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Ghostly Shadows #5
The Hellbound Detective
He’s on the path to hell, but does he have a shot at salvation? Algernon Swafford has returned to the city of his birth. Only now London is bombed out and on its knees. Deep down Swafford feels the same. This once great private detective is a wreck. He’s trapped in the employ of a demon of a man. One skilled in other-worldly magic, who revels in every sin and depravity. However, on the brutal streets of an English winter, Swafford spies a chance to save himself. His master has enemies and these enemies have their own powers. He can use them to save himself. But can he do it without them using him? Suddenly caught in the middle of an other-worldly conflict on London’s streets, Swafford knows if he can hold his nerve and keep himself alive, he might just have a chance at saving his soul. First though, he’ll have to face creatures from the darkest part of man’s imagination… Can Swafford rescue himself? Or will he be damned for eternity? Noir, fantasy and horror collide in this superb new supernatural thriller. An absolute must read! A STANDALONE instalment in the Ghostly Shadows Anthology series!
156 pages, Paperback
Published June 16, 2020
25 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
F.R. Jameson
37 books224 followersF.R. Jameson was born in Wales, but now lives in London with his wife and young daughter. He writes both historical thrillers and supernatural thrillers.
His books are, at the moment, mostly sorted into two different – but complimentary – series. The first, ‘Screen Siren Noir’, currently comprises of three novels: ‘Diana Christmas’, ‘Eden St. Michel’ and ‘Alice Rackham’. All of which tell the stories of beautiful British film stars caught up in Noir tales of blackmail, obsession, scandal and death. He is currently working on both the fourth and fifth books in the series.
The second series is more disturbing and scary, and lives under the moniker: ‘Ghostly Shadows’. Right now there is only one book published, a tale of supernatural revenge – ‘Death at the Shadows’. However, 2019 will bring four more entries to terrify and intrigue.
His blog - https://frjameson.com/ - is regularly updated with information about his writing, as well as film and book reviews. You can follow him @frjameson on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and you can find him on Facebook.
His books are, at the moment, mostly sorted into two different – but complimentary – series. The first, ‘Screen Siren Noir’, currently comprises of three novels: ‘Diana Christmas’, ‘Eden St. Michel’ and ‘Alice Rackham’. All of which tell the stories of beautiful British film stars caught up in Noir tales of blackmail, obsession, scandal and death. He is currently working on both the fourth and fifth books in the series.
The second series is more disturbing and scary, and lives under the moniker: ‘Ghostly Shadows’. Right now there is only one book published, a tale of supernatural revenge – ‘Death at the Shadows’. However, 2019 will bring four more entries to terrify and intrigue.
His blog - https://frjameson.com/ - is regularly updated with information about his writing, as well as film and book reviews. You can follow him @frjameson on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and you can find him on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 16, 2020
Algernon Swafford was once a great private detective, but now he works reluctantly for Ravens & Ravens is more demon than man.
FR Jameson dishes up another fine horror story, this time set in post war London. The Hellbound Detective may be as violent as a Clive Barker novel (& with a similar title!) but Jameson's characters have more depth to them. The author puts believable people in fantastic situations, & creates a perfect balance of horror, fantasy & noir crime.
FR Jameson dishes up another fine horror story, this time set in post war London. The Hellbound Detective may be as violent as a Clive Barker novel (& with a similar title!) but Jameson's characters have more depth to them. The author puts believable people in fantastic situations, & creates a perfect balance of horror, fantasy & noir crime.
January 4, 2025
Entertaining
The Hellbound Detective
By F.R. Jameson
This was an eerie story of a man forced to be a servant, and his duties include feeding people to a monster! That is only the start.
The Hellbound Detective
By F.R. Jameson
This was an eerie story of a man forced to be a servant, and his duties include feeding people to a monster! That is only the start.
August 5, 2020
Noir, fantasy and horror collide in this superb new supernatural thriller.
Available now!
Available now!
January 7, 2022
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
All I need to know is that Jameson has put out a new book. I didn’t read the description. I didn’t even look at the cover until after I had read the full book and let it sink in. The description doesn’t mention the best parts of this book at all.
