Lionel is a reporter and debunker of supernatural claims. He also has a secret. This story involves his quest to authenticate an Edgar Allen Poe manuscript. He is aided in this quest by a woman. Does she possess supernatural powers? This was a bit too “magicky” for my taste but still a good read.

I loved this urban fantasy and an excellent start to a fantastic trilogy. Atmospheric and magical-greek mythology yet in modern settings-supernatural-literally, this book has it all.


I have since bought a copy of this novel for my library at home. I have also purchased the other two books in the trilogy.

I want to thank Netgalley, 47 North, and Craig Schaefer for the opportunity to read and review this book!

This is a wonderful first book in a series. I love urban fantasy, and I was really captivated by this book. I haven't read anything by Craig Schaefer before, but I am looking forward to reading more. The first thing I need to do is read the sequels to this book.

This was the first book I had read by this author, and this did not even slightly disappoint me. I absolutely love how this captured me from start to finish and finished it within 24 hours. Thank you so much

Ghosts of Gotham takes an Edgar Allan Poe story and combines it with a unique twist that sets up an intriguing plot. Craig Schaefer manages to create an extraordinary atmosphere in this book, taking readers on a suspenseful journey that is perfect for all fans of thrilling mystery. The urban fantasy really comes through in this story, yet it doesn't feel like too much and never overwhelms you.
Ghosts of Gotham focuses on two protagonists whose adventure you instantly want to follow - they might have a dark past and their own demons, but they're people who you can still relate to.
While this book isn't a standalone anymore, it certainly would've worked as one. However, I'm glad there is now a series and that readers can return to this wonderfully mystic, eerie and magical world and follow yet another detective adventure following the people we've come to love.

The first book I have read from this author and I'm so glad I picked it up. It does not disappoint.

Ghosts of Gotham is the kind of novel that grabs you from the very beginning and does not let go until the end.

A book by one of my favorite authors and it does not disappoint. Wonderfully clever and entertaining.

Surprise

If you don't know the author and his work, and just give the blurbs a cursory look, you will probably expect this to be a thriller-style biblio-mystery with a rollicking search for a legendary macguffin of some sort. Fair enough; that's where I was.

Turns out this is a much cooler occult adventure, with elements and touches of dark urban fantasy, horror, gothic chills, supernatural shenanigans, magic, and witchcraft. It's all handled with class and style, and a dry undercurrent, at least initially, of bemused detachment on the part of our hero.

This is fast paced fun with lots of entertaining twists and turns and just enough alt-world coherence to keep it all together and moving forward. A great, entertaining, find.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

DNF: Liked the writing and the initial premise of the story but it went away from that into deep witchcraft etc that I was not looking for at this time.

Highly entertaining urban fantasy that uses genre tropes -- including some from OTHER genres -- in a really fun way (the reporter, the bibliomystery, the rich and eccentric client...). This version of magical New York is a blast. Very creative. The characters get into all sorts of trouble and meet all sorts of supernatural beings along the way.

My only problem was with the eye-rollingly predictable romance. Just because there's a male lead being more or less introduced to the magic system by a really cool female character does not mean said female character needs to be a MPDG or that true love should ensue.

I hope Schaefer writes more in this world. I will certainly read it!

Thankyou to NetGalley, 47North and the author, Craig Schaefer, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Ghosts Of Gotham in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I enjoyed reading this book. I was drawn to it firstly by the amazing cover art. It really draws the eye.
The storyline was well thought out and written with intriguing characters. I was hooked. 3.5 stars.
Well worth a read.

"I am thinking," the voice in the chaos said to Lionel, "of writing a new tragedy. You're going to play the hero."

I received an advanced reading copy of Ghosts of Gotham in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Craig Schaefer and 47North for the opportunity.

