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Arcane Casebook #8

Hostile Takeover

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Manhattan real estate has always been to die for, but now someone is willing to kill for it and Alex Lockerby is right in their way.

When Alex steps in to stop a gang of thugs trying to bully a client into selling his house, he suddenly finds himself neck deep in a world of shady deals and organized crime. Add to that the death of a highly placed runewright that looks like murder for hire, and Alex quickly finds himself with a price on his head and a target on his back.

As Alex tries to stay one step ahead of the mob, Sorceress Sorsha Kincaid has her own problems. Cursed by the Legion, her magic is being slowly bled away, leaving her weaker and weaker. Despite Alex’s best efforts, they’ve barely managed to slow the curse down. Now Sorsha has to face the two most important questions of her life; where is her siphoned power going, and what will happen to her when it’s gone?

With time running out, Alex must navigate a twisted vortex of corporate sabotage, mob murder, and dark magic that threatens to cost him everything he holds dear.

308 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2022

216 people are currently reading
164 people want to read

About the author

Dan Willis

62 books316 followers
Dan is an award-winning, best-selling author who has been writing for most of his life. He wrote for the long running DragonLance series and has worked in the board game and video game industries as well. His current work is the Arcane Casebook series, a fantasy twist on the 1930’s noir detective story.

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5 stars
1,152 (72%)
4 stars
342 (21%)
3 stars
88 (5%)
2 stars
5 (<1%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
Profile Image for Travis Sherrod.
2 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2022
I love this series!

If you usually have the answers before the end these mysteries will keep you guessing. It’s got fully developed characters that more deeply reveal themselves with every book. Always surprising.

This book is humorous and moving. Read it!
843 reviews6 followers
October 18, 2024
I really been enjoying this Series and how the story progresses. The characters are fun and interesting and they get into so much mischief. I highly recommend this Series and I have listened to them on Audible books. Narrator does a Great job with the various characters voices and the entire storyline.
Profile Image for Mark  Thomas.
26 reviews
September 23, 2024
As always, I enjoyed the audiobook very much. The story was compelling, the protagonist is innovative and fun. This is an amazing series. Mr. Willis is an amazing author. Thanks Dan.
Profile Image for Claudia.
2,987 reviews38 followers
February 5, 2023
OMG! This was fantastic! A race against time to save Sorsha, a murdered client and an insurance case that is way more complicated than it seems.

Yes, you can bet that there isn't a moment of quiet in this story! And the major arc keeps moving forward with quite a sinister foreshadowing. You will understand how dire the future is when you learn whose help Iggy went looking for.

So, yes, as always an exciting, funny and very interesting book that left me wanting more.

That's why I'm going to listen to the next one ASAP *laughs*
Profile Image for Bryan Brown.
271 reviews9 followers
October 19, 2023
I admit it, Sorcha is growing on me as a likeable character. I'm still struggling with how deeply Alex is involved with her, but starting to wonder if it's my own childhood wounds surfacing in my feelings about that relationship. I miss Jessica and what Alex had with her, and feel like that loss should be stinging much more than it appears to be. Maybe this is a rebound relationship for Alex but I get the feeling that Willis wants Alex and Sorcha to be the featured couple.

This is definitely a fun story and as usual Alex finds himself involved with more than just one mystery. The power levels of the characters have been steadily scaling up and so too, has those of the villains. In one case Alex is asked to discover why someone is desperately buying property in new york to the point of killing someone who refused to sell. At the same time he's also hired to investigate the death of a rune wright employed by a local radio factory and to try to figure out how to remove the Gordian Rune attached to Sorcha that is steadily draining away her magic and her life energy. A nice hook since we've already learned that magic can be turned into electricity, and life. A fun extension to the conservation of energy laws of physics.

Only two of the three end up being connected, and the third one allows Alex to have a grand detective moment where all the suspects, and interested parties are invited to a meeting where Alex gets to use his showmanship to unravel the mystery and also to negotiate a settlement between everyone that gives most of them some of what they want. It also gives Alex a new income stream. He's becoming pretty rich it appears.

There are a few sections where we jump out of Alexs point of view and I find those jarring. But I can see why Willis did it. There is no plausible way for Alex to be in any of those scenes, and they do add to the readers understanding of the world and the motivations of several of the characters. One more fun note on this one is that Dr Bell, Iggy if you will, has grown suspicious of the character called Moriarty and makes efforts to learn more. A clear foreshadowing of what is to come.

