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Alison Brownstone #4

The Family Business

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The Bitch is Back

Alison’s powers are restored, and her magic is sizzling

Dark Wizards gather in Seattle for a meeting. Alison isn't about to let them set up business in her town.

Her friends have her back, even if one of them may be a traitor.

A dark wizard escapes the raid. Doesn’t he realize a Brownstone won't give up?

After he frees the Fremont troll, Alison has to think fast to protect innocents. But wrangling a stone giant wasn’t on her agenda.

Sometimes it's your team that gives you strength.

THE FAMILY BUSINESS is the fourth magic-filled adventure in the Alison Brownstone series. Click "Buy Now" to start reading.


316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2019

670 people are currently reading
190 people want to read

About the author

Judith Berens

78 books199 followers
Judith Berens is a figment of your imagination, made up of the fevered brainpower of Michael Anderle and Martha Carr, fueled by a lot of people helping them out - as well as all of you, The Fans. Great stories mixed with a lot of great readers equals more adventures to follow.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
528 (59%)
4 stars
259 (29%)
3 stars
87 (9%)
2 stars
7 (<1%)
1 star
4 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
Profile Image for Frank Bertino.
1,771 reviews20 followers
February 11, 2019
Great Book, Great Series

Alison builds her team, strengthens her body and magic. Dark wizards intrude, but Alison looks forward to an up close and personal conversation with them. I like the action, humor, and romance. Will she be able to make her plans of making things better for people come to fruition. I look forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Katy.
1,495 reviews10 followers
January 22, 2024
Book four was a really good read. It was slower paced than the previous book, but there was more detailing about Alison's budding Security business shown, along with her attempts at cooking! Lol

The main event in this story, involved Black Wizards, a mole in the PDA, and the Giant Troll under the Seattle bridge. All nicely exciting, as usual.

Alison's visit to Scott Carlyle,bin prison, feels ominously foreshadowing, so that'll be an interesting thing to look out for in future books in this series - though I might be wrong, as I frequently am! Lol

But I'm really intrigued by Myna, the ancient Drow woman, who formerly served Alison's birth mother, and now insists on tutoring Alison. I have some thoughts about her, so I'm looking forward to finding out if I was right, or not, as the case may be.

I have a feeling that she used her own life force, in order to cure Alison of the AMDS Virus, and I hope I'll find out soon, in the next book, as it seems that she's nearer her ending than Alison realises. I guess we shall see.

Talking of the next book, this is book four: 'The Brownstone Effect ', and it already looks like Seattle is reacting to this, already! Lol

I'm eager to find out, so I'll just finish this review, then I'll make a start at reading this next book and, once I have, I'll catch you on the flip side, to let you know what I thought of it!
1,559 reviews4 followers
March 31, 2019
Another magical adventure

This series really has me enjoying the characters and their crazy adventures. I didn't give this a 5 rating because I was left wondering about something. Mason get a disguise as Alison. He goes in the building and is on the floor where everything starts to go down. But we never hear about him again. He doesn't seem to help with the fight that breaks out or anything. I'm still wondering where he went and why he was left on the floor and ignored after he says I've reached the floor. It really is a fun read if you like quirky and imaginative adventures. I just found that sometimes I'm left with half finished thoughts that got lost. I'm all in with these characters. I find that I like them more with every book.
Profile Image for PJ.
45 reviews
January 31, 2023
It’s an interesting concept but 4 books in and a few things stand out….

1. Alison blasts through everything with absolutely no effort. What’s the point?
2. Constant references to her school days, father, and referring to herself as the dark princess get old fast.
3. Her core group of friends don’t do much other than tell her she’s awesome.

To keep me reading the series the characters are gonna have to gain MUCH more depth. Especially the vapid princess. I left this book wondering why anyone would like or want to hang out with her unless they were attracted to her powers.
377 reviews3 followers
January 31, 2019
Yet another 5 star read from Martha Carr

My only gripe about this book, or any others about Alison is that they are over to quickly. Then you have to wait days and days, sometimes even a week or three for the next one.
I guess a review should say something about the book, ok, it was bloody good.
Alison is showing signs that her feats may even surpass those of the granite ghost.
So looking forward to the next episode.
1,196 reviews17 followers
February 8, 2019
Another stellar book in the series.

This is another great book, I enjoy the characters tremendously they all seem to be growing and developing within the storyline. The action is great and it’s good to see that Allison has not lost a brownstone influence i.e. her guns. The series is a fun read and I urge everyone to go ahead and give it a try start from the first book so you don’t miss any of the action.Eagerly awaiting the next book.
Profile Image for Trish R..
1,772 reviews58 followers
December 3, 2020
This was a very exciting one. Between Alison, Hana, Mason and Tahir taking on the dark wizards and a group who thought the New Veil were good guys, instead of the evil terrorists they were and then having to rescue her friend Agent Latherby, Alison and her team were pretty busy this time.

No sex, not one kiss, but Alison and Mason are an item now, and the F-bomb was used 16 times.

As for the narration: Kate Rudd is so awesome!
Profile Image for Ari (Head in a Book).
1,366 reviews116 followers
December 8, 2021
Alison is such a powerful heroine and I love how the security team is kind of like a new family.
I don't like Mason, ok, I'm sorry, he's boring and also I just think him and Alison have no chemistry.
He was kind of useless, especially in regards to one of the fights that occurred, he did nothing whatsoever.
Great boyfriend material, totally, that was sarcasm by the way.
Feel free to disagree though.
Profile Image for Veronica.
1,014 reviews5 followers
February 2, 2019
Just like cockroaches....

