Hard Spell / Justin Gustainis

“The cops act like real cops, the vampires act like real vampires, and the monsters aren’t messing about. The plot twists and turns like a twisty turny thing, and moves like a weasel on speed. The real things feel real, and the supernatural things feel like they might be. The prose is a joy to read, and the whole thing was more fun than is probably legal.”
Simon R Green, author of A Walk on the Nightside

The police procedural gets a vampiric makeover in the first case for the Occult Crimes Unit.

Meet Stan Markowski…

“Like the rest of America, the city of Scranton’s got an uneasy ‘live and let unlive’ relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, thats when they call me.

My name’s Markowski. I carry a badge.

Also a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.”

FILE UNDER: Urban Fantasy [ Dial V for Vampire | Forbidden Spells | Bite Club | Scranton Bu Night ]

More Praise:

“A cool mix of cop show and creature feature. Gustainis had me at ‘meth-addicted goblins’.”
Marcus Pelegrimas, author of the Skinners series

“it’s an exemplary example of an urban fantasy story and I can’t wait to read more in the series. 5*****”
S F Book

“Whoa. Justin Gustainis has given us a fast-paced, brutal and bloody urban fantasy that kept the hits coming.”
Reading the Paranormal

“this has to be one of the must read new releases this Summer.”
Amberkatze

“A magical mystery tour of a murder case rife with supernatural suspects. Sit down for an enchanted evening of otherworldly entertainment!”
Laura Resnick, author of Unsympathetic Magic & Vamparazzi

“Punchy dialogue, a fun alternate history, explosive action, and a hero whose monsters haunt him even beyond the job… Gustainis has given us a fantastic supernatural cop story that just dares you to put it down!”
Chris Marie Green, author of the Vampire Babylon and Bloodlands books

“A winning mix of urban fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction.”
Jennifer Estep, author of the Elemental Assassin series

“What Gustainis does is create core characters that are very likable and easy to read and puts them interesting situations. Above all that is a triumph, but he also includes all the occult stuff in such a way that is not off-putting. It’s accessible and has a fair amount of stuff grounded in reality, but also offer little treats and word-plays on conventional stuff.”
– Walker of Worlds

“I found Hard Spell to be great fun. The book does deal with hard crimes, but with the supernatural in the mix the subject matter becomes a bit lighter and less serious. There was a bit of humor and a lot of action. The main character was fairly decently drawn and the story flowed well. I thought it was a good book and eagerly await the next in the series.”
– Luxury Reading

HARD SPELL
Justin Gustainis
Urban Fantasy

UK
7 July 2011
416pp B-format paperback
£7.99
ISBN 978 0 85766 114 2

US/Canada
26 July 2011
416pp mass-market paperback
$7.99 US $8.99 CAN
ISBN 978 0 85766 115 9

eBook
7 April 2011
£4.49 / $5.99
ePub ISBN 978 0 85766 116 5

SAMPLE CHAPTER
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The first in the Occult Crimes Unit Investigation series: