would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

as much as i tried to get into this book i found it very difficult, there seemed to be a lot going on with very little explanation.... and with loads of hints but it wasnt enough to keep my attention...

sorry i did try

R.J. Eason has me hooked! As someone who isn’t usually into ready urban fantasy this book was a lovely introduction and wasn’t as jarring as some books can be.

I really enjoyed the characters, various mythical beings and how they interact within the mystery.

Whilst I am hopeful that there will be more instalments of the Graveyard watch it is very refreshing to read a book that doesn’t extend past the point of too much.

This was a wonderful debut and I am excited to see what Eason does next!

Awesome debut novel from R.J Eason

World building was amazing and easy to follow, with a dark urban fantasy setting mixed delightfully with humanoid that balanced out perfectly

Excited to see where this series goes

Thank you to Small Bear Books and NetGalley for an ARC of The Graveyard Watch in exchange for an honest review.
I'm sorry to say that this book simply didn't work for me at all. My initial impression from the first few chapters was that the book and writing style felt a little rough around the edges, but that's often something I'm able to overlook with a good premise. While I do like the urban fantasy detective elements of the book, I sadly found the execution to be pretty lacking. The lead characters felt quite two-dimensional and uninspired, and the frequent POV shifts mid-chapter made it a struggle to keep hold of the narrative. This is particularly prevalent near the start of the novel, where the POV would jump to a character we haven't previously encountered, or one of the many side hustles of Domingo De Torres. I feel like the intention there was to give the impression that he constantly has a million things on the go at once, but the execution of this missed the mark entirely for me. The most egregious sin The Graveyard Watch commits however is the horrible 'written out accents' that several characters have. In the best case scenario this is lazy characterization, and at worst it could be considered insulting and hard to read. To give one of these accents to a fairly central character honestly just felt like the book shooting itself in the foot.

The Graveyard Watch is a very interesting debut that left me eager to continue reading.

I think he has the potential to write many other stories in relation to the universe that Eason has created. And I hope he does.

The story begins slowly, and we gradually enter this new world in which Jocasta finds herself immersed. I liked the rhythm of the story, how the different events were carried out and how they introduced us to the characters, although I was left wanting to know a little more about the past of each of them.

It has action, romance, mystery, supernatural beings and cases to solve. There were times when I wasn't completely hooked, but there were others where I couldn't stop reading, and when I realized it, the book was over.

I need more!

Thank you Small Bear Books for the ARC I read on NetGalley, a change from an honest review.

I am a fan of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series and this book hit that spot for me. There are many iterations of police teams that deal with the uncanny, not all of them work but I liked the premise for this book.
Jocasta is a forensic pathologist for the Met and is very good at what she does. However when it seems she underperformed in a performance review she is shunted to the Graveyard Watch - seemingly a demotion. It soon is apparent that she has entered a strange new underworld that lives in sync with our modern one. Her incisive skills are soon put to use and she is plunged into situations with vampires, werewolves, gnomes and plots to derail the leadership of the supernatural world.
I enjoyed the pacing and for me the characters were engaging and I cared what happened to them. A first book with promise and looking forward to the next.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC. All views are my own.

I have an extreme soft spot for urban fantasy, so I wasn't really surprised when the Graveyard Watch ticked all my boxes. It combines everything I love about the genre; a team of misfits thrown together, magical creatures and an unseen part of the modern world and then adds some humour into the mix. It doesn't always work well but this is a well written book, especially for a debut.

So, what do we have? We have a section of the police affiliated very loosely with the City of London force, situated in one of the towers of Tower Bridge and staffed by various different kinds of supernatural beings. And one human forensic pathologist. The characters are well written and, although we have the usual suspects of vampires and werewolves, it was nice to see a bit of variety in that cast list. My particular favourites is the gnome who does the forensics (Bucky), the Icarus sandals and the Cryptid Section of the Natural Museum. The overall plot may be familiar to fans of the genre (someone is going to commit a devastating crime. Our heroes have to stop them before they do) but there are tones that bring freshness to The Graveyard Watch.

As with a lot of urban fantasy, it is set in London. Although it is probably overdone, London does have that very old, lots of history, slightly spooky atmosphere to it, so it does lend itself well to this genre. It is that unfamiliar in the familiar landscape that I love so much in urban fantasy and it is used to devastating effect here. It is nice that the Tower Bridge area is getting a showing this time, although I'm pretty doubtful that you could fit a full pathology lab with forensics into the basement of one of the towers. It's fantasy though, and the aforementioned lab is run by a vampire so I think we can suspend belief on the dimensions for now.

