Marked Raven by J.B. Dane is a Paranormal and Paranormal Romance Event pick #pnr #paranormalromcom #urbanfantasy #mustread #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Title: MARKED RAVEN
Author: J.B. Dane
Genre: Paranormal Rom Com, Urban Fantasy Mystery Comedy
Book Blurb:
Valentine’s Day should go down in the books as the most dangerous time of year. I’m not talking about falling in love but avoiding any contributions to hit men’s retirement funds when they make good on the contract to kill me!
The name is Bram Farrell, though the things I hunt tend to call me The Raven. As I’m a paranormal PI, I was created for this job. And I use “created” because less than four months ago I existed only in the pages of a series of books penned by Calista Amberson, a very powerful witch. She’d yanked me from the pages of those novels to take on a different job. One I declined. However, she was gone now though her legacy might have been the passel of assassins looking for an easy paycheck.
If anything, I am not an easy paycheck for anyone. I’m a hunter taking on beings that most humans don’t know exist. And there are still more than enough of them hanging around real-world Detroit willing to take me out, though not for dinner.
So I shouldn’t have been surprised when a cupid turned up to kill me. Forewarned on what lay ahead though? Yeah, should have expected that but I didn’t. There were other distractions to deal with.
Like the females turning up at the Amberson mansion. Some expected, some surprises, at least one I could do without. But not my new secretary, Naomi. Might be falling in love with her. Keeping her alive—and myself as well—is going to be tricky.
Outrunning an alchemist, a vampire, and a witch is going to take more than cutting wit. Luckily, I have some resources other than a dry sense of humor. Beelz, my inherited dachshundric hellhound is at my side and my magic is coming back online. Which should be helpful considering someone is dangling that assassination contract with my name inked on it as the intended target.
There’s a lot on my plate. The question is, will I live through it this time?
Excerpt:
“You off anything last night?” Detective Durkin asked.
“You mean as in tick off? Probably,” I admitted.
“As in kill,” he said.
“Was tempted but only tempted,” I assured. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m standing here in the alley across from a place called The Bridge, Farrell, and there’s a stiff with your signature written all over him,” the detective said. A very strange place for him to be considering it wasn’t located in his precinct.
As no autographs had been asked for or given, I had one question. “What is he?”
“I’m guessing, ’cause I’m no expert on this stuff, but I’d say a ghoul.”
“ID?”
“None.”
I knew the glamour would have vanished once the thing was dead. Full body disguises immediately return to the used enshroudment shop in the nearest Otherworld dimension, leaving the true carcass behind. Clothes and accessories were rarely part of a glamour, though, and easy to acquire. All it took was illegal entry into a clothing store at night. Wearing duds seemed to be the thing that ensured humans that a beast or being was just like them. Might’ve been a bit creepy as a borderline human, but still accepted as one of the guys.
“Is he dressed like a cross between Serpico and Mr. T? Gold chain and amulet around his neck?”
“Yep.”
“And the signature you mentioned?”
“He’s been toasted,” Durkin said.
Yeah, that did sound like me. But I hadn’t done it. I wouldn’t have done it. At least, not until he’d told me how to find Solomon Prisk.
“I was in The Bridge last night. One of the owners, Ruth Lund, called me to come rescue a couple of human girls the ghoul had trapped in one of the booths. There was a slight difference of opinion, but he was headed toward the bar and alive the last I saw him,” I said.
“You got an alibi for later?” He had to ask. He was in cop mode.
“Was socializing with a girl until around five this morning. He been dead longer than an hour?”
“Socializing with a girl? Is that what it’s called now?”
“When the girl is one of the humans rescued from the ghoul and she happens to be my secretary, yeah, that’s what it’s called. We did it at Denny’s in a booth in the back in the corner under bright lights, Durkin. How long has the ghoul been dead?” I snarled. I had some attitude left over from earlier.
