Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes – This is a fun story featuring an uncommon (which is to say Elderly) protagonist with a number of pleasant twists throughout the story. Most importantly it holds my attention from start to finish. I liked the details given about the supernatural world (colors for different types of magic, reasons why creatures from other worlds are now interested in earth, interesting creatures and reinvented folk lore,etc.).

I like that not all the details are spilled at once, and one scene opens up a little more information that leads logically to the next. The pacing is good aside from the very beginning because it starts a little slow, but if you stick with it you won’t be sorry. Once Tallow is actually in the story and they are going to crime scenes, you’ll be hooked.

I would gladly listen to the sequel.

Who was your favorite character and why?
Tallow is the character we are closest to since he’s the main protagonist. I like that he has some old man quirks such as an old car with a bench seat with a funny smell, etc.

I also liked the Goth Girl babysitter and the pet rock elemental was brilliant. I enjoyed the scenes where he was included. The latter two characters helped make scenes with my least favorite character (Agatha) better..

Have you listened to any of Andrew Tell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This is my first time listening to this narrator, but he did a good job and I’d gladly listen to more novels read by him. He brought all the characters to life, and I don’t have any complaints about his performance.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
One sitting is a bit demanding for a book of this length, however I did listen to the whole thing in just a couple days while I worked and exercised. It’s a book that I actively looked forward to listening to.
Any additional comments?
The only thing I didn’t like is the character Agatha.

If you are annoyed by child characters that don’t talk or act like children, she may ruin the listen for you. She’s supposed to be 8 and says things like — So you’re just using me to manipulate a broken old man who just lost his daughter…. What kind of 8 year old says that? She’s not spooked by being a first hand witness to a murder scene with bloody hand prints all over the refrigerator/wall, etc. The whole “Whatever, it’s just blood.” attitude seemed inauthentic, as did a child doubting magic when she can see a guy pulling fireballs out of thin air right in front of her. Everything about her rubbed me the wrong way from the way she talked, and how she always tried to correct everyone in the room.

If not for this character, I’d be giving this book a solid 4.5 stars, but it’s hard to go over 4 when there’s a character that makes you want to skip to the next chapter every time she enters the story.

If you’re not bothered by characters like this, or only slightly bothered by them, this book will prove a good listen.