The Graveyard Watch is part police procedural, post supernatural thriller and part comedy. I had some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, so the humour really worked for me. The romance felt a little shoehorned in and felt a bit like a plot device but it wasn't a great deal of the plot. It also is not super spicy, being fade to black, so those that are not too keen on graphic sex scenes should be ok. I would think that this would suit fans of the Guards in Discworld, the Rivers of London series and the Alex Verus series, as it felt like a bit of a mash up of all of them to me. As these are three of my favourite series, I think you could say this was straight up my alley. I would definitely read more in this new series.

Urban Fantasy set in London - those five words make me listen up every time. I blame it on Mike Carey and his Felix Castor novels, they were my entrance to the genre.

Unfortunately this debut novel didn't quite work for me. Although the scaffolding of the story is good and I'm likely to seek out a sequel novel, the execution of the novel was not my cup of tea. There were POV changes from one paragraph to the next without any indication that I am reading from another POV - which, I grant, might be due to having read a review copy. There were continuity issues that I also base on the review copy and hope were ironed out before this book went to press. Furthermore, unfortunately, there was too much tell rather than show - lengthy dialogue that contained information that could easily have been presented within the prose of the novel. Lastly, speaking of dialogue, why does nearly everyone with an accent have to "talk" in written accent?

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 - I'm hoping for a sequel

Wow, this book was so good. I don’t have much to say because i liked pretty much everything about it. Definitely would be on the look out for the next book by the author.

RJ Eason deserves a standing ovation for this awesome, entertaining, unique, story.....can you tell I loved it? THE GRAVEYARD WATCH is a police department that deals with....you got it....graveyard matters and everything that goes BUMP in the night. Even though it's urban fantasy, I got the same vibe as when I watched the old comedy Barney Miller, with a twist or two. As a debut, Eason has set the bar pretty high for the next book in the series. He expertly built his community and cast of characters to capture his target readers and have them looking for more. I would not be surprised if this book were to inspire a Netflix series.....it really is THAT good.

I really tried and enjoyed this book, I LOVE supernatural things and mystical creatures, I was satisfied on that side, it was interesting. The story was alright, the plot threaded out smoothly, the description and world were believable and I liked London painted like this. I decided to rate it so low because I did not enjoy the unnecessary cultural finger pointing.. it made the reading not enjoyable. It’s nice to include other nationalities, make character different and unique for their nationality, but reading it isn’t enjoyable, I did not need to read “English spoken French accent”, I am French myself and I know for fact that I don’t have an accent, yes it’s unique to have some characters having accents but not in dialogues, this is suppose to be a story not a fanfics…
That is what disappointed me the most in this book.. I recently learn that this is not a solo book ? I will not be continuing this series

The Graveyard Watch is an urban fantasy set in metropolitan London with heavy “noir” film vibes and a fun found family element.

It follows Jocasta, a pathologist that has recently been transferred to the Graveyard Watch – a police segment dedicated to supernatural cases. While Jocasta is human, everyone around her is not, and we follow her as she adapts to her new strange – if not eccentric – colleagues and unravels a supernatural mystery.

The book is pitched as an urban fantasy romance, but I personally found that the romance took a backburner to the mystery elements of the plot. This is because, aside from Jocasta’s POV as she falls for the handsome captain, we also get a lot of chapters from the POV of Domingo, the department chief.

They are very different people with very different quests. This So, though their stories intermingle in regard to the mystery, they barely interact in each other’s POVs. This kind of created a disconnect to me as it felt like I was reading a different book every time we switched between the POVs. And we switch POVs a lot.

In a single chapter, we can go from Jocasta to Domingo to some random, nameless passer by in the scene, back to Domingo, back to Jocasta. This makes for a confusing experience, especially in the last third of the book where it was the most common. I remember a chapter where we had 3 paragraphs from Jocasta, maybe 5 from Domingo, then back to Jocasta suddenly.

Eason also likes to write chapters from the POV of nameless, external characters that are witnessing events of the plot. Oftentimes, these scenes are of little importance to the actual story, which adds to my disorientation. However, in Eason’s defense, I actually liked these segments and found them fun. The author explores different members of the world they built that fit funny archetypes or show interesting perspectives. You can definitely sense the love, and care, put into the book during these scenes.

