Shy Trans Banshee

By: Tony Santorella

Narrated by: Anthony Nyro

Brian, Nik and Darby—three friends practiced in ennui, binge-drinking, hooking up with strangers and fighting supernatural crime (when Brian's not committing it as a werewolf once a month)—have been sent by Abe Van Helsing (yes, one of those Van Helsings) to try to track down a colleague who has gone missing in London.

As they putz around the city, following any leads that might help them find their British counterpart, they uncover a clairvoyancy smuggling ring, located right in the heart of the financial district. Who's kidnapping all the fortune tellers in Soho, and why? And is it coincidence, fate, or something more sinister altogether that Maeve, a timid trans woman taking time out of her job to track down her birth mother, turns up on the gang's doorstep...and has the uncanny ability to know just what's going to happen next?

©2025 Tony Santorella (P)2025 W. F. Howes Ltd

It’s not the reader’s fault…mostly!

The story is fun and I very much enjoyed the writing style…even though Brian is a bit of a sad sack in this one.

However, someone needs to fire the editor of this recording. There are noticeable gaps where two takes were spliced together. Other times you hear when the reader takes two tries to get a line right. Once, near the middle, you can hear the reader say “Hey. Can I try that paragraph again?” Before rereading about 2 minutes of a section we just heard.

Very shoddy work.

Truly Novel

Because genre fiction relies so heavily on tropes, familiar structures, repeated plotlines, etc. it is sometimes difficult for writers to present a work that is truly "novel." This book and the previous release from this author (Bored Gay Werewolf) both bring a fresh, new perspective to the world of urban fantasy. The characters are rich, the story is compelling, the humor is clever, the relationships are tender, the queer representation is sensitive, and the romantic tension is...delicious. There are a few editing problems with the performance, but they're forgivable. 5 stars--would recommend.