keeping watch, do help he needs someone to protect his back.

Brent is ex military, hunted by the death of his twin by a demon he is not a demon hunter but going solo is not doing great for him so when the situation get worse the ghost of his brother ask him to watch over Travis to save the world....

high tension, lot of action, friendship starting on rocking start this is just a great book but i do think it's better if you read spells salt and steel first.

to be recommended

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

4.5 stars

Travis and Brent are WOW characters. They both have troubled backgrounds and monster-hunting is a calling/side-gig for them. Although they certainly butt heads in the beginning, when push came to shove they have an interesting partnership. The plot has a lot of interwoven threads moving through it, but they all work together to make a very intriguing story. I'll be looking forward to seeing what Travis and Brent will need to face in the next story.

If you haven't read any of Gail Z. Martin's other books (or any of her books under Morgan Brice) make sure you check out the author's note at the end for additional titles/series that have some overlap with this story. It's mostly characters or mentions of other things that overlap, so you don't have to read the other books to enjoy this story (but why would you want to miss out on other great stories!).

[Joyffree · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intense action-packed fantasy adventure!
The story opens with Travis in a warehouse about to talk down a big bad vamp hybrid when out of nowhere some under educated over ambitious do-gooder sprouts from the woodwork throwing all his hard work down the drain - now he has to decide between saving the blonde, who is no longer holding his own, or continuing his mission. Darn if being a retired priest doesn't mess up one's morals.
And that was just the opening scene
Action 🗸
Conflict 🗸
Adventure 🗸
Monsters 🗸
Laughter 🗸
Angst 🗸
This has it all - I was drawn in from the opening scene and not once was I disappointed, made for an all-nighter read.
Copious twists and dotted breadcrumb trails lead our main characters on an intense trail to stop a dark entity before it strikes again and leaves us with clues as to the next adventure.
This was a first in series and I am excited to see where the author takes our heroes
I read a comp copy

[Sirbooksage · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 Stars. The start of a new urban fantasy series, set in the same Alliance world we were introduced to in Gail Z. Martin's Deadly Curiosity series. I was curious to see how these stories would work, not being centered around Cassidy Kincaide and Charleston, SC. And I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed Travis and Brett as circumstances pushed them to team up to hunt down demons and try to avert a looming catastrophe. Between their different experiences dealing with the demonic, and their different abilities, they look like they'll make good business partners in combating the supernatural and I look forward to the next installment.

[A.L. Kaplan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ex-priest Travis Dominick, and ex-special ops soldier Brent Lawson have both been disillusioned by their former employers and struck out on their own to battle demons, monsters, and nasty things that go bump in the night -- Until they discover that they’re both working on the same case from different angles.
Sons of Darkness is a fast-paced mystery/paranormal/adventure that keeps you on your toes. At its heart, it is about moving beyond the pain of the past and embracing who you’ve become. Not to mention learning that sometimes, having a friend at your back is not only a good idea, it’s essential.
I can’t wait to read C.H.A.R.O.N., the next book in the series.

[Tawnya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this since I enjoyed other books by the authors. It just reminded me way too much of the TV show “Supernatural”, which isn’t a bad thing since I loved it. I read a lot of UF and even though almost all of the books in that genre will hew towards the show, this was VERY closer to it than I’ve seen. I wish I could explain it better. I enjoyed many of the secondary characters, my favorite being Ryan. I did like the Easter Eggs. I have wanted to give Deadly Curiosities a try, but there are too many for me to attempt. I bought both this book and the sequel, so hopefully I’ll enjoy the second one more.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sons of Darkness by Gail Z. Martin is a well written story with badass characters that are well developed as are the creatures that go bump in the night. The plot and world building are spot on and excellent. Travis and Brent dislike each other but must work together to defeat the creatures and scary beings. I was drawn into the story and kept turning pages to see what was coming next. Am looking forward to the next book with these characters and in this world. A phenomenal read that I highly recommend. Received a copy from Hidden Gems and this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Travis and Brent join forces after they keep running into each other while hunting some of the creatures of darkness. They are both drawn to the same area east of Pittsburgh that has a 50 year cycle of disasters and is building up to another climax soon. Joining forces with other members of the Night Vigil, they attempt to try and head off a major fire. But first, they have a creepy Silverado to locate and the nexus of the disaster to pinpoint. Read Sons of Darkness and find out if they succeed. And survive!