Among the Living

PsyCop, Book 1

By: Jordan Castillo Price

Narrated by: Gomez Pugh

Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Victor Bayne, the psychic half a PsyCop team, is a gay medium who's more concerned with flying under the radar than in making waves.

He hooks up with handsome Jacob Marks, a non-psychic (or "Stiff") from an adjacent precinct at his ex-partner's retirement party, and it seems like his dubious luck has taken a turn for the better. But then a serial killer surfaces who can change his appearance to match any witness' idea of the world's hottest guy.

Solving murders is a snap when you can ask the victims whodunit, but this killer's not leaving any spirits behind.

Warning: This audiobook contains explicit adult content.

©2006 Jordan Castilo Price (P)2014 Jordan Castillo Price

Great in book form, even better in audio!

What made the experience of listening to Among the Living the most enjoyable?

The narrator did an excellent job assigning different vocal personalities to his characters, I really appreciate that. I've read this series and knew it would be tough to find the right narrator, but Gomez is perfect. Vic's personality comes shining through, but my favorite spot on voice was for Warwick.

What other book might you compare Among the Living to and why?

Gosh that's hard, Jordan Castillo Price has such a unique voice in fiction. This is contemporary but not, believable psi-fi, moody, edgy, and hot all at once. Every part of my brain is fully engaged in her story telling. Maybe Jordan Hawk or early Anne Rice would be comparable?

Have you listened to any of Gomez Pugh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Many, but the power and confidence of Jacob paralleled to Vic's seeming insecurity is interesting. Particularly since Vic was such a rock for his new partner during her crisis. IF that makes any sense.

Any additional comments?

This is so much more than what some might expect of m/m genre. Yes it's a romance, kind of, but more than that it's enthralling, and imaginative.

Interesting Story!

Any additional comments?

This was an interesting, entertaining, nicely performed mystery, paranormal read. I was bummed about Lisa, I liked her character a lot. Good audio

Fun and interesting take

What made the experience of listening to Among the Living the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the gruffness that the narrator dredged up for Bayne which really helped you get to know the character

What did you like best about this story?

I like the fresh take on the genre! Interesting view on checks and balances for the psychic use in law enforcment

Have you listened to any of Gomez Pugh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I enjoy this narrator I believe this is the first one I've listened to but I would do so again!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. Once I got into it I was eager to continue

what a sexy voice

I loved this book it was the right length for me it was fun to listen to and I didn't want it to end, Gomez Pugh's voice well (fanning myself) smoking hot, the story was really good I love supernatural science fiction and this didn't disappoint, would I listen to the next book you bet

Good Things to Come from this Series.

What did you like best about Among the Living? What did you like least?

3 1/2 stars.

This Audio Book "read" like a short story. It was not great but not bad either. A very good back drop to what I can tell will be an interesting series.This book wasn't long enough to get me invested in the characters. But at the same time, I do want to know where all the relationships and the stories are going to lead.

I felt like this was like the poor man's version of the 'Pindone Files' by Ann Somerville. Which I loved, but also was not spread out over multiple books in a series like this is.

In "short" this was a fast m/m read(listen) with some surprisingly fantastic female characters (which shocked me for an m/m story)

The big win with this audio was the amazing narrator. I can't say enough about Gomez Pugh and his fantastic portrayal of Vic and Jacob. Pure Perfection.

Have you listened to any of Gomez Pugh’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. This was my first book narrated by Gomez and he was amazing. This book would not have held on it's own if I was reading it. Gomez Pugh is undeniable Victor Bayne.

LOVE this series!

Any additional comments?

The narrator is perfect for the main character's deadpan delivery and quips. If you like paranormal detective stories with a little romance (m/m) and decent plots, I think you'll like this one. The characters all have depth, and though the feelings between the two lovers aren't spelled out, you can still tell they care about each other, and their relationship is interesting. I am particularly fond of the mc of course, with his dry humor and the plausible dilemma his "gift" brings. Some of the social situations he's placed in are delightfully awkward and morbid because of his talent.

Smart story with sexy cops. What could be better?

I've now read/listened to several books by Jordan Castillo Price and I've really enjoyed them all. Among the Living is no exception. This "psy-fi" thriller has a fast pace and really kept me wanting to listen 'just a few more minutes.' I'm looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Such a great - spooky - series and narration

Because this starts our series, a little background on the story is important. In this series we have a few central characters that we follow in each book. Victor is the star, he’s a detective who can see and somewhat interact with ghosts. In this “world” the fact that psychics exist and are on the police force to exploit their skills is a known quantity and accepted. Sure, it’s still a bit shunned, but there are some people who find it fascinating. Like Jacob.
Jacob is absolutely without psychic powers. He’s a plain ol’ detective paired with a psychic partner, Carolyn, who detects lies. When he meets Victor he’s enthralled with the geeky, awkward and somewhat dark – fellow police officer.
Though Jacob has been burned by working with a lover, he falls for Victor and can’t avoid the attraction.
What proceeds is their awkward romance while solving crimes.
In this first book, the mystery has to do with a killer who looks like everyone’s version of “hot”. (That in itself is fascinating! JCP you are so talented!) Since people don’t know that’s the situation, we get this awesome back-door view into people’s psyche because when they describe the bad guy – we now know who they think is “the hottest man alive”. This is particularly sweet later in the book, but I’m not giving anything away.
The paranormal level of this book is mild/medium – so even if you aren’t a fan of paranormal/ghosty type books, I think you will like this book (and probably the series). If you are a mystery/detective fan you definitely will. If you like dry humor and awkward/dorky characters you’ll love these books. And of course, if you are a JCP fan, you already read them ten times.
So, overall – 5 stars! You’ll ask yourself – why haven’t I read this before? And then you’ll go get the rest of the series… I know I did!

Audio:
Gomez’ Vic is SPOT-ON. He is exactly how you think he’d be in your head. Gomez Pugh does an absolutely fantastic job with Lisa and Warrick too. I kept picturing the SNL skit “Da Bears” which is what you should picture when thinking of a Chicago Police Captain. It was great fun listening to his “bad guy” accent too… can’t tell you more than that, but you’ll have a hoot! I didn’t exactly love his Jacob… I liked it. It fit. But it bugged me sometimes. (He fixes this down the road so… give it a try!) It didn’t detract much from my overall adoration of the narration and as the series progresses your love of him will grow!

Hooked!

JCP is one of my new favorites! Both story and narration were fantastic. Can't wait to read more!

Pleasant surprise

I really wasn't sure how good this book would be but I wanted something different so I went for it. I am so glad I did! Interesting and engaging story line and the narrator was very good. I will definitely buy the next book.