DNF Review – In Plain Sight (Arcane Casebook, Book 1) by Dan Willis (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 274 pages
Publisher: Independently published
Release Date: December 4, 2018
ASIN: B07KVP3DN2
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Arcane Casebook series
Source: Borrowed eBook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 3/5 stars
“It was 1933 and the magic brought a plague to the Big Apple.
Will Alex be able to stop a madman?
At 31-years old, Alex has limited powers, but a knack for unraveling a mystery. The first clue leads him to a thief, but it doesn’t stop there. When people started dying, it becomes clear that it wasn’t an ordinary spell. Could it have something to do with the book?
A legendary and ancient tome could be the key.
But can he find it?
When an unfortunate incident gets him in hot water with both the police and New York’s Council of Sorcerers, he needs to make a move.
Is Alex in over his head?”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Arcane Casebook series. There are 8 books in this series right now, with the most recent one being released March 2022. I borrowed a copy of this ebook through Kindle Unlimited.
Thoughts: I wasn’t a huge fan of this book and stopped reading 70% of the way through. While some of the magic elements are interesting and the 1930’s alternate historical setting in NYC is also interesting, I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. The writing comes off as a bit stark and felt immature. I also just couldn’t engage with any of the characters very well.
The book follows Alex, a private investigator in an alternate 1930’s NYC where magic is commonplace and sorcerers run the world. Alex is a runewright, a lesser magic user, who uses runes to perform magic. Alex gets drawn into a mystery involving both a mysterious death and a strange plague. The book has a very hard-boiled noir feel to it.
I just did not like the style this book was written in and really struggled to read it; I kept having to re-read portions. The writing felt stark, simplistic and didn’t flow well. I also never engaged with the characters well. This is very obviously intended for a male audience and Alex is a bit of a lady’s man. There are some female characters in here and they were okay, but very much in the background and usually addressed as “doll” or “sweetheart” by their male counterparts.
In the end I don’t feel like this book was a good fit for me. The alternate NYC setting and rune magic was intriguing but I realized (at 70% of the way through) that I just didn’t care what was happening and was dreading sitting down to read more of this and decided to set it aside.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this wasn’t a great book and really just wasn’t for me. The writing style felt immature and simplistic and I didn’t enjoy the characters or story. Some of the magic is intriguing and the idea of an alternate historical magical NYC is fun (even if it has been done a lot already). This is very much a hard-boiled noir type of read and very much targeted at a white male audience. I didn’t care for it and won’t be continuing the series.
