Graves' End: A Magical Thriller [Kindle Edition]

Sean Patrick Traver (Author)

Book Description

A modern-day witch helps an undead detective solve the mystery of his own resurrection in this magical thriller with a touch of classic LA noir!

Los Angeles PI Dexter Graves was pretty sure his life ended back in 1950, after a mysterious femme fatale shot him through the head. When Graves involuntarily rises from his grave sixty years later, he finds himself drawn to freelance sorceress Lia Flores, who introduces him to an underworld he never could've imagined. Lia sets out to discover the meaning behind Graves' unexpected intrusion into her enchanted life, but neither the witchgirl nor the skeletal detective has any idea they're being set up by an old-school player on the LA scene: mobster/monster Mickey Hardface, also known as Mictlantecuhtli, the ambitious king of the Aztec realm of the dead.

Funny and fast-paced, this genre-bending love letter to the City of Angels blends surreal magical fantasy with the narrative drive of a taut crime story. Epic in scope and rooted in California history, GRAVES' END adds a new chapter to the mythology of the post-Halloween holiday known as el Dia de los Muertos--the Day of the Dead.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Masterfully bending the constraints of time and reality, Traver twists everything into a plot that feels both brand-new and old-fashioned in a nearly perfect blend." -NERDIST.com

About the Author

Sean Patrick Traver writes about witches & weirdness in the City of Angels. Check out his world at www.SeanPatrickTraver.com

Product Details

• File Size: 741 KB
• Print Length: 362 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Rocket Surgery Books; 1st edition (April 4, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007RKKVCS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,300 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars hard fantasy April 16, 2012

By M. Landers

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'd call this "hard" fantasy; no elves and unicorns but lots of fast, well-written and gritty action. Consider our everyday world with some slight variations; a very logical type of magic is real, the Aztec god of the dead runs a corporation and a private eye who died in 1950 come back to life today... as an animated skeleton. Interested? I really liked this one. Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars fun, kind of mixed genres May 22, 2012

By curiouslady

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Well written fantasy. I'd have given four and a half stars, if that was possible, because the ending went a bit over the top for my taste - in the very beginning the story felt more like straight horror, while the very ending had more than a touch of farce in spots - but that's just my personal preferences, it was all still very well written, and the walking and talking skeleton had of course already shifted the feel from that straight horror to something more tongue in cheek, if you can use that expression when talking about skeletons, after he entered the stage. So, a fantasy, with both horror and humor.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique and Entertaining July 1, 2012

By Lanie Malone

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I stumbled across this book on Amazon while checking out my own book's progress during one of my free promotions. I had seen it a couple of times before and decided to look a little closer. After reading the synopsis, I found it interesting and downloaded it. Being that it was free, I didn't really feel like I had anything to lose. In hindsight, I can say that it wouldn't have been a risk anyway because I found it to be a truly delightful read. The whole premise is unique and quirky.

Characters: I absolutely loved Dexter! The whole idea of a skeleton in a trench coat and an Indiana Jones hat was hilarious. When he got pulled over I laughed over the cop's reaction. The fact that Dexter was a man of the 50's and talks like it is also entertaining. The story behind the zippo was a good touch as well, and really helped flesh out his character...no pun intended.

Lia and Black Tom's beginning was very sweet and their almost father/daughter relationship felt very special. I felt that Tom's backstory was very well done, but Lia's was almost too little, too late. Her little encounter with Lyssa, while enlightening, didn't really seem like quite enough for a main character.
I really like Ingrid's personality and Hannah was adorable. Steb's outrageousness and flair for the dramatic really cracked me up.

Plot: The book really pulled me in from the beginning and continued to tug my curiosity along all the way until the end. Yes, I saw some of the events coming, but they didn't necessarily turn out quite how I expected. Traver used some really excellent foreshadowing skills to set it all up and then kind of pulled the rug out from under me at the last minute. This made for an interesting and unexpected ending, which is always a good thing.

This book was a nice departure from the beaten path. It was a quick read, filled with humor, action, a dash of sadness, and a touch of romance. I would highly recommend it to anyone who can appreciate a break from the norm.

More About the Author

SEAN PATRICK TRAVER is a native of Los Angeles, where he continues to live with his wife and cat. His writing explores the hidden worlds that lurk behind the sleek facade LA presents to a casual observer. In addition to the traffic jams, the film studios, and the cookie-cutter suburbs, there are opulent courtyards and private gardens high up in the Hills, as well as blank, black-market warehouses crouched down in the Valley below. There are ritual shrines hidden near the hiking trails and secret practitioners who summon the spirits left over from a thousand years of history. Suburban shamans, rogue necromancers, criminal cabals and computer-savvy witches all populate the pages of his fiction. Sean currently has several screenplays in development. Visit him online at www.SeanPatrickTraver.com