I am a huge fan of Ravens, both husband and wife. I am so fascinated by them. This book sheds some light on the history of them and makes them, for lack of a better phrase, more human. This more human quality makes them that much more terrifying. Nothing is scarier than knowing what another human is really capable of. Yeah, demons and hellfire are scary when done right. But humans stick with me in a different way. Humans are what haunt my nightmares. Jameson is able to toe the line between human and monster in a way that is brilliant and keeps me coming back for more.
This is not a true detective novel for me. There may be a detective lead, but he is secondary to the plot. He may be the narrator, but why would I care about him when the Ravens are around? I am just so fascinated by them that nothing else compares. I need to know more. Is there a meaning behind that ruby? Is there anyone that can stand up to the male Raven? Where did the vampire character come from? I NEED MORE.
The horror is a bit more subdued in this one. It was a longer, plot driven story. The horror felt cathartic and consuming. It would not have worked if the story were shorter. It had to build to give the full power of what really happened. I just loved the ending. Jameson doesn’t rely on gore or shock factor to have horror. There may be gore, but there is always an intense psychological horror to it. The psychological horror is what gets me every time.
This is the first book where I have had issues with grammar. There were repeated issues with switching pronouns to “it”. This is probably a personal issue as using “it” as a pronoun is often done with transphobic intent. This was clearly not the intent of the author, but it did take me out of the story. The “it” pronoun was only ever attributed to non-human entities and only after they were exposed as monsters. It was never done as a way to give me any indication of tranphobia, but the mind connects dots even without cause.
Overall, a wonderful read. It was captivating, scary, and just made me need more.
I got an ARC of this book.
All I need to know is that Jameson has put out a new book. I didn’t read the description. I didn’t even look at the cover until after I had read the full book and let it sink in. The description doesn’t mention the best parts of this book at all.
I am a huge fan of Ravens, both husband and wife. I am so fascinated by them. This book sheds some light on the history of them and makes them, for lack of a better phrase, more human. This more human quality makes them that much more terrifying. Nothing is scarier than knowing what another human is really capable of. Yeah, demons and hellfire are scary when done right. But humans stick with me in a different way. Humans are what haunt my nightmares. Jameson is able to toe the line between human and monster in a way that is brilliant and keeps me coming back for more.
This is not a true detective novel for me. There may be a detective lead, but he is secondary to the plot. He may be the narrator, but why would I care about him when the Ravens are around? I am just so fascinated by them that nothing else compares. I need to know more. Is there a meaning behind that ruby? Is there anyone that can stand up to the male Raven? Where did the vampire character come from? I NEED MORE.
The horror is a bit more subdued in this one. It was a longer, plot driven story. The horror felt cathartic and consuming. It would not have worked if the story were shorter. It had to build to give the full power of what really happened. I just loved the ending. Jameson doesn’t rely on gore or shock factor to have horror. There may be gore, but there is always an intense psychological horror to it. The psychological horror is what gets me every time.
This is the first book where I have had issues with grammar. There were repeated issues with switching pronouns to “it”. This is probably a personal issue as using “it” as a pronoun is often done with transphobic intent. This was clearly not the intent of the author, but it did take me out of the story. The “it” pronoun was only ever attributed to non-human entities and only after they were exposed as monsters. It was never done as a way to give me any indication of tranphobia, but the mind connects dots even without cause.
Overall, a wonderful read. It was captivating, scary, and just made me need more.
June 16, 2020
Some paths you take in life can make you feel trapped but there's always the possibility of a glimmer of hope of finally escaping the drudgery, as shown in The Hellbound Detective by F.R. Jameson.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Private detective Algernon Swafford returns to London from his adopted home of Los Angeles beaten down and trapped in a brutal work relationship with his employer Jacob Ravens, that seems to have reduced his ability to be his own man, as he has so proudly claimed in the past. When an opportunity to save himself from his bleak situation arises, he's keen to seize it despite it placing him in the middle of a conflict between Ravens and his enemies. In order to succeed, Swafford will need to face fantastic creatures, but will it be enough to free him?
