Dead Spots

Scarlett Bernard, Book 1

By: Melissa F. Olson

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

When LA’s vampires, witches, and werewolves make a mess, they call Scarlett Bernard to clean it up. Her ability as a null erases all magical traces from anything—or anyone—that comes within ten feet of her, and keeps humans in the dark about the city’s paranormal activity. One night when she’s called to a grisly crime scene, Scarlett is spied by the all-too-human LAPD cop Jesse Cruz, who strikes up a deal with her: he’ll keep quiet about the supernatural underworld if she helps him crack the case. She agrees, but the city’s chief vampire, Dash, starts to suspect Scarlett is behind the murders and will reveal all she knows of his shadowy empire. Now it’ll take more than Scarlett’s unique abilities to clear her name, keep the underworld underground, and track down the real killer.

©2012 Melissa F. Olson (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Whoa!

I must confess. I came in having already read the third trilogy of this "series". I say series loosely because it's technically three trilogies that tie in to each other. I know a lot of the stuff that happens after this book, but that didn't stop me from being shocked at some relevations that happened In this book. I can't wait to devour the rest of this trilogy and the next one. I really do recommend this series. If you're interested in Stephanie Plum series or any series with a sarcastic main character who you can't help but adore, this is the PERFECT book for you. I would definitely recommend not doing it like me and reading the last trilogy first, but what can you do? I'm happy I was able to get ahold of the rest of them! This has quickly become one of my favorite series of all times!

New to me author

This was a bookclub selection and a new to me author. The narrator did a great job with the different voices and accents. I really enjoyed this origin story. I would definitely listen to more of the series although I'm not really a fan of the love triangle the author set up.

Interesting series

I've always loved a supernatural read so I couldn't redid this one. I wanted more action between Scarlett and Eli or Jessie but I guess that's why it's a series. Maybe I. The next book!

I just LOVE Scarlett!

I've read some of the later books in the next series before realizing there was a previous one, so I needed to go back and "live" through her earlier life to see how things came about. Love the characters, especially Dashall, Jessy and Eli. So much fun to listen to. The reader is really good.

Pretty Good Urban Fantasy

After reading Boundary Crossed, I wanted to go back to Dead Spots to remind myself of the world and the story. I wanted to see if Dead Spots was as light and “romancy” as I remembered. I think it does have more of a romantic leaning than Boundary Crossed, especially since there is a love triangle involved. And Scarlet’s relationship with her roommate, Molly, has some comical tendencies. But the story itself wasn’t as light as I was remembering.

Main characters: ♥ ♥ ♥ Scarlett Bernard is a magical null and cleaner for the supernatural community in Los Angeles. I like Scarlett – she’s practical and resourceful and determined – but she also has an annoying tendency to be too passive. I think she sees herself as a victim of her circumstances and is a little bit self-pitying, which keeps her from believing she has worth and can take charge of her life. It’s been a while since I’ve read the whole series, but I’m hoping this is one of the character’s growth-points.

Other characters: ♥ ♥ ♥ I’m not very fond of the vampires in this world – with the exception of Dashiell’s wife, Beatrice. I do like the wolves, though. Will and Eli seem like good guys. I feel bad for Eli; he likes Scarlett, but she doesn’t take his interest seriously. Jesse Cruz is the cop who accidentally stumbles into supernatural dealings. I like him, but he’s a bit slow on the uptake. His stubbornness seems to put his and Scarlett’s life on the line a bit too often.

World: ♥ ♥ ♥ In Scarlett’s world, supernaturals are attempting to avoid detection by the normals. Vampires, werewolves, and witches have a tentative working relationship, but none of them really like each other. In Los Angeles, where Scarlett lives, the vampires are in charge. They operate much like an old mob family and are not very nice – well, most of them aren’t very nice. Nulls like Scarlett are seen as valuable, but mostly in the way that property is valuable. Werewolves seem much friendlier.

Story: ♥ ♥ ♥ Dead Spots is mainly a mystery. Los Angeles vampires are being slaughtered brutally and no one knows how or why. Scarlett needs to solve the mystery before human cop, Jesse Cruz, gets pulled farther into the supernatural world and probably killed. There is an interesting surprise at the end, though I won’t spoil it for you here.

Narrator: ♥ ♥ ♥ I’ll admit that it took me a bit to warm up to Amy McFadden as the narrator. Her voice for Scarlett is pretty brash… more like an East Coast accent than a West Coast one. There wasn’t a great amount of difference in the voices of her males, either. But I eventually got used to her and it was fine.

Overall: ♥ ♥ ♥ Dead Spots is a good read and a good listen. Though it sometimes straddles the line between a serious urban fantasy and a fluffier paranormal romance, it is certainly entertaining.

Great first in a series

This was one of the books I picked up during the recent First in a Series sale and I am thrilled that I did. The heroine is not whiney or afraid of who she is and the other characters are well fleshed out. I am certain that we will get a bit more back story on each of them as the series moves along based on the writing style exhibited in this book. The plot was good too. It had some fun little twists and turns and a decent mystery. The supernatural world is also well thought out and interesting, and I like the twist of a Null.

Amy McFadden's performance was spot on and I really enjoyed listening to her.

Nicely done! I am looking forward to the next installment!

Great book!!!

Moving in n to book 2. Excellent new series, original concept & great paranormal origin story & the story line is also fast paced & sxciting

Entertaining Urban Fantasy

What made the experience of listening to Dead Spots the most enjoyable?

This was an entertaining story with a new angle and I was pleasantly surprised. There are the usual vampires and werewolves, but with Scarlett there's a new aspect to the interaction. The main characters are well defined and as the book progresses, more background to each one is revealed.
There's a bit of romance (in the making) also, but not too much.

What about Amy McFadden’s performance did you like?

Amy McFadden's performance was just right for this story, clear and precise while giving each character definition.

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

I did listen to it in one "sitting" - perfect for working all day in the garden.

Any additional comments?

Easy listening Urban Fantasy - I anticipate the next book in this series and hope Audible will add it as soon as it comes out - I would like to go on listening right now...

Love triangle in a decent book ugh.

I really like the book. I like that the plot centers on a new idea in fantasy (a null) and not just a rehash of typical vampire/werwolf genres, She is a hole in magic so if a magical creature enters her field their magic gets turned off which make for some pretty fun reading.

For me, the only big negative is the love triangle. I hate them and try to avoid them when ever I can so if your not a fan of love triangles you probably will get a bit annoyed. It doesn't play a huge part of the story but its there, poking you in the eye with its gnarly wart covered finger. And it seems like it will be here for at least a couple more books. Its not as heavy handed as "twilight" but it is there..

I gave the series a chance because of the Narrator "Amy McFadden" who also narrates the "Jane Yellowrock" series. She does an excellent job reading this book and I will probably continue listening to the others. And the first couple books are pretty cheap to pick up too.

Good read with a few plot holes....

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book but there are a few parts that will have you screaming at your audio device. It's a good first outing for the author. I would have given it a 3.5 if possible but it leaned more 3 than 4.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The author gave allot more closure than most books but the so-call reveal that probably will be the device for the next book was predictable to me.

Which character – as performed by Amy McFadden – was your favorite?

My favorite characters were detective Cruz and Molly the roommate.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I would go see it.