Deep Night

Detective Harlan Ulrich, Book 1

By: Ambrose Ibsen

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

IT COMES AT NIGHT

Pawn shop owner Nancy Pruitt is being stalked. Every night since bringing a mysterious painting into her home, she's been awakened by a rapping at her bedroom window. What's more, the nightly visitor seems to bear quite the resemblance to a figure in her new painting....

Enter Harlan Ulrich: Coffee-fueled eccentric and private detective.

Running from a ghost-filled past, Ulrich settles down in Tanglewood, Ohio, hoping to turn a new leaf and put the supernatural behind him.

But upon getting involved with Nancy's case, the detective realizes he may have just gotten wrapped up in precisely the kind of investigation he's been trying to avoid.

DEEP NIGHT is a novel of supernatural suspense, the first in the Detective Harlan Ulrich series.

©2019 Ambrose Ibsen (P)2019 Ambrose Ibsen

Mystery with a supernatural element

Deep Night is an introduction to the world of Detective Harlan Ulrich, and I’ll admit that I wasn’t quite sure about this character in the beginning. Ulrich is gruff and sarcastic, which isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but this guy just wasn’t likable. He was rude and condescending until he actually needed to act like a better person. The good news is that Ulrich is redeemable, and those redeeming qualities do come out as the story progresses. By the end of the book, I didn’t love Harlan Ulrich, but I did like him more often than not. He’s certainly flawed, and he’s seen his share of things he’d like to forget, which adds layers to his gruff first impression.
Ambrose Ibsen creates a creepy atmosphere with the appearances of the ghost, especially in the early chapters of the book. That said, the story becomes less creepy ghost story and more mystery with a supernatural element as things move along, and for me, it was a bit too predictable. It did hold my interest, but I guessed the outcome pretty early on in the investigation. At that point, I was really liking the story, and I kept listening, hoping to be wrong, hoping for something more than the run of the mill reveal I saw coming. There is an additional twist at the end that was intriguing but not exactly jaw-dropping. The ending, after the case is solved, moved along a little longer than I felt was necessary and left me somewhat confused about why it took so much to tie it all up.
Our narrator, Kyle Tait, captures the tone of the story perfectly. Some of my favorite parts were when the ghost first appears. Even before she’s described, that tapping and the characters’ reaction to it raised the hairs on my arm. Tait gives a distinctive voice to each of the characters, including the ghost, even without her saying a word. Tait does a really good job with the excitement and rising tension as things start to come together in the investigation, and it was easy to become invested in the story with his performance.
In the end, Deep Night didn’t exactly keep me guessing, but it did hold my interest. In Harlan Ulrich, Ambrose Ibsen has created a character that I may not always like, I may even want to give him a good punch in the mouth from time to time, but he’s still a character I want to know more about.

Unexpected but definitely enjoyable.

As a fan of Ambrose Ibsen, having read and listened to his work for years, I have to say Deep Night surprised me a bit. Ambrose is well known for writing horror, so while Deep Night indeed starts off with some delightful creepiness, it surprised me that it wasn't long before it transforms into a semi-traditional detective story, despite the inclusion of ghosts. The book features an interesting collection of characters-those familiar with Ambrose's work might recognize Det. Harlan Ulrich from some of his other books-and a solid story. While I must admit I was pretty sure I had the mystery figured out somewhat early on, that did nothing to lessen my enjoyment in any way. As always, Kyle Tait does a great job with the narration.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Good Start to a Paranormal Detective Series

Detective Ulrich is back, different series, same guy. Ambrose Ibsen tells a wonderful haunted house story and he uses those skills to weave a mystery detective story into a fun paranormal one.
The plot seemed fairly simple, but was methodically told and kept you wanting to know what was behind the mystery. I didn’t really feel that this was that scary, but was just the right amount paranormal to make it more than just your typical detective story. I definitely want to know what is next for the detective, this should prove to be a good series.

I really enjoyed the characters in the story. They all were a bit quirkly and I loved the whole awkwardness of having to acknowledge the landlord’s homely daughter’s photo after he visits each time. Completely random but a truly funny and awkward moment. Harlan, having expensive coffee taste, and little money seems to put his foot in his mouth enough in the beginning that he is forced to take a case he didn’t want. Right off the bat he wasn’t someone that I liked but as the story continued, he began to grow on me. He portrayed the adept detective who starts off fairly lackadaisical, but as the suspense heats up, he ups his game. I enjoyed seeing him go from one spectrum to the other.