Lionel Page is an investigative journalist who often goes deep undercover to uncover charlatan healers, psychics, and magicians. After exposing Reverend Wright as a fraud to his many admirers Lionel is approached by an apprentice journalist. This 'cub' is asking questions about Lionel's buried past, prying into areas that he doesn't feel comfortable discussing, and the young writer has a newspaper highlighting what happened to Lionel when he was 5-years-old. Lionel worked tirelessly to become one of the best reporters for Channel 7 news, is almost a celebrity after releasing a new book relating to his investigative escapades but thinks that his past being unearthed will ruin his career. That very day Lionel meets a mysterious lady called Regina Dunkle who has a proposition for him. Regina wants a rare first draft of an Edgar Allen Poe tale that is rumoured to be in New York. If Lionel helps her obtain this rarity then she offers to make his past disappear. He accepts and this is where the narrative really begins.

Schaefer is a hybrid author with works such as Harmony Black, Daniel Faust, The Wisdom's Grave and Revanche Cycle. He was a #SPFBO semi-finalist in 2018 and a finalist in 2019 and he is a favourite of Mihir's from Fantasy Book Critic who is a reviewer I really trust. Previously, I had only read Winter's Reach by Schaefer but after reading Ghosts of Gotham I will probably devour his back catalogue as fast as possible.

Ghosts of Gotham features elements of various genres such as urban fantasy reminiscent of Stephen King's The Drawing of the Three, gothic horror tales, thrillers and a tinge of mystery to boot. It also contains a plethora of details and intricacies regarding Greek myth which reminded me of Dyrk Ashton's Paternus trilogy. The first twenty percent seems like a typical thriller as Lionel goes from Chicago to New York and does a bit of sleuthing to find out more about the Poe draft. Who owns it, when it is going on sale, about a secret cult, details about an employee of the Russian mafia and information about a Wall Street broker who loves drugs and girls slightly too young for his age. Throughout the narrative, it's revealed that New York has a hidden darker side that features magic, ghosts, ghouls, grotesque murders, goddesses, machinery that harvests souls and a mysterious gentleman with blue eyes who seems familiar to Lionel yet he has no idea why.

We mainly follow Lionel's third-person perspective but a few chapters are from Maddie's viewpoint. She is an actress who keeps crossing paths with Lionel with such regularity that surely it must be planned or fate? She is an intriguing member of the ensemble who also has a past that she is trying to escape from. Other characters include the slimy Wall Street broker Wade Dawson, Lionel's ex-girlfriend and current Boss Bianca and Dergwyn who is a ghoul princess and they are all crafted expertly.

Each chapter takes approximately ten minutes to read, It's hi-octane, gripping fiction that had my eyes glued to my kindle until I'd finished. I raced through this amalgamation of genres in two days and totally enjoyed the ride. The build-up to the culmination is composed well and includes a decent amount of exciting reveals and plot twists. The finale is extremely satisfying and the novel is completely self-contained. That being said, how it concludes I could imagine Schaefer returning to this version of New York and these characters in the future should he see fit. An incredibly exciting urban fantasy, thriller and mystery concoction that comes highly recommended for fans of all those genres.

What a pleasant surprise. Ghosts of Gotham comes barreling at you like a locomotive and doesn't let up with the action, adventure and twists until the very end. What starts as a simple investigation into a rare Edgar Allen Poe manuscript quickly spirals into a violent, supernatural, mystical adventure through NYC (complete with monster alligators in the sewer). It reminded me of Simon R Green's Nightside series with a hard-boiled investigator teaming up with a fierce, mysterious woman taking on all sorts of fantastical challenges in a dark and mythic sub-world. I did a little digging and am excited to see Craig Schaefer is working on a sequel. I will definitely be looking to read more from this author.

I was first drawn to this book based on the description alone, because I'd never heard of the author, Craig Schaefer. So imagine my surprise when I checked out the Also By page and found that he's written two pages worth of books--like 20+ books! And many of the reviews on Goodreads were rather squeally, by people who were obviously BIG FANS of his other series.

Lionel Page is a reporter who lives to debunk mysteries. Psychics. Faith healers. Anyone who does something "supernatural" is fair game. One day he's hired by a mysterious old woman to verify the authenticity of a lost Edgar Allan Poe manuscript. So it's off to New York for Lionel.

The novel takes off from there, and becomes a mash-up of urban fantasy, horror, mythology, secret societies, and mystery. And romance, I suppose, but seriously...it's hilariously bad here. He meets a woman who's been sent on the same mission by the same lady, and the next thing you know, he's "I'D DIE FOR YOU!!!" in love. It doesn't ring true at all, and I docked it one star for the absurdity.

But the rest is pretty darn good--I liked the characters, the surprises were fun, and I haven't read a good urban fantasy in a while. I feel weird "only" giving this three stars, but that's a solid rating! And I liked it enough that I'll likely continue with what appears to be a new series, and I'll check out one of those other books by this author I somehow managed to utterly miss over the years. Recommended.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and 47North in exchange for an honest review.

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Ghosts of Gotham by Craig Schaefer is a novel taking place in present day New York City, involving a search for a missing manuscript by Edgar Allen Poe in a hidden world of magic and magical creatures. Mr. Schaefer has wrote several books which deal with the supernatural and the occult.

Lionel Page, a journalist, is making a name for himself exposing con men, specializing in those promising miracles, through G-d or otherwise, as well as psychics. Lionel is hired by an elderly, and very wealthy, woman to track down a valuable manuscript by Edgar Allen Poe.

Finding himself in New York City, Lionel meets Maddie, another lost soul trying to get away from her past. Together Lionel and Maddie team up to an adventure which changes Lionel’s perspective on the world as he knows it, as well as his own life.

Reading the description for this book it seems to be right up my alley including books about books (who doesn’t love those?), magic, and an interesting premise. With these high hopes, I was glad that Ghosts of Gotham by Craig Schaefer actually did deliver.

While the manuscript is a small part of the story, simply meant to drive the plot forward and an excuse to join up some characters, it was still a worthy idea and well executed. New York City, written in a way which reminds me of the grim noir novels, is a perfect setting for the dark forces at work, as well as the personal trauma the protagonists of this story go through. While I read better books that deal with the magical aspect of their respective worlds, I thought that the characters were written very well and helped tremendously to drive the plot forward and tell the story.

How Lionel Page, a public figure, managed to stay hidden all these years after what has happened to him as a child, becoming a minor macabre celebrity was the biggest plot hole for me, but didn’t really take away much of the enjoyment from the book. The magical / witching aspect was a fun side, but even without it the book would have been a wonderful mystery, even if it just followed Poe’s strange manuscript.

This novel was a lot of fun to read, a tongue-in-cheek madness with fun characters and narrative. The climax is predictable, but did not detract from my enjoyment.

First of all, I have to say I connected with the hero Lionel pretty quickly into the story. You see, it seems he has a fascination with New York that matches my own. That is, we read books and watch TV or movies that are situated in that city, but have never been there. Well, Lionel has been there now and learned that books and movies don’t tell the whole story.

There is plenty going on in the Big Apple and Lionel is quickly subjected to a very dark side of the city. A connection with a mysterious woman – Madison (Lionel thinks possible romcom) puts a highlight on his visit, at least for a while.

The reader, and soon Lionel, will quickly realize that Madison is just as involved as Lionel in the mission – finding and authenticating the Edgar Allan Poe manuscript. I’ve been a fan of the master detective writer for many years, but I was always drawn to his creepier stories. So this book is really right up my reading alley.

Lionel and Madison follow a series of linear clues for what seems a good chunk of the story. They don’t seem to connect back to other clues until much later, but they will connect. Once that started happening, I got to the can’t-put-down-this-ereader stage.

There is a secret New York society (cult), vegetarian dining, a mysterious boss, New York culture and the ultimate supernatural villain who is controlled by something he cannot understand. Oh yes, the goddess Hecate. I would say more about her, but I don’t want to spoil how she makes it into the story. I will mention that the secret identity of Hecate was somewhat obvious to me, but I tend to think in those twisted ways after reading so many twisty books.