“Longer than an hour,” he admitted. “He’s not smoking at any rate, though in these temperatures, maybe he wouldn’t for long. You know his name?”
“We didn’t develop a close enough rapport to exchange monikers, though he knew who I was. Who found him?”
“Anonymous call. The 9-1-1 operators know they need to buzz me if something sounds like it’s been taken from one of your books. We term ’em freak-outs because the person reporting a possible Otherworld situation is either scared shitless and incoherent or beside themselves with glee and incoherent.”
“I sense a theme,” I said. “I hope you’re not calling me to get rid of him.”
“Nope. A couple of guys proudly displaying bite marks on their necks ambled up and told me they’d take care of it.”
“Vampire minions. I suspect they use the alley as a club house.”
“In this weather?”
“If they’re served as hors d’oeuvres before the main course, they’re probably hyped up on vamp spit and don’t even feel it. The body still there or have they taken it away already? If it’s available, maybe I should take a gander.”
“It’s still here just not in the alley. One of them went across to the bar, swung up onto the fire escape and pulled himself up to the third floor where he banged on the window. Couple minutes later, a really short little lady in pink bunny slippers, nightgown, and robe with curlers in her hair swung the main door open and waved the guys carrying the ghoul inside,” Durkin said. “She wiggled her fingers at me and grinned before she closed the place back up.”
“That’s Ruth. She’s very popular. Probably took one look at you and decided you were the man for her. She’s little but she’s feisty.”
“She’s ugly.”
“Goes with the gene pool,” I said and explained about her split parentry.
“So what did your dust up with the ghoul entail? Anything that could have resulted in his sudden demise?”
“I did tell him I was looking for Sol. Could be he made a call after I got the girls out of there. Could be whoever he made the call to wasn’t happy about being disturbed.”
Durkin grunted in agreement. “You think your name got added to a hit list?”
“My name is already on a hit list,” I said and told him about Ernie’s visit.
I would tell you his comments on the subject, but this is beginning to look like it might turn into the next book. Naomie would look the words up as she turns my dictation into pixels on a screen and attempt to use them. She’s currently as jaded as she needs to be.
I just prayed that our adventure that night hadn’t landed Naomie’s name next to mine on anything’s list of folks to put six feet under.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon: www.viewbook.at/MARKEDRAVEN
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/marked-raven-raven-tales-book-two-the-raven-tales-2-by-j-b-dane
What makes your featured book a must-read?
Actually, that’s hard to pin down. Read it because it’s got magic in it. Read it to hang out with Bram, both hero and narrator. Read it because it’s a mystery. Because it’s got plenty of action and adventure. Read it to enjoy donuts vicariously (far less calories that way). Enjoy it if you like dogs, in particular hellhounds who prefer manifesting as dachshunds!
Read it because comedy is never far away as Bram sleuths his way to solving a mystery!
Several reviewers have claimed to have a crush on Bram, but just as many appear to have started a fan club for Beelz, the often times cuddly dachshund they claim steals scenes!
All good reasons.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs April 8 – April 15, 2025.
Winner will be drawn on April 16, 2025.
Author Biography:
J.B. Dane is just one of the “hats” novelist Beth Henderson uses. This one guarantees the story being told is a mystery with more characters who aren’t human than those that are and plenty of comedic situations and dialogue peppered through the tale.
While she switched to writing urban fantasy six years ago, her first novel was a romantic comedy mystery released back in 1990. Her 40th novel will turn up in Amazon listings later this year.
Like many writers, she decided she wanted to be a novelist when in the seventh grade. It only took another thirty years before that first novel went to contract, but it does show that perseverance is the road to doing what she likes best: writing stories!
Other than pound out fiction herself, she is a frequent presenter of online workshops about writing genre fiction of all sorts!
Social Media Links:
Facebook JBDane Mystery and Fantasy http://bit.ly/2GJtejL
On Twitter/X @JBDaneWriter