First time listening to Kyle Tait and hope it won’t be my last. He did a really good job with the character’s voices and you can hear the enthusiasm he put into his narration. I look forward to hearing him narrate the rest of the series.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Holy Goosebumps!!

So, when I saw this was a detective novel my thought was "Sure why not? I love Detective books and shows." There were a few times I had to stop listening just to get the goosebumps to go away! Twists and turns and unexpected endings! I definitely suggest giving this novel a go!

Can’t wait for more

One of the best horror writers out there and this supernatural mystery is a great example
This has what you expect if your a Ambrose Ibsen fan great story,creep factor,and excellent narration
I’ll be Patiently waiting for book two
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Spooky Mystery

Deep Night is a supernatural detective story that plays fair with the reader even as it offers a healthy portion of make-the-hairs-stand-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck terror. As with all good horror novels, author Ambrose Ibsen builds the reader’s feelings of unease slowly and with a brilliant mechanism that absolutely everyone can relate to. A woman is awakened in the middle of the night by a tapping on her window. Just think about that for a moment. It’s almost midnight and she’s shaken from her sleep by a quiet tap tap tap on her bedroom windowpane When she builds the courage to peak outside, no one is at her window, but she catches sight of a figure watching her from the street. She quite sensibly calls the police, but the responding officer doesn’t find anything. The next night, matters progress further and when the police again come up empty handed, the woman goes in search of a private investigator to discover who is harassing her.

Enter Harlan Ulrich, formerly of Toledo. He’s lazy and uninterested in the case until his landlord increases his rent and he realizes if he doesn’t earn some money he’s going to lose his office. It was in many ways an unfortunate way to introduce the character because it made Ulrich initially unlikeable. We, the reader, knows this woman desperately needs help and he seems uncaring about her predicament. Fortunately, Ulrich quickly wins the reader back by sticking with the case when it immediately goes bad. You see, Ulrich quickly uncovers evidence that the client’s nocturnal visitor is not human.

From this point forward, the novel revolves around the investigation into why the client is being harassed by a supernatural creature. The creature’s appearance is quickly connected to a painting the woman has just acquired so Ulrich opens his investigation by looking into the painting’s origins and how it came into the woman’s possession. This investigation did not take the direction I initially assumed it would, and that’s always a good thing. Not all of the twists and turns in the rest of the novel were as surprising, but when an author fairly provides the clues to a mystery, he has to risk readers putting the pieces together faster than his detective does.

This novel is boosted by the excellent vocal talents of narrator, Kyle Tait. He provides excellent pacing and clearly discernable voices for all the characters. His low voice and quiet style added significantly to the tension Ibsen builds in the story as the scope of the supernatural problem is uncovered. If you like solid detective stories with a healthy (or should that be “unhealthy”) dose of the supernatural, you’ll enjoy Deep Night. I intend to read the next mystery in this series.

Poorly written

“Her lips fell into a frown”. Frowning lips sum up this novel quite nicely. The main character is awful to the point of being a bit childish. The writing is terrible. And as Dorothy Parker once said: “this wasn’t just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. Terrible with raisins in it.”
I couldn’t finish this. The writing proved too much for me. I hope the author improves, but I’ll be giving his work a wide berth.

Why the change in narrator?

I really liked this book. I did have a hard time with the different narrator. I prefer Jake Urry (I think he's the narrator for the other books). I feel that his voice portrays Harlan much better but that's just a personal preference. Kyle Tait did a good job. Harlan is a flawed but likeable character.

NO! NO! NO!... WHERE is your usual narrator Jake Urry???

Good grief..!! I am so disgusted by your choice of narrator I could SPIT..!!
While I’m quite certain he is a wonderful human being , he does not deliver the “ creep factor “ that Jake Urry does... rest assured ,.. I won’t be buying any more without his particular brand of narrative.. it missed so many nuances that Ambrose is known for.. what a pity.... a pity..

I would call this low-key paranormal

I would call this low-key paranormal. This is not my normal genre, but I enjoyed it. The story is nothing mind-blowing, though it’s entertaining. Decent character development. Lots of adverbs. Overall really good writing.
The narrator did a great job. Good production.
Warning: Some unnecessary foul language in the book. I wish books came with ratings or advisories of such.

