Not on the List by Heath D. Alberts

by Heath D. Alberts

When the Nubian god of incense is found dead in a downtown Madison parking garage, Death is a bit miffed. The reason? He wasn’t the terminating party. And he’s not about to permit others to horn in on his racket after having cornered the market since time immemorial. Enter Ed & Phil. They’re Death’s retainers, and renowned private eyes amongst the Unseen. They’re handed the seemingly impossible task of identifying and tracking down the killer. Along the way, they exhibit few qualms about enlisting the help of anyone - or anything - that will assist in accomplishing their task, no matter how insane, elusive, or even angry with them personally those parties might be. Meanwhile, Jules Sallie - a down on his luck corporate lackey - finds himself in the rare position of being a former human being that has been dropped square into the Unseen world. It is a world which he finds equal parts frightening and intriguing. And it isn’t long before he unwittingly comprehends his vital role in his new surroundings - like it or not. Follow along on a world-wide murder investigation as an ever changing menagerie of gods, beings. monsters, concepts, and mythological characters join in the hunt for an unusually crafty killer.

Paperback

First published February 27, 2015

About the author

Author, blogger, bibliophile, audiophile, technopihile, publisher, and maker-upper of stuff. Currently working on a pair of novels: 'Uncharted' and 'Koreatown Blues'. He lives in Rockton, Illinois.

Heath D. Alberts - Amazon.com Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Heath-D.-Albert...

Heath D. Alberts - Website:
http://www.heathdalberts.com/

Heath D. Alberts - Blog:
http://www.heathdalberts.com/blog.htm

Reviews

[Anna Deem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read - I am not a fan of the 'book report' type of review, so I will leave that up to somebody else, but that having been said, I really enjoyed the story. It was a good combination of comedy,fantasy and intrigue, set in modern day Madison Wisconsin, which I am fairly familiar with. I have to agree with one of the previous comments about the snarkiness, that got a little tedious after a while. And even though I have a pretty extensive vocabulary, I was thankful that I had downloaded the dictionary app on my Kindle, because there were times when I wondered if Heath Alberts had swallowed a thesaurus! My only real complaint was that the spacing at the beginning of the Kindle version made it really difficult to follow; other than that I thought it was well written, well edited, fun characters, with a good plot. I also appreciate the fact that the book wasn't broken up into segments and sold off piecemeal like so many others. I look forward to any future installments.

[Heath Alberts]

KIRKUS REVIEWS
"The latest from Alberts (Photographic Memory, 2014, etc.) sees a motley collection of detectives, special operatives, and imaginary beings investigate a murder that has displeased Death itself.

Jules Sallie, of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, can’t keep a job. He’s just been fired from his tech-support position with MyTronix, and his friend Billy at the temp agency Kronos & Associates doesn’t have a new job for him. Jules gets drunk and wanders into a homeless camp where he samples a strange concoction. After passing out, he wakes up feeling enlightened—he’s also made friends with a garbage troll named Billabong Willie. Meanwhile, in Madison, Death seeks the help of Ed and Phil, of the Unseen Detective Agency; they investigate crimes in the world of gods, demigods, and other fantastic beings invisible to normal society. Dedun, the Nubian God of Incense, has been killed, but he wasn’t on Death’s list—someone else is responsible. The link between Jules’ newly found wisdom and Dedun’s murder may lie with the Map Watchers. Hal and Calvin watch over Madison, keeping track of individuals both mortal and immortal using a sophisticated live map. When an anomaly pops up in Sun Prairie, they wonder if the Replacement has arrived. But who is the Replacement, and what is the connection to Dedun? Author Alberts has once again delivered a vigorous whirlwind of ideas, this time in the shape of a fantasy whodunit. His knowledge of classical and popular deities is put to work, and the result is so colorful that readers may wish for him to trim the cast (Santa Claus, Destiny personified, and a leprechaun among them). Alberts’ prose is swimming in puns, most of which are entertaining—though some feel forced (one chapter title is “The Garage Band is Garage Banned”). Longtime sci-fi fans will enjoy the references sprinkled throughout, including those to Star Wars and Stranger in a Strange Land’s “grokking.” Ultimately, readers should strap in for a bizarre, though warm adventure.

Audiences will be guessing not just who the murderer is, but what kind of craziness lurks around the corner."

[James Slaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a decent book. Very nice idea with an interesting plot line. My only suggestion for the author is to not make every character be snippy, smarmy, or hilarious. Let the character development mature through the story and it's okay to have mostly straightmen with a few witty and a few dark characters.