...there is always another one! The dark wizards are up to no good again, and Alison needs her new skills as well as her team to defeat a troll. Of course, there is always more to it than it seems at first, and Alison and her team can’t rest for long!

Another hilarious, action-packed adventure 🙂
122 reviews
March 4, 2019
Great book

Each book in the series has improved and this one did keep me up trying to finish it. Packed with action, magic, magical creatures and the imagination of the authors. I think I live on a different planet as some of this stuff I couldn’t dream dream up, which all adds up to a great read.
Profile Image for Mike Lewis.
1,761 reviews8 followers
March 12, 2019
Awesome Siri’s

And awesome urban fantasy action adventure series. A great cast of characters in a world where magic has returned. One series in a group of series written by several authors that all have crossover characters and combined timelines and arcs. Check them all out they are all entertaining
139 reviews
September 23, 2020
Great read!

Allison and the crew are back and better than ever. With the virus gone, Allison is back to her full power and even has an ancient drow to help her learn and enhance her magic. Dark wizards descend on Seattle and an old friend jumps in to help out the team. Plots abound and ass kicking is given, and I am off to read the next one!
Profile Image for Tracy T..
1,023 reviews24 followers
March 9, 2021
Another fun listen (audible review)

I am enjoying these Alison Brownstone books. They are so much fun.

I really am enjoying the action and adventures. I absolutely love Hana the nine tailed fox.

Magical fun all around.

The narration by Kate Rudd is perfect. She does a fantastic job with all the voices. She brings these characters to life!
Profile Image for George  Lawson.
515 reviews1 follower
January 31, 2019
Another great time with Alison and friends

Lots of action and add kicking in this. Alison takes on a slew of black wizards and gets to share with Izzie. Giant stone trolls enter into the mix and Alison still manages to get it handled.
Profile Image for Lois Alston.
1,864 reviews3 followers
February 3, 2019
Another outstanding story

Alison is truly making her mark on Seattle and making it her city. This story has lots of action, adventure, danger, and romance. A reunion with an old friend.
138 reviews1 follower
February 5, 2019
Wonderful

Another wonderful Allison and company book with multiple azz-kicking missions. Dark wizards, Russian Mafia, a PDA mole, more Dark wizards, and a Mountain Strider (not necessarily in that order) oh my! Brava, Judith Berens, you're a treasure. 😊
197 reviews
February 11, 2019
Book 4 keeps up the pace and action

There aren't many series you can find that can maintain the level of action, involving storylines that are as gripping or creative. This book continues the concept and expands it to a higher level. I am hoping to find a book 5 soon.
99 reviews1 follower
February 17, 2019
Another good one

I like that Allison thinks beyond kicking ass. Being able to work with others who are not like you and the desire to have people work together should be a goal for both fictional and non fictional beings
Profile Image for Diane A. Kordelski.
89 reviews2 followers
March 4, 2019
FAR Beyond GREAT.!!

Another FANTASTIC, Skydiving level of EXCITEMENT!! This is another Great Series, keep them coming, PLEASE !!! This 72 year old veteran REALLY enjoys ALL the series that spin from the Kurtherians.
95 reviews
March 5, 2019
Like Father, Like Daughter...

Alison Brownstone and her adventures just keep getting better! I cannot wait to see what happens next! As a matter of fact, I have the next book and am ready to dive in. Keep them coming!
72 reviews
March 18, 2019
Alison keeps getting better

Lots of cool adventures, as usual. The team is becoming more like a family. Great writing lets you get to know all the characters and I love them all! Definitely worth reading.
37 reviews
April 10, 2019
Diatribe...

I love the series..my attention span was thoroughly taxed during the extended monologue at the prison. I rushed through just too get it over with I hope I didn't miss anything.
577 reviews
June 9, 2019
A combination of what's happening

As I have said before Allison's story continues to draw the attention of the reader.The characters are progressing with responding to each other and their own growth. Defiantly setting the tones for thing's to come.
Profile Image for Tony Hisgett.
3,013 reviews36 followers
July 29, 2019
The book has some excellent ratings and reviews and it did have some interesting moments, but to be honest I found most of the first half of the book a bit boring. It did improve later, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous couple of books.
Profile Image for Camilla.
1,464 reviews9 followers
January 15, 2020
These books are genuinely okay but they're not very exciting to me. Alison spends a lot of time telling people who she is and what she's going to do to them and then she does it. Not terribly clever stuff and she's yet to face a villain strong enough to even scare her, let alone defeat her.
271 reviews1 follower
February 22, 2020
No words

I cannot convey just how much I love these books. I first came across this series when I started with The School Of Necessary Magic, and my love of these books has grown from there. I cannot stop reading them
235 reviews3 followers
April 23, 2020
Still really awesome!

The story of Alison Brownstone continues to impress me. I love how she keeps getting into interesting situations. That she and her crew figure novel ways to solve. I'll continue reading this series as long as it lasts.
718 reviews6 followers
June 6, 2020
Excellent!

Marvelous bad guys, good action, and of course the characters are great. I wonder, is Mason going to be a deep plant for the bad guys? Something about if it sounds too good to be true......
543 reviews2 followers
January 30, 2019
Magically good

A magically good story. Alison really kicks butt and takes names in this one. Also , a surprise appearance by an old friend. A 5 star read .
68 reviews
January 31, 2019
Awesome!

Love this book! Love this series! I thank Martha and Michael for the many hours of enjoyment Oriceran and it's stories have given me. Keep writing! I will keep reading!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews

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