The book ends with Hitler invading Austria in the run up to WWII and its strongly suggested that everything that is happening around Alex will be greatly effected by world wide events.

Will I read more? Yes for sure. I have the next one on the nightstand already. Also, my wife talked with him at a writers conference and he sent home an Arcane Irregulars pin for me which was super nice. Interestingly enough, it fits perfectly into a spot on my 1980's style Battlestar Galactica jacket so it is now in a place of honor.
Profile Image for Emma.
76 reviews1 follower
April 4, 2022
It gets worse as we go

Grammar, typos, wrong names, restating ideas and actions taken...

I've read the entire series to this point. The first is a fun, intriguing read. Not Dresden levels, but has promise. It slowly slides downhill from there.

Do you know what a Gary Stu is? Alex Lockerby is a Gary Stu. He's also a know it all; nothing ever goes wrong in his universe except a token trauma, just to keep the story rolling.
He's also a terrible "friend". The resolutions are too easy. The "twists" aren't real twists, and the mystery is dragged out to keep the reader engaged, when it could be solved by wonderboy in only a matter of minutes.
There are so many leaps in logic that makes it hard to keep up and stay interested.

I can usually read 2-3 books of this length in a day when I'm not doing much. I started this yesterday. Fell asleep. Tried reading this morning, fell asleep. This afternoon...fell asleep. Finally managed to finish it 5 minutes ago.
These "surprise endings"/cliffhangers are getting rather tedious.

2 stars because I've stayed this long.
Profile Image for Liv.
299 reviews7 followers
February 11, 2025
Reading Journal Details
Book: Hostile Takeover by Dan Willis
Format Read: Kindle Unlimited eBook (308 pages long)
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)

Quick Take Review
Dan Willis' Hostile Takeover expertly blends the immersive alternate history of the 1930s with an ever-evolving narrative full of fresh twists and multilayered events. Anchored by the dynamic character of Alex Lockerby and his race against time, this installment is a standout 5-star read in one of my all-time favorite series.

Full Review
The Arcane Casebook series stands as one of my top ten favorite series, brilliantly blending an authentic alternate history of the 1930s with a narrative bursting with fresh, multilayered events that contribute to an ever-expanding large picture. Dan Willis crafts a vividly immersive world where every twist and turn deepens the intrigue, and the historical details feel remarkably real.

The characters are a particular highlight, as each one is thoughtfully developed, growing alongside the whirlwind of events that propel the story forward engagingly. In particular, Alex Lockerby's race against time and his unwavering determination to master the challenges he faces infuse the novel with relentless energy and excitement, making it a truly thrilling read from start to finish.
59 reviews1 follower
March 24, 2023
Hostile Takeover

As usual, Dan Willis did an amazing job with this book. I can't recommend The Arcane Casebook series enough & while I know this comparison gets thrown around a lot, if you are fan of The Dresden Files, Alex Lockerby is a better detective & these books are better & don't need graphic sexual encounters to be better!

I can't go into detail about this book, but it definitely sets the stage for more stories to come & it feels like Alex is getting closer to another power upgrade, as well as setting the story up to possibly turn away from the detective schtick for a few novels, but I don't know that for sure, just seems like the coming storm won't involve Alex finding missing items, but he will still need his detective skills.

Go throw your cash at the screen & embark upon another amazing journey. It is way past my bedtime, so I am off to sleep! Go buy the series & thank me later!
Profile Image for Emilye.
1,552 reviews7 followers
February 2, 2025
If I Can See It…

ArcaneCasebook8

In Capital Murder, Alex and Sorsha confronted The Legion and thwarted an operation. But, in that contact, the Legion placed a power drain rune on Sorsha.

The Legion is what the British runewrights call themselves now; but when first formed they were The Whalers. They want the Archimedean Monograph. They came up with the Mind Control rune. They want political control of everything.

It has taken a lot of ingenuity and creativity on Iggy and Alex’s part to keep Sorsha alive, while they try to suss out the power drain components. And, that means their circle of trust has to widen again.

