Five Dead Herrings

Quest Investigations, Book 1

By: E.J. Russell

Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux

Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Something’s definitely fishy about this case….

On my last stakeout for Quest Investigations, I nearly got clotheslined by a grove of angry dryads. I expected my bosses to reprimand me, but instead they handed me my first solo assignment. Me! Matt Steinitz, the only human on the Quest roster!

Okay, so the mission isn’t exactly demanding. Obviously, the bosses wanted to give me something they think I can’t screw up. I’m determined to show them what I can do, however, so I dive right in with no complaints.

At first glance, it looks as simple as baiting a hook: A selkie’s almost-ex-husband is vandalizing his boat with unwanted deliveries of deceased sea life. All I have to do is document the scene, tell the ex to cease and desist, and present the bill for property damages. Boom. Mission accomplished, another Quest success, and as a bonus, I get to keep my job.

But then things get…complicated. Suspicious undercurrents muddy up my oh-so-easy case. Nothing is as clear as it should be. And the biggest complication? My inappropriate attraction to the client, who may not be as blameless as he claims.

Turns out those dead herrings aren’t the only things that stink about this situation.

Dammit.

Five Dead Herrings is the first in the Quest Investigations M/M paranormal mystery series, a spinoff of E.J. Russell’s Mythmatched paranormal rom-com story world. It contains no on-page sex or violence, and although there is a romantic subplot, it is not a romance.

©2021 E.J. Russell (P)2022 E.J. Russell

Entertaining mystery!

This was an interesting start to a magical mystery series with a tiny sprinkling of a romance subplot. I am not the biggest fan of when the MC is kind of talking to the reader, which this has a little bit of. It wasn't too distracting for me though, and mainly was in the beginning of the book.

The mystery was interesting, and I like the setup of a human working in a magical investigation business, sounds like a good series set up where every case has the potential to be something really unique. Also, love anything having to do with Selkies!

Greg Boudreaux has a great narration, per usual, in this. I really enjoy how there was some voice acting included, as well as reading with different voices. Boudreaux added some extra depth to the story with strategically placed pauses, sounding like a character was eating with their mouth full, sarcasm, etc. I really enjoy the additional performance to narrations, and this added to the story for me! Brought it to life.

oh Greg boudreaux

if this was an hour longer I would of not been so angry at the cliff hanger

but Greg boudreaux's voice is heavenly

This should listed as YA Fantasy

Super cute! Some of the character names were a little too similar and it was sometimes difficult to follow who was who. No real relationship in this book… but the story and writing were great. Narrator was fantastic!❤️

love it!!

this book has become my number one! I'm so in love!! you'll love it if you loved the other books in fairy 🧚‍♀️✨

Five dead herrings

I had a lot of fun listening to this story. I’ve enjoyed all the other books in this world and love getting to see the characters from previous stories. It’s also really great to get to see Matt’s story also known as Hugh as in human. And Lachlan is a prickly fun character to get to know. I loved seeing Matt work in the supernatural world and how he handles this investigation. I’m curious to see how the relationships will progress. You don’t have to have read the other books set in this world but if you have you’ll love getting to see and hear about characters from before. I enjoyed the mystery and the magic. I’m excited to see Matt grow and gain more confidence in his investigating skills. And see how things will go with him and a certain selkie king.

Enjoyed it & can't wait to listen to the next one

I found this book extremely enjoyable. The mystery aspect is the center of the story, with Matt's continuing immersion in the "supe" world, and the changes going on in this world as a kind of backdrop. But although there are serious bits to it for sure, (there's mention of an abusive partner, but nothing graphic on page), it's very amusing, clever, and charming. It's fairly suspenseful and I did not find it terribly predictable, though some characters who have made appearances in other previous books in the world continue to get up to similar antics. (<cough> Jordan <cough>) This is a good thing though, because if you've liked the other books Russell's written in this world, you'll enjoy this one and seeing some old faces again.
It DOES have very little in the sex department - to say it's a slow burn would be putting it extremely mildly. But this is a series with the main characters remaining the same throughout, so we'll get to see a gradual development, rather than instant chemistry followed quickly by a sure HEA. This isn't a bad thing. I'm looking forward to seeing how things turn out.
It definitely helps to read the previous series in this world to truly appreciate all the characters and their backgrounds, as well as how the supe society works, but it's not 100% essential. That being said, I've loved all the books in this continuing series/world and recommend all of them. It can only enhance the experience of listening to/reading this one.
Greg's narration is fantastic - I'm so glad that he's continued to be the narrator for these books. He does such a great job with the growing and varied cast of characters. I can't wait until the next one comes out in audio.

phenomenal listen!!

This was such a fun listen!! First of all the world building in this is off the charts fantastic! Loved the humor and snark. I’m excited to read more Matt and Lachlan over the series. The paranormal and mystery were really well done! Greg Boudreaux did a fantastic job with the narration, I couldn't stop listening to it. Listened to it in one sitting! Overall this was a fantastic listen, definitely recommend.

So much better in audio

Having read this in ebook form, I knew what was going to happen, but even still, Greg B made it better.

Know off the bat that this is a mystery first with a hint of a romance to come. I did not know that when I first read it and it made me a bit upset. Though knowing how it ends now, I was able to enjoy the story and not be worried about when the HEA/HFN was gonna happen.

I really enjoyed Matt, otherwise known as Hugh (for human). He unfortunately had a massive crush on a character from another story and had to admit it in front of the tribunal so everyone knew. He gets to do his first investigation and meets Lachlan, the selkie king.

Throughout the investigation Matt really is into Lachlan, and eventually at the end they agree to go on a boat ride together with a chaperone.