I would classify Ghosts of Gotham as paranormal/horror/mystery/romance. Yes, all those. Such a good adventure in the streets of New York! This was my first Craig Schaefer book, but not my last.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4 Stars for the book, maybe 3 stars for the audiobook.

I thought this was an entertaining read. I liked the writing style. I would recommend this to urban fantasy readers.

I wasn't sure of my rating because even though I enjoyed the parts that I read, the parts that I listened to were not good. I didn't like this narrator at all. The voice she used for Maddie made me dislike her character. I finally stopped listening to it and read the rest. Much better.

This was the first book that I have read by this author. I will definitely check out more of his work.

You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, 47North, and the author via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lionel Page is a journalist, and he is extremely good at his job. He chases a story, and he always gets his man (or woman). His speciality is debunking those who claim to be more than what they are, charlatans, people who are tricking others out of their hard earned money. He's debunked psychics, quacks, faith healers, you name it, he's gotten to the bottom of it. So when he receives a phone call from one Ms. Regina Dunkle, about a private job he is of course a bit sceptical. She's had word that there is a first draft edition of an Edgar Allan Poe manuscript, and she wants it, as long as it's real of course. So Lionel sets of to the city of New York for a meeting. After accepting the job, Lionel can't help but wonder if he's bitten off more than even he can chew. Between Russian mobsters, a strange connection to his past, an intriguing beautiful woman named Maddie and the weird stuff that is beginning to happen, can Lionel hold up his end of the bargain? Will he even get out alive?

So I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I originally requested it because I just LOVE a good mystery, and one that follows a debunking journalist on the tail of a never before seen Poe manuscript. Ugh. Sign. Me. Up. It just SOUNDS amazing. And it really did not disappoint. At first, I found it a little bit slow to get going, I would definitely put this in the category of a slow burn story. Trust me though, if you feel like adding it to your DNF pile, please don't, the story does pick up, it does get faster paced, and it is TOTALLY worth it.

The character of Lionel was incredibly well written, I really enjoyed his character and not once did I feel like punching him in the throat, so that is a huge bonus. He's a sceptic by nature and I love that we find out WHY he is like this. We are told why he made debunking charlatans his life's work, and by god is it a doozy. For me anyway. I found that the story of Lionel Page was written so flawlessly into the overall story, I could not fault it. Every single strand is tied up in a nice little bow by the end and I absolutely love it. Maddie's character was also well written, her flaws, her reasons, her overall driving force was done brilliantly. I absolutely loved that both of our main characters had flaws, I love a good protagonist with flaws, because let's face it, none of us are perfect, hey? All of the supporting characters had purpose, which I loved, no character was thrown in just for the hell of it, there is a reason behind EVERYONE in this book and Schaefer wrote his characters so well.

The story surprised me so much. I was prepared for a mystery, a dark mystery if I'm totally honest, but what I received in this book was SO much more. Not only do we have a dark mystery in regards to following the trail of the Poe manuscript, it takes a surprising turn into the paranormal/supernatural/fantasy whatever you want to call it. And this isn't just a dabble, ohhhhh no, this is a full on thing. So I was so pleasantly surprised in the way this story unfolded. And once again, everything had a purpose, stuff hasn't just been thrown into this story to fluff it up, EVERYTHING. HAS. A. PURPOSE. Everything is connected some how, and let me tell you, when those connections are actually revealed? Ooooooh boy, it was amazing. I seriously did not pick a single thing up before any of the reveals. It was absolutely amazing.

The world building was fantastic, yes it's largely based on present day New York, but the actual supernatural elements of the story, the way they were woven into the real life locations and the way they were all connected into their own little sub world was done flawlessly. Not once did I find myself thinking "Pfft, yeah right" everything was believable. Schaefer did a wonderful job of making this story and all of it's characters REAL.