Otherwise, the descriptions are well-done, and the characters are fun to read about, if not a bit tropey. The dialogue especially flowed amazingly, and never got awkward. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get fully invested in it, but I can see this book becoming someone else’s safe space, so it’s definitely worth a try.

Thank you to NETGalley and R.J. Eason for providing me with an eArc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is Supernatural meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Ocean's Eleven and it all meshes so well with each other. We learn everything through Jocasta's point of view, and you feel like your one step behind Will and Sebastien but you get there. I was gasping and freaking out and I could picture all of it. Revenge is playing a role, and it is best served cold. Also, think outside the box, and you never know where you'll end up. There were a few characters with similar names that confused me, but overall, really good!

I even recommended this to my husband! It's a good one!

An intriguing and gripping story, I loved the characters and can't wait to read more by this author.

Initial thoughts… CSI meets mythical creatures a.k.a. crime fighting crew of the undead/otherworldly.

The characters were all from relatively different parts of Europe. Not a big buildup on the individual character backgrounds but it didn’t hurt the story. Some characters have written accents and some don’t… I will leave that to you to decide if you like that or not.

Takes place in London. Along the River Thames. With both human and mythical creatures.

The timeline of the book is set in the present as well as the past. With the past being Domingo’s story that leads up to the present day situation. I wasn’t sure how this would pan out when I first started reading. But about 25% of the way through I found myself fully invested in the story and wanting to know what would happen next and how the story would end.

Jocasta is the only female/human on the team. Sebastia, is most definitely a favorite, especially with his love for coffee. Will is your strong silent type. Domingo is the crew leader you know the one who always does things that may or may not be shady.

Overall, I truly liked The Graveyard Watch. I almost wish this were a series. Perhaps where the book is told with each of the characters essentially being the lead of their own book.

GENERAL INFO

The Graveyard Watch- a standalone

Year Pub/Re Pub: 2/1/24, Read 2/1/24

Book's cover: very dark, murky London

Format: eBook, 320 pages

Source:   Thanks to NetGalley and Small Bear Books Ltd for this ARC🩶!  I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Setting: London

Genre: paranormal, mystery, urban fantasy

Tropes: supernatural creatures(vampires/werewolves/gnomes), crime investigation, law enforcement, office romance 

HEA/HFN ending: HFN

Epilogue Included: yes

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary: Jocasta is new to the graveyard watch. She's a pathologist from Uni College Hospital hired to police the undead. She doesn't know her coworkers are supernatural, but they all investigate art theft and 3 dead people exsanguinated. Her and her captain, Will Everly, have a very Jim/Pam relationship, but Will makes his move much sooner. 

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Representation: POC, LGBTQIIA+

Flashbacks: There are two timelines with Domingo in the past being hired to create the ICPO, and Jocasta in the present starting a new job with a bunch of weirdos.

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h : Will is a little jealous when John Colt asked Jocasta out.

Amount of Sex In The Book: kissing and off page sexy time w/ Jocasta and Will

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Commander Domingo de Torres- a 100+ yrs vampire, looking for who/what killed his family.

Captain Will Everly - an elemental sylph, wind god

Jocasta Lewis-a human pathologist who didn't get promoted, and was assigned to the graveyard watch

Sebastien-a gay French werewolf whose accent and sense of humor offered comic relief

Bucky-gnome forensics expert

H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO

OW/OM/Exes: n/a

AUTHOR OVERVIEW: R.J. Easton-debut author

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 4

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: yes

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

COMMENTS/NOTES: I liked Jocasta's inner monologues and accepting the graveyard watch's paranormal species. I liked London being a character that set the tone and feel of the mysteries. I got a bit confused with the timelines and switching POVs within the same chapter. It happened a lot with Domingo and Jocasta with the past and present. Sebastien and Heinrich's accents were a little distracting, but they didn't have much dialogue to make sense of. I loved Jocasta and Will's relationship and I would definitely read more novels in this world.

ARC Review ~ the Graveyard Watch~

*******************************************

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I always love a fun Urban Fantasy and this book definitely fits the bill. The author brings to life a wild cast of characters in a world that really drags you in. Those last few chapters were action packed and had me on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait to see if the author has more in store for this world.

Thank you NetGalley and Small Bear Publishing for this ARC!