Like the other books in this world, there are paranormal beings and I really like it.

As always Greg Boudreaux did an excellent job.

Fun start to a series!

The narrator really sold me on this slightly wacky and over the top paranormal world, the only downside is that I need to wait for the rest of the books to be recorded, because I think I can only listen to the rest of these now I've started this way.

Loved it

I Loved it, such a fun entertaining story. I haven't read many PNR books by this author, but now I am going to check all the other books. I liked the idea of paranormal detective agency owned and ran by various magical creatures that employ one Human, the photographer. This story was funny and sweet and magical, Matt the Human cracked me up, his infatuation with "unavailable" men and clever mind kept me on the edge of my seat through the entire mystery. Even though I kinda guessed who the bad guy was, I still enjoyed very much discovering all the details and reasons. Narrator was amazing as always. This was a perfect listening experience. Highly recommend.

Surprisingly good!

This was a completely random purchase based on ‘you may enjoy…’ suggestions from Audible. I love Greg Boudreaux and as per, they didn’t disappoint. The story itself was surprisingly good - lower spice than I usually go for, but the story and characters completely drew me in all the same. I was new to E J Russell but I’m a fan now! Next credit already spent on Book 2!

Had to get the audio because of Greg Boudreaux!

I already read the 4 books in the series. But when I saw who the narrator was I had to save up my credits and wait till all 4 were released so I can binge listen. Greg Boudreaux is fantastic and he really made the characters come to life. Yes each audiobook is pretty short, only 4 - 5 hours each. But it's Greg Boudreaux!

Brilliant

I love how other characters for other books are brought into this book. I Love the character and relationship building. I just love this book! The Audible is great too 10 out 10 highly recommend.

Great read as usual this is delightful

I love the snarky attitude of Hugh and this style of writing is fun and delightful. I’ve enjoyed the series and will definitely recommend

Supernatural shenanigans

The only human working for a supernatural detective agency. The summary says it all really. This is good fun with a likeable lead and great supporting characters. One note though- if you think LGBTQI leads means diversity then forget it. This is a book about generally white, middle class gay men.

Loved it just as much in audio

Fun supernatural mystery story.

The pov MC is human PI in a supernatural world. This is his story. Trying to fit in, get acceptance from the supes, learn, do the best job he can, and NOT fall for the grumpy mountain man of a selkie he's been assigned to help.

If you're familiar with this author's work then you'll recognise many of the characters you meet along the way in this book. But they are secondary characters and mostly the book strives to help those who are new to this shared universe. Would the additional knowledge help? Of course, but if a character grabs your attention then there's probably a book about them.

This book has the mystery at its core with the romance as a subplot. This is very slow burn and having read the whole series I the romance will blossom as tbe series progresses.

The narrator is excellent. Loved it just as much this time around and I can't wait to get the rest of the series.

Highly recommended

Great series

I am not a fan of mysteries that work to be “cute”, but Russell isn’t pushing for that here as the wordplay and clueless Matt are genuinely funny and cleverly written. The world building is fantastic even if you haven’t read the related series (although, after this you’ll want to). The mystery kept me interested, Matt and his co-workers and friends have great relationships, the baddies are truly bad - not at all cute and there is something very interesting brewing between Matt and Lachlan. Greg Boudreaux gets the humor and doesn’t force it with his performance that and the chemistry between Matt and Lachlan are brought out naturally and have all the greater impact for that.

Great new series

I love the premise of the book – a detective agency for the supernatural. Oh, and they’ve hired that pesky human, Matt, who created such havoc in a previous book. I’d noted him as a secondary character, but’d never envisioned he’d get his own story. Just shows E.J.’s imagination is much better than mine.

Lachlan is a great hero – a selkie with secrets. He’s in the process of getting a divorce, but things go sideways and he winds up hiring Quest to help him solve the riddle of who is leaving stinking herrings on his boat and threatening his livelihood.

Well, Matt’s on the case. Red herrings are, in literary terms, things meant to throw the readers off the scent of solving the mystery in the book. Therefore, the herrings in this story are a bit of an inside joke but also effective – I loathe fish and so was completely empathetic to Lachlan.

Anyway, the mystery was good, the story was good, the main characters made a great couple and, most importantly this was a great way to introduce a new series – I can’t wait for the rest.

Finally – Jordan. Dear, sweet Jordan. I was thrilled to see Quest hiring him – especially after his antics in the woods. I want more of him. In fact, I want him to get his own book!

Greg Boudreaux did a fantastic job narrating and I can’t wait for more stories.

Fantastic

Another great addition to world EJ Russell created. Perfect balance of fantasy/action/romance with two very interesting characters. Always happy when old friends make an appearance. Greg Boudreaux did a super job as always.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

So Clever! G. Boudreaux is Amazing!

E.J. Russell kills me with their endless creativity! Five Dead Herrings is amazing. Snarky, and witty, and 100% enjoyable.

The world Russell has created here is so clever, and these characters are completely unique. I love having the main character be a human... everything he sees, his take on all the things he discovers, is wonderful.

And if you really want to enjoy Five Dead Herrings, do it in audio! Greg Boudreaux's performance is simply marvelous. Five Huge Stars!

After all, what could be more alluring than an American doing a Scots accent? Literally nothing lol. Seriously, Mr. Boudreaux's range of accents and voices always blows me away, and E.J. Russell has created an astonishing array of characters. But Greg Boudreaux hasn't missed a single thing here. Bravo!

an audiobook copy of Five Dead Herrings was provided to me for the purpose of my honest review, all opinions are my own