Review: The Disappearing Client (Spirelli Paranormal Investigations #1) by Kate Baray (2015)

I always read more than a book at a time. Lately, I have not been satisfied with alternating between two long (longish?) books, so I’ll try reading shorter works alongside longer ones instead. This week, I picked The Disappearing Client, the first episode of Spirelli Paranormal Investigations, an urban paranormal series by Kate Baray, first published in 2015.

The story opens with Jack Spirelli, a junk shop owner who has soft-launched his investigating agency. He is human but connected to the magic-using community and the Inter-Pack Policing Cooperative that gives him gigs. He floated the idea of hiring an assistant investigator, and along came Marin, a human slash dragon, applying for the job. After she was hired, off they go for their first job together. Their supposed bodyguarding job was changed to search and rescue when their client was nowhere to be found. What happened to her, and could they find her in time?

Paranormal investigators, of course, remind me of the Harry Dresden series. The “episode” format fits because this is short, and like police procedurals on TV, the main story is self-contained. The character stories, I hope, might continue with the series as I am interested in revisiting the characters.

Quick rating: (4 out of 5. I very much liked it.)