We found out that other European forces are also at work in the US - Nazi spies and agents have been met and routed, but they only have to succeed once. Fortunately, most of that energy is focused on the development of the Third Reich…

That target on Alex’s back keeps getting larger.
Profile Image for Maria.
1,220 reviews17 followers
March 6, 2023
I somehow missed cataloguing when I listened to this book back in November - the horror!!! 😱

Good thing I have a pretty steady pace and could figure out where it must have fitted in, between the other books I listened to. But I still can't believe I actually forgot to press "currently reading" on one of my absolute favourite series!

The shame is real. 😂

A gif of the Shame Nun from Game of thrones

Anyhow: I adore this series. It's just sooo good. The characters, the magic, the mysteries, the plots, the adventures, the tiny spark of romance - and the writing too.

Top the whole thing off with an awesome narrator and you have an awesome series. ✨✨✨

I so wish I had more shelf space! I would really like to have all of these books lined up as physical copies sometime in the future. 💔😣🤞✨
Profile Image for Jp.
309 reviews5 followers
March 25, 2022
When the new Dan Willis "Arcane Casebook" novels come out, I tend to clear my plate to read, because I know that I'll have trouble putting "Hostile Takeover" down and be up until the wee hours reading. This one didn't disappoint. As usual, he told an interesting self-contained story, while still moving the larger storyline forward.
I'm excited to see what's going to happen next as Willis weaves imagined history with real world historical events in this urban fantasy/mystery.
If you're not reading this series, you're missing out.
Profile Image for Jay B.
131 reviews
July 6, 2022
Good middle of the road book. Glad the author finally pulled the trigger between Alex and Sorsha. That song and dance was getting a bit old.

Think it’ll turn out Alex is taking the drug to make himself smart enough to think his way out of the problems he had this book. Kinda of a crutch and quite the deus ex machina. Hopefully Iggy picked up on it. Stage an intervention or find someway to get Moriarty to help.

The radio side story was quite dull. Felt like it was chucked in just to give Alex something unrelated to Legion to do in between the curse and the property stuff. Just so he can have his Sherlock moment. Each time it popped up I would kind of tune out until it got back to the main story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
154 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2024
Another good one

I love the writing - it almost never gets in the way of my immersion in the story. I didn't care about Sorsha so much in the 1st couple of books; but I like her more and more. All of the MCs & SCs make the stories richer and better. Dan Willis is interesting to read; the stories are well edited; he doesn't have to use nasty language or porn to sell his work. It is just pure pleasure.

The narrator is good and his style fits the stories. (I just disagree with his pronunciation of a few words - only one gives me real pain though - he slips up sometimes and says "rune" as if it were "ruin".)
7 reviews
March 22, 2022
Another great read from Dan Willis

Dan Willis is one of a very few authors that I regularly check out to find out when the next fix is coming out. I finished this latest book in under a day. What more could you want. Tough guy P.I. with a heart of gold, who happens to be a developing as a rune master. Girlfriend is a powerful sorceress, Best friend/mentor is Dr Watson of Shirlock Holmes fame, hiding out. Now throw in a bad guy group called The Legion, Nazi Germany mobilizing for war.
Profile Image for Todd.
2,256 reviews8 followers
October 20, 2022
Wow! Each book I read deeper into the series gets better. Sorsha, Alex's maybe girlfriend and sorceress, has a Gordian Knot of combined runes attached to her since the events at the end of the previous book.
This rune is the work of the Legion, a evil group of powerful runewrights and is siphoning off her magic and her life force.
This is the thing hanging over Alex and Iggy's heads as they navigate the other events of the story. Alex has 2 cases to solve and one of them involves the Legion.
Profile Image for Vanessa St.Onge.
64 reviews
August 28, 2023
While reading this book, I realized how absolutely in awe I am of Dan Willis' ability to write such complex mystery stories. Seriously, the way his world has grown from book one to this one is impressive. With each new layer it gets more and more complicated and intertwined, much like the Gordian runes he mentions here. I am sad that I am almost finished with the series as it currently stands. I don't want it to end, and I don't want to wait for more stories. Like a spoiled child I want them NOW!
Profile Image for Laura Garrison.
78 reviews
April 3, 2022
New adventures for Alex, Iggy and Sorcha

I really love this series. It blends early 20th century facts with a fantastic urban fantasy. Hostile Takeover is fast paced and although there appears to be multiple story lines they come together in the end. I love the character of Sorcha and have been intrigued with her relationship with Alex and the other Sorcerers. Can't wait for the next book.
137 reviews4 followers
May 7, 2022
Excellent Read!

This series keeps getting better with each book. Really unique and complex plots, superb characterization, and the sense of place in an alternate world is always consistent and well done. Each book pulls you in… Dan Willis and his Arcane Casebook series is among a few authors whose books I buy as soon as they’re available. Keep writing these, Dan! And thanks for another great read!
137 reviews
May 19, 2022
Best one yet

I really like the way the story arc is becoming more complex. Hopefully this means the books will become meatier with the characters more fleshed out (pardon the pun). Seriously though, a more lengthy story would be most welcome and not just to me. I suspect that if fans have stuck with the series they would appreciate a longer more intricate story as well. Something long enough so that all the recurring characters have time to shine.
43 reviews1 follower
May 20, 2022
His best book yet

This series started out great and somehow gets better with each book. This one in particular is my favorite. Alex is coming into his own financially and professionally, his relationship with Sorsha is growing and his cases are suspenseful. The character growth and world building continue to be fantastic. Highly recommend if you like detective, urban fantasy, or magical history. I love this series!
27 reviews
June 26, 2023
amazing world

I love reading history with a magical perspective - I adore Alex but must admit I’m not too thrilled with sorscha. She gets a little too picky. But I love all the characters created and the sly references to Nero Wolfe. New York in the 30’s in wonderful- not like today. Rich clever plots fascinating people, and clearly the author has incredible knowledge of history.
Profile Image for Karl.
329 reviews1 follower
February 8, 2024
This was the best book in the series to date for me. What really made this for me was the reduced number of plotlines, the continuation of the Legion story and the outfall from this book and the build up for the next book in the series. After my previous concerns that the previous books contained too many stories and not enough development, this seems to have taken that feedback on board and gave the stories and characters room to breathe and grow. Very much looking forward to the next one.
Profile Image for David Griffin.
96 reviews4 followers
January 7, 2026
The Plot Thickens

I'm am reading each book of this series in order, and I confess that I am hooked. What is there to not like? An old fashioned "gum shoe" detective set in the 1930's reminds me of the old Dick Tracy comics. Rather than the clever gadgets of Dick Tracy, the protagonist of this series has rune magic in a world where magic is prevalent. I can't recommend this series enough!
Profile Image for Laura.
8 reviews
March 22, 2022
Another great read

As book 8 in the series, things are getting serious. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. Again a well written story, where perspective is everything. From here on out I expect the story line to get dark and intense. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
30 reviews
March 23, 2022
One of the best Arcane Casebook stories to date

Alex is fighting the clock, trying to save his girlfriend's life and solve two other cases at the same time. Of course he does it with the flair and panache that only he can.

This is one of the best urban fantasy series I've read, based in the past and that sets it apart from all the rest
Profile Image for Eric.
7 reviews
March 26, 2022
Wow

Frankly, the only complaint I have is that Dan hasn't written the next book already. Intrigue, magic, action, mystery. It's all in here. If you are starting here, so yourself a favor and go back to the beginning. This culls stand in it's own if it has to, but you're missing out on 8 other superb novels.
Profile Image for Releanna.
169 reviews10 followers
March 26, 2022
for the story I would have given 5 stars. But editing is also a important part of a book IMO, and it seems that this book wasn't edited or the editor isn't worth his money. Lots of typos, some inconsistenses, and worst for me: mixing up Andrew and Arthur in one of the later chapters. Even if the author originally thought of naming the sorcerer Arthur, it is the 8th book Andrew is part of!
Profile Image for Layla.
229 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2022
So good!

I started this book at 8pm. I remember thinking just a couple chapters. And now it’s 2:30 and I am finished. What a ride!!! I loved what happened at the end with Sorcha. And the overarching story arch is now really rolling! Can’t wait for more, and so satisfied by this one.
21 reviews
April 7, 2022
great book!

Live the characters. The world Dan Willis has created is complex and truly fascinating. The magical concepts and the whole rune wright idea pull you into each novel and keep wanting more knowledge and interaction with his characters. I look forward to each new book. Keep them coming!
29 reviews
June 12, 2022
Getting better and better

Dan Willis built upon his carefully laid foundation to pile so much mystery, intrigue and magic in Alex Lockerbys 8th book, Hostile Takeover. This series just keeps getting better and better. I highly recommend this book for fans of the urban fantasy genre.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews

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