Dread Spectre

Spectral Detective #6

by David Bussell

A man throwing himself into the gorilla pit of London Zoo triggers a rash of grisly suicides that have the authorities baffled.

It’s time to call in Fletcher & Fletcher, the city’s original working-class stiffs, except the undead detectives are having problems of their own…

A rift has formed between the Fletcher boys that is forcing them to question whether their brotherly bond is as strong as they thought. A rift that, left unchecked, might spell the end of their partnership.

Despite growing tensions, the detectives join the dots between the suicides and discover a sinister influence using occult means to convince people take their own lives. But can they root out the twisted puppeteer before more bodies are added to the pile?

Only with the help of a short-fused homicide detective, the surly proprietor of a magic shop, and a gender fluid shapeshifter, do the Fletcher boys stand any chance of pulling this one off.

Mystery, the macabre, and caustic wit collide in this bizarre noir. Fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Mike Carey, and Benedict Jacka will love this page-turning detective story with a paranormal twist.

Genres: Urban Fantasy

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2022

About the author

​David Bussell is a best-selling British author renowned for his contributions to the urban fantasy genre. He is the co-creator of the Uncanny Kingdom, a series that explores a secret Britain teeming with paranormal suspense stories. His notable works include the "Spectral Detective" series. David's writing prowess has been recognized with the P.G. Wodehouse New Comic Writer Award. Beyond his literary achievements, he is an avid fencer, a lover of synthwave music, and a committed comic book fan.

Reviews

[Silver Surfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do so love uncanny books, again I have ask where do this stories come from. I can so easily devour these books, unfortunately life got in the way of this one. This one had an ending I didn’t see coming. Highly recommended.

[MRS G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeeriously how the heck can each of the Jake Fletcher books manage to continue to blow the previous one out of the water!!
💥 (Especially when I thought the previous one was the total DB's!) 💥

Endless witty quips firing throughout, which keeps your mouth twitching. 😏

Heartwrenching love OR utter hate for the incredible characters. 🤗

Total relentless humour and twisted, breathless pursuit? WELL, that just the norm in the Uncanny Kingdom! ....... AND I RUDDY LOVE IT!!!

David & Matt are phenomenal writers. If you haven't tried any of the Uncanny books yet, your life is simply not complete! 😁

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In reality it's more like a 4.25 star, but took it up to five because I loved how it sets up a whole new series. This series has the potential to tie in several of The Uncanny Kingdom characters/stories. Really enjoyed how Frank and Jake evolve individually and as a team. The new Dynamics should be a lot of fun to read!

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Bussell and M.V. Stott have created a wondrous thing in their shared Uncanny Kingdom, in which the various stories and series by one or both have been uniformly superb. This time it’s David Bussell’s turn with The newest addition to his gritty, witty, exciting and outright fun supernatural thriller series, Spectral Detective. I’ve been joyfully following along ever since the series eponymous first book first introduced Jake Fletcher, had a blast when he teamed up with Frank Fletcher to form a dynamic duo team of two halves of the same soul (a phantasm and a walking corpse). Now they’re back in Dread Spectre (Book 6). Expanding on perfect world-building and with a cast that’s both real and outlandishly wild (the short-fused homicide detective, the surly proprietor of a magic shop, and the gender fluid shapeshifter referenced in the publisher’s blurb), this is a wild suspenseful adventurous fun book that’s frankly written perfectly. It’s also ridiculously easy to highly recommend.

[Stan Hutchings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fletcher and Fletcher (AKA Jake and Frank) help a ghostly wanker to continue on in a humorous ghost-busting tale of ‘things that go bump in the night’. Then things get serious, though with a lot of graveyard humor, very picturesque and/or humorous similes, metaphors, and descriptions to tickle the brain. The Cockney slang in the banter sent me to Google numerous times to find out just what was being said. The humor serves to lighten the shadow cast by the Dread Spectre. Jake and Frank need couples therapy for their feelings of alienation, Jazz Hands is facing bankruptcy, Stella is MIA, and Kat and Maddox are still butting heads. There’s also the lowdown on how Uncanny miscreants are punished when the Dread Spectre is vaporized. OOPS! A case of mistaken identity, it was a meat puppet for the REAL Dread Spectre. A meeting with Stella did not go as expected, she is not going to micromanage London anymore. Dueling entities in the brains make for a very colorful episode. Then, God, Himself makes an appearance and commands a better effort - or else! (and they don’t want to get any more red marks on God’s ledger). Despite extreme efforts, things get worse instead of better as the Spectre gets even more active while he tries to seduce Jake to join him. Jake faces an existential crisis - who is he? Whom will he become? He finally finds the answers in the final chapters.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trouble at mill, the Fletchers are fighting

Jake now has a rival as my favourite Uncanny Kingdom lead character and it's his reanimated corpse. Frank has been a fun addition in the previous two books but this time, he's a character in his own right and he's fabulous. Since we last saw him, he's changed so much and now, there's no stopping him but Jake's nose is put out by his partner and they're fighting and no longer joined at the hip.
This story leads Jake and Frank and Kat Stronge on a not so merry dance around London, chasing a new evil who is intent on one thing but is playing their cards close to their chest. Whisper it quietly but I almost felt sorry for them when all is revealed at the end, such is the quality of David's writing.
The story is as funny and thoughtful and downright yucky as always, with the blood and gore right alongside the friend and family dynamics. Familiar faces show up, including Shift who I love, and a very unexpected guest star made a surprise appearance to my shock and delight. This series can never be long enough for me so I hope Jake has still got a lot of red in his ledger to cancel out.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant…

Another Uncanny classic that kept me enthralled from beginning to end. I can’t decide what I like best – the quirky characters, the awesome world-building, the snarky humor, or the wholly original and totally amazing story line. The book blurb gives you a good idea of the highlights of this tale so I won’t recap the plot. What I want to convey to everyone is that this installment in the series is absolutely riveting with plot twists aplenty. Will Jazz Hands lose her magic shop? Do Frank and Jake need couples therapy? Can Stella and Detective Stronge find a fair way to dispense justice when the Uncanny spills into the “normal”? For fans of the Uncanny, this is a brilliant and delightful diversion from the mundane life we muggles experience. It looks like big changes are coming for Fletcher & Fletcher and I can’t wait to read the next story.

I was provided an advance copy of this book, for which I am grateful, but I am voluntarily choosing to post my honest and unbiased review.

[A' · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love Jake and Frank. Most of us think of ourselves as bodies with souls, but these two get to experience life as a soul AND a body, each growing uniquely. Not without its problems, they can still become one when dire situations arise. But like most 'couples', there comes those moments when you really can't stand each other. As they struggle to regain their closeness, they must also find out what is causing people to lose their lives in bizarre ways. Add to that the wrath of the Almighty on them to solve this case, and they both have the worry of eternal damnation or salvation hanging in the balance. I enjoyed the story, especially learning British slang!
* I was given an advanced copy for an honest [always] review *

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s time to call in Fletcher & Fletcher, the city’s original working-class stiffs, except the undead detectives are having problems of their own…
A rift has formed between the Fletcher boys that is forcing them to question whether their brotherly bond is as strong as they thought. A rift that, left unchecked, might spell the end of their partnership.
Despite growing tensions, the detectives join the dots between the suicides and discover a sinister influence using occult means to convince people take their own lives. But can they root out the twisted puppeteer before more bodies are added to the pile?
Great world building.
Fantastic characters.
Fast paced with lots of Humor ,your will enjoy this story as I did.

[Phthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This case almost got the better of Fletcher & Fletcher! They deal with some interpersonal challenges. Can they overcome? This book is full of action, nail-biting intense action, Divine demands, improbable victims. How can they hope to solve this case when they don’t even know what they are up against? This was another phenomenal book in this amazing series! I absolutely loved it!

[Jodi Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jake Fletcher is back, both of him. This is one of his craziest experiences yet. Jazz Hands, Shift, Strong, and Stella are all back and he is going to need all the help he can get for this one. There is a lot of character development going on as well. There are unexpected twists as always and while you expect he will win in the end, you really can't be sure. This series just keeps getting better.

[Allena Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very good.It's a great ending that wraps up Jake fletchers story very well.stella familiar and david taylor are minor characters in the story as well.There's the usual action,black humor and a great story.

[Julie Mccallum · Rating 5 out of 5]

worth the wait…

I really enjoyed this instalment and I would definitely recommend this and all the other uncanny books if I knew anyone who reads anything other than Reddit !. I am over the moon M….. was ‘yeeted’ cos he was a whinging bugger(sorry spoiler).

[Margarita Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book for the Fletcher and Fletcher series. A great addition. Nonstop action packed read. Starts off running and its a marathon to the end. Really enjoyed. Received ARC copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.

[Cailin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly done, give it all the stars!!!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review and ohhhhh boy, my opinion is you don't want to miss this one!

With a swift pace, action, drama, a well-rounded cast of characters, delightful banter, and plenty of humour, there is definitely something for everyone. Now I don't want to spoil anything, so just trust me; you NEED this book in your life.