Building out the larger narrative universe established by Jameson, this story explores the interaction of some familiar characters of Algernon Swafford, Emilia Ravens, and Jacob Ravens in new contexts that are interwoven with imaginative and haunting supernatural elements and helps to provide some background for circumstances presented in the other tales that comprise this world. There's a lot of action that develops over the course of a brief amount of time, making it a bit of a stretch to suspend disbelief, but as otherworldly aspects are part of this world, the fluidity of time's passage could play a role with the supernatural powers and beings portrayed. As the story moves swiftly, it creates a rather dark atmosphere of uncertainty and desperation that easily speaks to the motivations for the actions each character takes throughout the course of the story.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Private detective Algernon Swafford returns to London from his adopted home of Los Angeles beaten down and trapped in a brutal work relationship with his employer Jacob Ravens, that seems to have reduced his ability to be his own man, as he has so proudly claimed in the past. When an opportunity to save himself from his bleak situation arises, he's keen to seize it despite it placing him in the middle of a conflict between Ravens and his enemies. In order to succeed, Swafford will need to face fantastic creatures, but will it be enough to free him?
Building out the larger narrative universe established by Jameson, this story explores the interaction of some familiar characters of Algernon Swafford, Emilia Ravens, and Jacob Ravens in new contexts that are interwoven with imaginative and haunting supernatural elements and helps to provide some background for circumstances presented in the other tales that comprise this world. There's a lot of action that develops over the course of a brief amount of time, making it a bit of a stretch to suspend disbelief, but as otherworldly aspects are part of this world, the fluidity of time's passage could play a role with the supernatural powers and beings portrayed. As the story moves swiftly, it creates a rather dark atmosphere of uncertainty and desperation that easily speaks to the motivations for the actions each character takes throughout the course of the story.
Overall, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
September 5, 2021
Algernon used to say he belonged to no man but that was until he had the misfortune of underestimating Jacob Ravens. Now trapped and forced to be Ravens' lackey, he is sent on a job to ensure a rival means to do Ravens no harm.
Lots of familiar characters resurfaced in this Ghostly Shadows short, which I completely loved. I enjoyed the interactions between Emilia and Algernon as well as new character additions of Belloc and Haberdash. Jameson does well making all these characters realistic in a world that's full of magic, wonder and horror. And even though I wasn't a huge Algernon's fan to start with, mostly because of his prejudices, I was wholeheartedly rooting for him to win his freedom from Ravens.
Lots of familiar characters resurfaced in this Ghostly Shadows short, which I completely loved. I enjoyed the interactions between Emilia and Algernon as well as new character additions of Belloc and Haberdash. Jameson does well making all these characters realistic in a world that's full of magic, wonder and horror. And even though I wasn't a huge Algernon's fan to start with, mostly because of his prejudices, I was wholeheartedly rooting for him to win his freedom from Ravens.
September 14, 2021
After his run in with Jacob Ravens that didn't go quite as planned, Algernon is now enslaved to Jacob. He's less than thrilled with his sudden change from a P. I.
He's got quite a lot to deal with if he wants to stay alive and has any hopes of saving his soul.
I've really grown to like the characters and Ravens world that unfolded in this series of shorts. Not to mention there were some pretty interesting creatures involved in this one as well.
I was happy to see some other past characters return for this one, Mrs. Ravens being one of them.
Overall this was a fun action read with murder, an interesting storyline and some cool creatures that came together really well.
Would definitely recommend checking out the series.
October 10, 2021
Really enjoyed this longer story bringing Jacob Ravens and some of the previous characters back, diving more into his horrid-ness. The creatures in this were super spooky for me! There were real moments of "I wonder what's going to happen" here that I appreciate. Another satisfying ending!
August 26, 2021
Interesting
I found the story interesting. There was some gore. I wonder if the guy in the story ever tried killing Ravens again.I was pleased with the book overall.
I found the story interesting. There was some gore. I wonder if the guy in the story ever tried killing Ravens again.I was pleased with the book overall.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews