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Office of Preternatural Affairs #1
Toxic Influence
Punching sorcerers, slinging spells, and trying not to get blown up.All in a day's work for the Office of Preternatural Affairs.Dashiel Rourke was never supposed to join the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He was nothing but a low-rung counterterrorism agent. A cog in the greater FBI machine. But when the poison gas attacks plaguing New York City turn out to be a little more magical than anyone expected...well, desperate times. And once he gets a lungful of that poison, it becomes personal.Now he's suited up with a magical sidearm, a seven-foot troll for a partner, and a whole lot of questions with not that many answers to go around. One thing he does know? Whoever or whatever is behind this mess, he's not going to stop until he can take them down. Even if that means hanging out with elves and hags for a little while.But Dash and the rest of the OPA don't know just how deep this goes...or how deadly the endgame is. If you like high-stakes FBI drama and higher stakes magic, check out Toxic Influence today.
- GenresUrban Fantasy
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 6, 2019
21 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 5, 2019
Can't wait for the next book!
I enjoyed this book. The characters were all very interesting. Dash is a Fed with a heart. Think Captain America as a Fed. Casey was hilarious. All of the OPA staffers were amazing. If you need to save the world, look no further than Dash and the gang.
I enjoyed this book. The characters were all very interesting. Dash is a Fed with a heart. Think Captain America as a Fed. Casey was hilarious. All of the OPA staffers were amazing. If you need to save the world, look no further than Dash and the gang.
November 14, 2019
Smart, Smart-ass, and Heroes, What's Not To Enjoy
Serious adventure, stopping bad people, and a hero and team I adore. I couldn't put down until I finished this tale. Ready NOW for book #2. Great book.
Serious adventure, stopping bad people, and a hero and team I adore. I couldn't put down until I finished this tale. Ready NOW for book #2. Great book.
June 13, 2019
Wow!
Fantastic read. I’m new to this author but I’ll be reading his books now. You’ve GOT to give this book a go.
Fantastic read. I’m new to this author but I’ll be reading his books now. You’ve GOT to give this book a go.
June 18, 2019
Awesome new world. This book was great. Barely hanging on waiting for next.
July 9, 2021
A New Kind of Hero . . .
Special Agent Dashiel Rourke (“Dash”) was a newbie counterterrorism agent for the FBI and not really part of the Office of Preternatural Affairs which handled magical threats. Right now, he was manning a walkie-talkie for incoming information from the other groups, pleased that it relieved him of coffee-run duties. Everything was “fine”, but as Dash noted when it came to terrorists, fine was… unsettling.
Carrying a magical sidearm and partnering with a seven-foot troll from the Office of Preternatural Affairs – by the name of N'Gutta of Droshheim but fortunately referred to as “Gutt” -- Dash is ready to take them all on. Gutt let everyone know he was more than qualified to handle magical incidents, and anything he was not qualified for would most likely kill everyone, so his presence would be moot at that point. Somehow that did not relax the tension. And when Gutt warned them things were about to get interesting, a sickly-looking humanoid type came around the corner with a gas mask hanging from his hip. Gutt informed them the guy was a sorcerer and growled. He also said the gas masks they had been issued were useless against the poison gas. Then Gutt called for backup. Before it arrived, the sorcerer threatened a woman and two children who should have been cleared out but instead were walking toward them. Dash and his boss fired guns on the sorcerer with no effect. Then a white smoke rose up – but it wasn’t smoke, it was the poison gas. Against orders, Dash ran toward the sorcerer to stop him from killing the family and two agents trying to get them out of the way. Where bullets had bounced off, Dash’s fist got through. Gold rings started coming at the sorcerer and Dash saw Gutt was tossing them. Dash knew he was dying anyway, so he took his pocket knife and slashed the sorcerer’s gas mask strap. The sorcerer couldn’t deflect the glowing rings, catch his mask, and stop Dash from punching him, so he disappeared. Dash held the mask to his face but the pain had started. Darkness was closing in on him and when he coughed, blood covered his hand and he passed out.
Who is behind this mess? And what are they trying to accomplish? This should have been a terrorist case, but it had turned into OPA business. But getting a breath of the poison gas in the attack on Manhattan made this personal and, if Dash survived, he vowed not to quit until they brought the bad-guys down. But right now, he hurt all over, and even more pain was coming as they tried to save him!
I enjoyed the humorous undercurrent as the story line played out. Dash was a fun character and I kept chuckling at his remarks, both to himself and to his superiors. He risked his life to save 5 people and it was obvious that Gutt had a whole new respect for him as he instructed Casey to save his life. I really did enjoy this book and the relationships that were forming with the OPA bunch. I’m hopeful that more of these books are on the way soon. I think I’m hooked on them already!
Special Agent Dashiel Rourke (“Dash”) was a newbie counterterrorism agent for the FBI and not really part of the Office of Preternatural Affairs which handled magical threats. Right now, he was manning a walkie-talkie for incoming information from the other groups, pleased that it relieved him of coffee-run duties. Everything was “fine”, but as Dash noted when it came to terrorists, fine was… unsettling.
Carrying a magical sidearm and partnering with a seven-foot troll from the Office of Preternatural Affairs – by the name of N'Gutta of Droshheim but fortunately referred to as “Gutt” -- Dash is ready to take them all on. Gutt let everyone know he was more than qualified to handle magical incidents, and anything he was not qualified for would most likely kill everyone, so his presence would be moot at that point. Somehow that did not relax the tension. And when Gutt warned them things were about to get interesting, a sickly-looking humanoid type came around the corner with a gas mask hanging from his hip. Gutt informed them the guy was a sorcerer and growled. He also said the gas masks they had been issued were useless against the poison gas. Then Gutt called for backup. Before it arrived, the sorcerer threatened a woman and two children who should have been cleared out but instead were walking toward them. Dash and his boss fired guns on the sorcerer with no effect. Then a white smoke rose up – but it wasn’t smoke, it was the poison gas. Against orders, Dash ran toward the sorcerer to stop him from killing the family and two agents trying to get them out of the way. Where bullets had bounced off, Dash’s fist got through. Gold rings started coming at the sorcerer and Dash saw Gutt was tossing them. Dash knew he was dying anyway, so he took his pocket knife and slashed the sorcerer’s gas mask strap. The sorcerer couldn’t deflect the glowing rings, catch his mask, and stop Dash from punching him, so he disappeared. Dash held the mask to his face but the pain had started. Darkness was closing in on him and when he coughed, blood covered his hand and he passed out.
Who is behind this mess? And what are they trying to accomplish? This should have been a terrorist case, but it had turned into OPA business. But getting a breath of the poison gas in the attack on Manhattan made this personal and, if Dash survived, he vowed not to quit until they brought the bad-guys down. But right now, he hurt all over, and even more pain was coming as they tried to save him!
I enjoyed the humorous undercurrent as the story line played out. Dash was a fun character and I kept chuckling at his remarks, both to himself and to his superiors. He risked his life to save 5 people and it was obvious that Gutt had a whole new respect for him as he instructed Casey to save his life. I really did enjoy this book and the relationships that were forming with the OPA bunch. I’m hopeful that more of these books are on the way soon. I think I’m hooked on them already!
September 10, 2023
This was an entertaining fantasy read. Plenty of action. I found some of the law enforcement procedure to be a bit questionable. I am a bit picky about details that involve the FBI. The world building was nicely done. No romance in the story, but a bit of flirting does happen.
Overall an entertaining read. A rewrite could smooth out a few rough edges, but the story was fun as is. I will keep an eye out for more books by this author.
Overall an entertaining read. A rewrite could smooth out a few rough edges, but the story was fun as is. I will keep an eye out for more books by this author.
July 8, 2021
This was a great way to start a series. The character work and story line were well written and kept my attention from start to finish.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
April 9, 2020
Worth a punt
When the first few lines refer to a cheesey motel as a cockroach hatchery you just know it's a funny one , good characters I really enjoyed it
When the first few lines refer to a cheesey motel as a cockroach hatchery you just know it's a funny one , good characters I really enjoyed it
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews