"Fear the Night" a guest post by Darren Sant

Fear the Night by Julia Madeleine

A Roman Dalton story from Paul D. Brazill’s Drunk on the Moon Series

In the second instalment of the Drunk on the Moon Series - Fear the Night Roman Dalton travels to L’Isle-Verte near Quebec City in order to help a father find his missing daughter.  Despite his initial reluctance to take on the case Roman finds he is soon swayed when a thick wad of cash is promised. Of course, as is usually the case, nothing is ever quite so simple or straightforward as it appears to be and Roman is soon up to his neck in trouble. He is tested to the limit by uncooperative locals, a town full of secrets and creatures of the night. As a full moon looms will Roman be able to use his powers to combat the forces of darkness? Will he be strong enough? Can he keep his powers in check until they are needed? What dark secret does the club l’Emotion conceal? Will he have to stop halfway through for a drink of Jim Beam? You will find answers to all these questions and more within Fear the Night.

An atmospheric, tightly written story and like Drunk on the Moon one to enjoy in a single sitting.  I found that once I started reading I didn’t want to stop until I had reached the conclusion. The author puts the emphasis on the action and there was a real sense of speed and excitement in the fight scenes. Fast becoming a trademark of this excellent series is the snappy dialogue and Julia Madeleine, like Paul D. Brazill before her, had put a lot of thought into this. Here’s a line I particularly enjoyed:

 “Listen here, George is it?” I said, staring at a solitary ice cube floating in my glass like a miniature full moon in a galaxy of alcohol.

The story is liberally spiced with this kind of excellent imagery. So spicy is it that you will be reaching for a glass of chilled beer before the story is out.  Why have a boring korma when you can have a vindaloo? Fear the Night is a vindaloo. If you enjoyed Roman’s exploits in the first story you will not be disappointed by this second chronicle of the PI-come-Werewolf.   An enjoyable and fun hard-boiled action romp that you will find hugely entertaining.