There's not too much more I can say without beginning to give stuff away, so I'm going to leave it at that. As I said earlier, this is a slow burn story, which I wasn't so prepared for, hence the mark down in stars. It did give me a slight post-book buzz, but it's not that feel good tingle you get when you've just finished a book that sure as hell is now in your top favourites. Overall this was a pleasantly surprising story that has so many twists and turns but keeps it easy to follow. Go on, follow Lionel down the rabbit hole, you know you want to ;)

Ghosts of Gotham was described to me as a “mystery-thriller with supernatural elements”, something like the early Preston & Child books before they got all… well, bad. So I was completely unprepared when the story went sideways, entering a realm of witchcraft, demigods and immortals. What it really should’ve been described as was a novel of conflicting genres. The first third doesn’t mention any kind of supernatural forces, beyond saying that they’re a hoax. When the “supernatural” element of the supernatural-thriller shows up—it’s all at once. No build. Then we have to deal with it as any first sequence magic book introduces us to its magic system. I thought this slowed both the story and lost the mystery while things were explained. Wasn’t particularly smooth, though also not the reason I stopped.

Actually, there were two elements that really killed my interest in this book.

First, the relationship of Maddie and Lionel. Honestly, I thought the story picked up when Maddie was introduced as a POV. We got to see things from a different perspective, travel the paths to an objective a different route, not to mention the limited interaction between the two was quite entertaining. I felt the story slowed when Maddie and Lionel hooked up, the disconnect between the two shrank, the paths they walked independent of one another withered away, and the book fell completely to the mystery. And it was quite the mystery, with unexpected twists and turns. It was not, however, enough to keep me invested in the plot.

The second was the supernatural itself—or, really, Lionel’s reaction to it. At some point he’s quoted as saying that the realm of magic is “something he’s been searching for his whole life”, which is why he’s made a living defrauding charlatans and fakes. The ease at which he takes to the supernatural world in Ghosts, however, is… out of character. At other points, he says things like that “he knew this time was different” because of all kinds of ridiculous things. The timbre of someone’s voice. The goosebumps he got from thinking about someone. The look in someone’s eyes. The… please don’t get me started on the love scene.

I made it to a little past that, but it really was the last straw. I wanted to like this, I saw so many good reviews of it, but I just couldn’t. And I don’t waste my time with books I can’t stand, just like how I don’t throw my kindle off the wall. Anymore. It’s old and fragile enough as it is.

Since this was a DNF (I made it to the 70% mark, but hey) I can’t rate it. I’d even hazard to recommend it. As far as I can tell, I’m one of the few people that didn’t enjoy Ghosts of Gotham.

Reviewed on https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/

Ghosts of Gotham is a mystery that’s impossible to put down from the first sentence. I was immediately entranced by this book, from the characters with extremely dark backgrounds to the story that is so multilayered you’ll never see the next big reveal coming. It’s a cross-genre gem, to be sure, living up to the magic of a fantasy novel while executing the requirements of a mystery novel expertly. I love a book that I can’t stop thinking about, and this was it.

The main character, Lionel Page, is deeply fascinating. His life’s mission is to debunk frauds who claim to be influenced by the supernatural. He’s good at his job as we see in the first few pages, and it has led him to be skeptical of anything that seems too good to be true. To add to his intrigue, Page has a dark past filled with haunting secrets that are revealed slowly. We get to see this mystery unfold from his doubting eyes, adding even more wonder when the fantasy turns into reality.

I was so impressed with the level of intrigue. It was written in a way that swept me up into the narrative, setting me on edge as I advanced further into the story. I felt the trepidation of the main character as he started looking over his shoulder. I couldn’t stop trying to figure out what was actually going on behind the scenes with his shady benefactor and the mysterious club that’s truly bonkers. You won’t see any of the plot advances coming, and that’s the best part.

Overall, Ghosts of Gotham is a brilliantly written novel featuring a protagonist you want to follow. His skepticism lends an air of belief to this fantasy-driven mystery, leading you to imagine the possibilities of walking in on a reality that should be impossible.