Wicked Gentlemen

By: Ginn Hale

Narrated by: Antony Ferguson

Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Belimai Sykes is many things: a Prodigal, the descendant of ancient demons, a creature of dark temptations and rare powers. He is also a man with a brutal past and a dangerous addiction.  

And Belimai Sykes is the only man Captain William Harper can turn to when faced with a series of grisly murders.  

But Mr. Sykes does not work for free, and the price of Belimai's company will cost Captain Harper far more than his reputation.  

From the ornate mansions of noblemen, where vivisection and sorcery are hidden beneath a veneer of gold, to the steaming slums of Hells Below, Captain Harper must fight for justice and for his life.  

His enemies are many and his only ally is a devil he knows too well. Such are the dangers of dealing with the wicked.  

Contains mature themes.

©2007 Ginn Hale (P)2019 Tantor

Even Better In Audio

Audiobook review. Narrator: Antony Ferguson

I read this book many years ago when it came out in paperback. While looking through Audible for new LGBT books, I was surprised to see this book out as an audiobook.

I've listed to Antony Ferguson narrator the Barker and Llewelyn series and love his voice, so I was quite happy that he was the narrator for this audiobook. He did a fantastic job although at the beginning I heard 'Barker' instead of 'Harper', but that's no fault of Mr Ferguson.

Although I had read the book before, it was so long ago that I'd forgotten many details. I did end up loving the story the second time around as much as I'd loved it the first. The book is actually in two parts: the first part is in the first-person POV of Belimai Sykes, a Prodigal descendant of ancient demons, and the second part is in the first-person POV of William Harper, a Captain in the Inquisition. The parts are sequential rather than concurrent.

The author does a great job of pulling the reader into a unique world by showing us how things work, which is not an easy thing to do with a world this complicated. My only 'complaint' is that the author hasn't written more in this universe. As far as I know, this is the only book. The universe is so rich with potential, I continue to hope that one day we'll have some back-stories of Prodigal lives.

Two buddy tales novellas

Ginn Hale’s Wicked Gentlemen creates an interesting world set in what is appears an Edwardian time period, but with a theocratic governmental structure. In addition, hell’s demons have left that realm and taken up residence on Earth. They have evolved to the lowest socioeconomic strata. The two main characters are a demon with a checkered history and a priest / police detective who begin with a pro-fessional relationship but develops into a romantic thing. In the first tale, they work to solve a murder, while in the second, rampant corruption within the police puts both of their lives at risk.

Hale basically has recast West Side Story motif in a unique environment. From a police procedural standpoint, the crafting and executing is well done. In the second tale, as the corruption seems too embedded in the system, the investigator is forced to go ‘dirty harry’ to set things right.

The narration is reasonable with adequate character distinction. Both tales are short making for a quick listen.

Different in a good way

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It had an original concept, likeable characters and intriguing plot(s).
You won’t find any declarations of undying love here, but the characters’ feelings speak very loudly through their actions. It really floored me, how romantic this book was without any romantic words spoken.

Great story

The concept is interesting and well written. The characters are likeable and the narration is good.