A Troll Walks into a Bar

A Noir Urban Fantasy Novel (Alexander Southerland, P.I., Book 1)

By: Douglas Lumsden

Narrated by: Duffy P. Weber

Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

A troll in a pinstriped suit walks into a bar. He's looking for Alex Southerland, private investigator and summoner of elementals. A gorgeous dame is going to come to Southerland with a case, and the troll tells him that he is going to turn the case down - or else! But Southerland doesn't respond well to threats, even from a seven-and-a-half foot, 500-pound enforcer. Besides, he needs the dough! The stubborn PI soon finds himself cruising through the traffic-jammed streets of Yerba City in an outlandish beastmobile borrowed from a glorified pimp, encountering corrupt city officials, deadly gang bosses, creatures of legend, the sleaziest attorney in the city, a were-rat, and an irresistible - if homicidal - refugee from the ocean depths. Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Southerland weaves his way from seedy neighborhoods to the dazzling lights of downtown - and from one savage beating to the next - to clear his name and uncover a shocking secret.

©2019 Douglas W Lumsden (P)2020 Douglas W Lumsden

Solid Noir

This was a good solid Noir story with some fantasy elements. The narrator did a good job with the voices and had the right sound for a gritty noir tale.

It’s cool

Idk if he’s really a PI or a wondering lost cop who fall into hints. For whatever reason he gives no forethought into his next step nor does he test his powers and see what he can or can’t do. Good book but it could be wayyyyy better

A Great High Urban Fantasy Novel

Overall, the book was great, but female characters sounded like Kyle from South Park

The story was a great muguffin based detective novel, with really interesting world building and some pretty fun characters. The author does a good job of addressing contemporary social issues regarding corruption, wealth, refugees, war, and a litany of other hit ticket items, and he melded it into a fantasy novel brilliantly.

My one gripe, is that pretty much every female character sounded like a different version of Kyle from South Park with its high pitched tone and rapid tempo.

unnecessarily profane and violent

genuine nour, classic noir, isn't profane or unnecessarily violent. it's too bad - fun premise, possibly interesting storyline. the author is quite educated, I just don't understand why he made the writing choices he did.

and don't even think about giving this to a kid under 16.

What a great easy listen!

I have throughly enjoyed both books in this series. I Can’t wait for next book to come out!

Awesome Story! Fun and Intriguing

I thought this story was creative and interesting.  It had everything a listener would want in a book – mystery, action, interesting characters, and magic.  The characters were well developed and fit perfectly into their roles in the story.  I truly enjoyed the wererat, Badass, and Smoky as side characters.  The role of each character was well defined and detailed. 

The storyline flowed smoothly and kept one’s interest piqued from beginning to end.  While I had not planned on listening to this story in one sitting, it just happened.  I lost all track of time and became embroiled in the plot. 

The narrator, Duffy Weber, gives an excellent performance providing each character with a distinct voice and enhancing their personality through that voice.  I could picture the wererat bouncing up and down on his feet in excitement not only through the word of the author but the style of narration Weber chose to represent him.  Weber is consistent in his narration and articulate.

This is a fun book, one that you will not want to put down until the end, and when the end happens, you will long for more.  Lumsden has the creative ability to keep his audience captivated.

The production quality of this audiobook was well done, clear, and without issue. 

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

A fun fast moving Fantasy !

This is a new author & genre for me. I was looking for a fun imaginative listen, this fit the bill ! Well written , with nicely developed charaters. It held my interest & liked it very much. The narrarator did a great job, he has quite the repertoire of different voices that really made the charaters & story come to life !
I will definitetly listen to the next book by this author & narrarator.

Plots within plots

Alex Lockerbie gets into his own share of trouble without having more added without his intention. Crooked cops use him as a punching bag while he uncovers plots within plots. A definite read that keeps you guessing!

Enjoyed the entire series

This has been one of my favorite series. Great characters and storylines. Can't wait for the next installment!

Well worth the time it took to listen!

I've gotten to where it takes a really good story to keep my interest. I want to see interesting characters plot that move well, and writing that uses the language appropriately. This book did all of that and more. I'd very much like to see more of this authors work, and would even pay full price! I don't say that easily, as I'm usually quite frugal.

Loved it

Witty, dark and exciting. Totally page turner. My recommendation. Usually not a fan of detective stories and fantasy, but I could not put this away.

Brilliant! A must read

Great story well plotted, and a superb narrator is the cherry on the cake. I mean who wouldn't want to listen to a great detective story, with the usual cast of trolls, dwarves, elemental spirits and fish men?