Shallow Grave

Lazarus Codex Series, Book 3

By: E. A. Copen

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Dead men tell no tales.... Unless you're a necromancer. Then they never shut up.

Life is finally going right for Lazarus Kerrigan, necromancer and Pale Horseman. Business is booming, and no gods have tried to kill him for a whole month. But the past is catching up to him.

There's a serial killer on the loose in New Orleans, one that targets children and leaves behind only bones. When the case develops eerie similarities to his sister's murder, Laz knows the police are in over their heads. They need help, and the dead aren't talking.

Well, except for the ghost of a 200-year-old pirate, and Laz doesn't like what he has to say. If he's right, the creature Laz is chasing is a monster way out of his league. If he's not careful, Laz might just end up in Davey Jones's Locker, or worse....

©2018 E.A. Copen (P)2019 Tantor

Ghouls, kidnapped children's souls, & a succubus!

Shallow Grave by E.A. Copen and narrated by Travis Baldree is book three in the Lazarus Codex series. Lazarus encounters powers that are stronger than himself. Something is kidnapping children possibly for their souls. A succubus is trying to kill him. Ghouls are involved somehow! What a mess he has to deal with! He also has a displaced soul wanting his help! This is very action packed and suspenseful! Always a joy to listen to her stories for the characters, plot, humor, wit, and unpredictability.
Travis Baldree does such an excellent job of narration that it makes the book even better! He can make any voice or creature! Excellent! I felt like I was there and needed to hide! Great job!

GREAT!

Enjoyable. Lazarus is brave and willing to help those in need. There are lots of action throughout and the story flows smoothly. Well written. Travis Baldree as usual performed marvellously with different voices for the characters. Very interesting series, one which I intend to collect in my library.

average book series

overall an average book series but good enough to fill the time while I wait for the next book in all the good series that I read.

The story continues to get better

Josh here:

Man, I didn't think I would be this addicted to the series when I first started it but this entry continues to pile on reasons to keep me hooked. Watching the Pale Horseman continue to grow and develop has been a fun ride and Ms. Copen adds on more and more to the story to keep it fresh. Watching the story tie back to past entries is great and shows the mark of a wonderful storyteller.

As usual, Travis did a wonderful job with the narration and he has quickly cemented himself as a tie for my top favorite narrator. And now, I have to go because I see that book four has been published in audio format. Keep em coming!

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Melissa here:

This was another good addition to the series. I loved the character of Morningstar and his smooth, easy-going personality. I’m still a huge fan of the Baron.

While I’d say Travis Baldree is either my #1 or #2 favorite narrator (he’s kind of tied with James Foster from Quincy Harker), I couldn’t help but notice that whenever the word “neanderthal” was mentioned, Mr. Baldree would pronounce it more as “neandertaw.” Not sure why, but yeah.

I also couldn’t help but notice that there was a good amount of repetition/redundancy (similar to book 2). For example, “I opened my eyes and an article caught my eye.” Or “We saw a nurse with jumpy eyes and deep circles under his eyes.” Or “Calada(?) bent over, closed the suitcase, flipping the clasps closed.”

There was also this thing with using the word “anymore” at the end of several different sentences that I didn’t really understand. “The pentagram has a bad reputation anymore.” Does that make sense with “anymore?”

I also also couldn’t help but notice that in book 2, Lazarus ends up saying how he’d never been referred to as adorable, while in book 3 it was cute.


Questions/Comments:

Sorry, but Lazarus driving a smart car and still being a cool character? Yeah, no. lol

I had an issue with the kids at the end of the story. Lazarus encounters three kids; two of them are identified as being ten and twelve. Why did both of them act/behave much younger though? For example, the twelve-year-old girl repeatedly comments about Lazarus’ swearing. Like the first time she was “you just said a swear” in almost a whisper as though she’d never heard someone say one out loud. And the ten-year-old boy ends up “almost” crying (his eyes got watery) when the twelve-year-old threw a pillow at his head. Maybe it was just me…

Great Listen

Loved the narration! Very good story. Kept me listening and entertained. Would recommend with high marks.

A bit of Dresden, a tad of Sandman Slim...

This story held a bit of Dresden, a tad of Sandman Slim, and a dusting of detective Vincent Graves which made for an entertaining listen! I found this book on audible for free, so I started not at the beginning, however it didn't impact this supernatural tale. I may have to spend a credit and start at book one!

Fun read.

I've found that it's usually around book 3 of books with this many entries that the author finds a plot to span multiple titles and this one is no different. These books are fun, but nowhere near thorough enough to fully satisfy me. I picked them up as a Dresens Files alternative and though these are similar, they just dont fully scratch my itch. Maybe it's just that I read Butcher first but hes also far more thorough with his plots and character development.
These books remind me of the The Hallows series(also recommended to replace Dresden files) in that the characters TALK about kicking ass but never actually throw down. Laz only uses his Horseman power to see souls apparently and he'll grab one about once per book. The other times he's fighting it's a force blow from his staff maybe twice then he's gassed...after repeatedly saying how he could cut loose with his necromancy. His innate power seems more likely to kill HIM than anyone else as that's all it's done previously and the Pale Horseman schtick means he literally has to touch you which barely anyone has been dumb enough to do.
I like the characters although I wished they were more fleshed out other than characatures or other tropes ( Badass, tough as nails Emma who never does badass stuff) and the fact that Laz talks about them like hes known them for years even though it's barely been a few months throughout the first three books. I'll pick them up in between other books as fodder since I DO like the Laz's personality and there is tons of room to play with the plot that was hinted at. Narration for females is limited and he has a few ways to differentiate between the males but he gets the attitude of the writing so I can look past that.
These ARE fun books, just STOP comparing them to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.

Dresden lite

If you like the Dresden files, you may like this. It’s basically Dresden set in New Orleans with many of the same tropes found in Butcher’s works. In fact, some of the characters and elements seem taken directly from that universe. Still, it is entertaining and fun to find the similarities.

good book

While I don't understand or like the way he chose to start the book. I get why it was needed for the story.
The overall story itself was pretty good. Kept me listening for many hours at s time.

giving up on series

Heard several errors in writing and the story does not feel original. kept trying to like this series, hence i listened to book #3. Nope, I'm done.