Something about the blurb for the Graveyard Watch grabbed my attention and I’m so glad I took a chance on this book. RJ Eason has created a fantastical world set in modern day London and it’s into this world that human pathologist Jocasta Lewis lands after she’s passed over for promotion or so she thinks when she finds herself seconded to the I.C.P.O or the Graveyard Watch as those who work there call it. Suddenly she’s got to suspend belief as she learns that when something goes bump in the middle of the night there’s every chance it could be a monster under the bed and she’s now part of a specialist team where her colleagues include Domingo, a centuries old Spanish vampire, Sebastian, a gay French werewolf; a lab technician who’s also a gnome and a potential love interest for her in a sylph called Will, and together they police the supernatural beings that live amongst us.

This book had me intrigued from the opening chapters as it alternated between telling the story of Domingo over the years as he went from being a lone vigilant to a Vatican sponsored agent for good as he hunted his nemesis and present-day London where he now leads the Graveyard Shift and where something dark is stirring. At times I did get strong Harry Potter vibes with Domingo playing Dumbledore to Jocasta’s wide-eyed Harry as learns more of what her new position entails and instead of trolls in the dungeons it was a case of ghouls in the morgue - here’s a tip chlorine gas might slow them down, but it won’t kill them so if you should encounter one, RUN! There was even a background character named McGonical. I did feel the story jumped a bit in within chapters. One minute you’re reading a scene with Jocasta and Will at dinner then the story abruptly switched to Domingo, but this might just be a case of formatting within the book itself and didn’t really spoil my reading as I soon got used to it. I’m looking forward to reading more adventures from the Graveyard Watch team.

"The Graveyard Watch" is an urban fantasy about a paranormal police unit dealing with undead cases. In a world very similar to ours including but not limited to vampires, werewolves and other species that go bump in the night. We have all manner of supernatural creatures and humans who are oblivious to their presence. It's almost as if they are living parallel lives, yet they do frequent the same places.

Enter Jocasta who takes a while to realise that this isn't a regular type of job, she's human so you've got to expect that. Even for a pathologist, The Graveyard Watch is weird. Jocasta is thrown in the deep end, into mystery, theft, several dead individuals, car chases and plenty more action. There's a lot going on in this book and it's perfect for those who want non stop hither thither .

I liked the worldbuilding but found a few thing drew me out of the narrative. First there was the different point of views, they weren't consistent throughout the book and seemed to pop up randomly. Jocasta appeared as a smart intelligent woman at work but a lovesick hormonal teenager in her personal life it was a little too hard to accept. It was funny in places, however the language and sentence structure was oddly formal and made me think what century are we in. The mystery wasn't as intricate as it originally appeared. Also I couldn't understand why some characters accents were emphasised to the degree that their words were phonetically spelt ('zee' for 'the', etc) out whereas others were not. Overall a good read but these distractions, became irritations and therefore made it difficult to enjoy or love this book.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Small Bear Book for a digital copy of this book in exchange for a candid review.

Comedy and fantasy is hard. Yes we can all think of Pratchett but getting the balance between unreality and then making us laugh at it is difficult. The fantasy police procedural is a common place to try to merge our world with a magical one. Adding laughs then is hard and sadly i found the attempt by RJ Eason in The Graveyard Watch to be incredibly disappointing.

Jocasta Lewis is very disappointed to not get her dream pathologist posting but is sent instead to a mysterious unit based under Tower Bridge. It leaks at high tide, her new boss the mysterious Domingo de Torres is keen she works for them but the cases are strange. Men drained of blood art thefts conducted in a minute and her department is ….odd. Jocasta is about to learn the rational world she knows isn’t quite what she thinks.

I’m very sorry to say I was massively underwhelmed by this tale. There is little sense of character across the board. Jocasta feels two dimensional with no real grasp of who she is beyond what is needed for each scene - an issue for her as the entry point into the story. Weirdly she is initially praised more for her forensic skills rather than pathologist ones - especially weirder as the team has a gnome forensics expert too. Its a little laboured in 2024 to have a novelty French accent used for one character while del Torres speaks fluently. The use of metaphors laboured and the plot is not that interesting. Humour I accept is in the eyes of the reader but I found this went for the predictable and unfunny with a strange desire to add a joke to most parts of the description. I couldn’t really get into the story throughout

None of the book appealed to me and I did find it clunky to the extreme. I have no desire to see what happens next and I ultimately cannot recommend to anyone.