A ghostly story with a difference!

Great tale, really well told by Kyle Tait. Fascinating, bit scary, but you expect that . Looking forward to reading the next one!

Hauntingly exciting story with great narration

This was a beautifully written ghost story which had a really great narrator for the audio which just added to the feel of the story. I loved discovering whether the figure in the painting was actually haunting the owner and if so why? It did not disappoint but I don’t want to spoil any of it however if you like the ghost stories of bygone days like me this is a great find.

Another great read from this very talented author

I have now read a few books by Ambrose Ibsen and he is fast becoming one if my favourite current supernatural /paranormal authors. I was very excited to start reading this book and loved the idea of a detective mystery/ supernatural crossover . I absolutely love how the writer builds up the suspense and tension so gradually that it makes you feel uneasy throughout and you are just waiting for that scare moment. Although this book is a strong first novel to another series that I can see being very popular.. I hate to have to say that I couldn't help the feeling that this novel was somewhat rushed in comparison to the others I had read previously asylum etc... Even though this is the case I hope to read more from the author as I believe he has so much more to give his readers. I was given this book by the author/narrator in return for an honest and unbiased review

An easy listen supernatural who-done-it

I have to say I really enjoyed this. I listen whilst driving mainly so if I get distracted with driving and miss something critical, I can lose interest. Not with this story though, I came to like the main character, Ulrich, more as the story moved on but he appeared quite cantankerous at the start. The story isn't complicated and doesn't send you off on a wild goose chase for no reason, it's realistic (if the supernatural can be realistic) and seemed to hold my attention really well. As for the narrator, he grew on me, all his characters sounded individual, his words were clear and he really engaged me into the story. I would definitely listen to the next book as long as Kyle Tait is narrating 😃

Thoroughly enjoyable ghost story with real heart.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book, freeof charge, in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good ghost story, and I particularly like one where the event isn't restricted to 'The spooky house on the hill' but has instead intruded on the sanctity of our homes. In this case an unknown and unseen presence has been knocking on Nancy's bedroom window ever since she brought an unusual painting home from her Pawn Shop business and she fears that she's been targeted by a stalker.

As the events take a more frightening turn, she approaches Harlan Ulrich, a private detective and new resident of the town, but it quickly becomes apparent that this is no mere case of stalking.

While Nancy is clearly a means to an end and really little more than a reason for the book to exist, Harlan is a fantastic character. Channeling a bit of Agent Cooper from Twin Peeks and his love for cake, I was constantly amused by his love for coffee and his way of coping with the weird happenings always felt realistic, believable but heartfelt. All the characters, whether Male or Female, were presented in a very clear, distinctive and enjoyable way by the narrator and at no point was I unsure as to who was speaking.

With a great flow, a great sense of mystery and a really satisfying ending I thoroughly enjoyed this book and await the next Harlan Ulrich book with interest.

Predictable yet still enjoyable - love that cat!

This was a fun, quaint mystery. It is set in modern times but feels more like the 80s before the internet and cell phones were common. The mystery was predictable and I had guessed who the culprit was long before we had a body. Still, it was fun to see our hero Ulrich work it out for himself.

The strongest element to this story was the atmosphere of suspense. Even though I had guessed early on what was going on, I still liked that it felt like a good campfire story.

I love the cat! Everyone needs to take their pet cat to work. Ulrich is a bit of a grump at the start but once he realizes he needs a case to make rent, he goes back to Nancy almost begging for the job. I eventually warmed up to him. Once I did, I really got into the story. This tale made me crave fancy coffee. 4/5 stars.

Narration: Kyle Tait had unique voices for all the characters. The ladies were pretty good but sometimes sounded just a touch cartoony, especially the jilted angry wife. Pacing is good. No tech issues. 4/5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book. My opinions are 100% my own.

Amazing book

Brilliant storyline enjoyed this audio book very much
Love every minute for the storyline
Must buy

Very good thriller/detective Book and narration

I enjoyed this book a great deal, and in a few ways I was reminded of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. No wizard detectives, ties to the police, or animated skull here, though, and the narrator's work was top notch - perfectly paced and modulates to suit the book and its genre. The slightly unoriginal feel led me to rate this book 4 stars instead of 5, but the story was good and twisty enough for me not to have guessed things in advance. I look forward to the next book!