The Demon's Dagger

Alexander Southerland, P.I.

By: Douglas Lumsden

Narrated by: Duffy Weber

Once he checked in, checking out became an obsession!

Crawford the were-rat checks into a shady hotel and promptly stumbles over a dead man. A mysterious troll is obsessed with finding the dagger that killed him—a dagger possessed by a demon! The demon denies that he is a demon and is obsessed with regaining his freedom. Meanwhile, the hotel’s night clerk is obsessed with the hooker on the third floor. Crawford is obsessed with what’s in the hooker’s room: a solid gold statuette of a demon-slaying goddess! Crawford has checked in, but when obsessions collide, does he have any hope of checking out?

Content Advisory: This book is intended for a mature audience. It contains misogynistic characters, language, and acts. It also contains graphic violence (including violence against women), smoking, drinking, drug use, graphic sexual acts, and crude language and images.

©2022 Douglas W. Lumsden (P)2022 Douglas W. Lumsden

Hands down, my favorite urban fantasy noir author!

The Alex Southerland series is awesome! I wasn't sure how much I would like a side story but I was not disappointed. Hope I don't have to wait too long for the next book!

A fantasy/noir blend worth checking out

I received this novella to judge for SFINCS. Opinion is my own, and does not represent that made by the team. I did also happen to purchase this on audible, as I am busy, and audiobooks are helping me keep up. The narration is very solid.

This novella does one of my all-time favorite things: mixing genres. It is a fantasy world, with trolls, demons, elves, gods and shapeshifters. But it is also modernized, kind of like Netflix’s ‘Bright’, but with more of a gangster noir feel. It’s gritty and witty, exactly how noir should be. The trolls are the gang muscle, and shapeshifters thieves. It works well.

With that being said, this is part of the author’s Alexander Southerland, P.I. series, and although it is possible to read it as a standalone, it feels as if it would only be enhanced by reading the others first. I just feel like, on its own, the content is not necessarily focused on something I would typically chose to read. The use of sex work opens the story to lots of misogyny. Although it does include a very thought out, and thoughtful, content warning before the start of it.

Personally a 3.5/5* for me. I will definitely check out the series.

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i loved the story from Crawford’s point of view, yet still in Alex’s world. this was a great short, and having listened to the rest of the series before this review, Don’t skip this! it IS foreshadowing!
i loved it!!
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