I love this author and this series. The plot is fresh and unique and the characters are what really makes it. The fact that many of the people are dead lends the proceedings an inevitable melancholy and yet there is humor, hope, courage and drama. The narrative voice is so energetic and easy to read. Highly recommended.

In this story, The InBetween we find Painter Mann, dead investigating murder victims stuck in the in-between by figuring out who their killer was and then helping them move on.

The story is very well written with well-crafted characters. I highly recommend this book, a great read.

This was a good book! fast paced, a bit different from what I prefer; but a great change. Once I got started I could not put it down. I would read more from this author.

"I was the world's only dead private detective and had a job to do."

The InBetween is a humourous, supernatural thriller, the first in a series by author Dick Wybrow,
The story focuses on Painter Mann who is the worlds only dead private detective who helps those who find themselves stuck in the InBetween after suffering a violent and unsolved death, move on to the "next stage"
Painter finds himself pitted against the ultimate menace, the biggest threat there has ever been to both the living and the dead.

The InBetween is a well-written book with a unique and interesting plotline. Containing a cast of intriguing characters with wonderful, complex personalities that I liked (or disliked!) immensely. Dick Wybrow has written wonderfully realistic dialogue that had me laughing out loud frequently throughout.

The ImBetween is a well-paced story that kept me invested from the very beginning to the satisfying ending. It is tense and exciting whilst managing to remain light-hearted. A fantastic combination!

I am looking forward to reading The Night Vanishing, the next in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dee Dub Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to #Netgalley, #DickWybrow and #DeeDub Publishing for the opportunity to read "The InBetween", the first in the "Painter Mann" series in return for a fair and honest review.

World building is a difficult task for any author, but Dick Wybrow has done a pretty good job of it in "The InBetween". The InBetween is neither life nor eternal rest - it's where ghosts go when they have unfinished business - like Painter, who was murdered before his time was up. Not very good at anything when he was alive, Painter is the "Best Ghost Private Detective" (with a little help from his Temps - 'livies' who are close enough to their own demise that they can interact with ghosts).

But, something weird is happening in the InBetween - and Painter and all of the other benign ghosts who are left in the InBetween, waiting to go their eternal rest are in danger. The Ghost Mob has been grabbing them right, left and centre, and when Painter is grabbed right out of a car he finds himself about to be plugged into a giant ghost battery. What that battery is for, and how it affects Painter, his friend and newspaper reporter Brenda and the others is the basis for this wild ride of a series first book!

I have to admit I was a bit slow grasping the ins and outs of Wybrow's "inBetween", but once I got into the story I found myself - along with the book's characters - racing along to the end - and wanting more, which will come in the second book.

Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book immensely - it is well written, pacy and very entertaining.
He's sworn to help the murder victims stuck in The InBetween by revealing their killers so they can move on Painter Mann, the best P.I in the InBetween, goes around looking for clients who need his help.The telling of separate stories, that would later become linked together, was a good idea.

DNFed at 46%.

I'm tired of forcing myself to read this. The premise was interesting but as always, my problem is with the execution. The first 100 pages were soooo boring and cringey that I almost dropped it, but stubborn as I am, I waited. But no more, I'm hating every moment I force myself to read this.

I really hate it when authors write their books as if I'm watching a movie. Like why? I want to read it, not be shown a movie in text.

What I hate even more is when they try to make it quirky or funny. This writing style was like watching the Naked Gun but less funny. Waaay less funny. Telling the same unfunny joke in different words after each other will never make it funny, ever.

The writing style didn't help either because it kept jumping with the POV, sometimes it goes 1st to 2nd in the same paragraphs. As I mentioned, writing the book as if I'm watching a movie. There are some moments when the 3rd POVs were mashed in consecutive paragraphs, I got so lost I stopped caring who's thinking and doing what.

So much over explanation about extra stuff without ever getting to the point. Too many unnecessary details. 80% of what I read is just explanation of how the room looked whenever the characters entered one or the place they were in. So much cringey slangs and shortened words too.

I'm giving it 2 stars because it seemed that it was getting better since the characters were getting less cringey but I'm honestly tired of reading the same routine of descriptions. The mystery of the Ghost Mob was interesting but the murderer was already revealed 100 pages in and it's so simple to solve the whole thing but the author just wanted to make more drama and lengthen the whole book.

Overall, I refuse to force myself any longer and this will be the first book I ever DNF ever since I started reading seriously and writing reviews.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

A unique story line...really unique. Dick Wybrow has written a very entertaining book about how murder victims could be stuck in a middle plain...Inbetween… until their murders are solved. It almost makes a scary kind of sense the way he has written it. He built and populated Inbetween with a community of victims and one investigative soul who loves his job, even if he did have to get murdered to get it. It was a very refreshing take on a murder mystery and I enjoyed every page.

The InBetween is the first book in a new series by Dick Wybrow. Released 1st July 2019, it's 527 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I loved the cover and the blurb drew me in. I enjoy about 90% of murder mysteries which range from series with a deep dark semi-horror element with a paranormal twist to the sort of cat-library-knitting cozy mysteries which have pink covers, punning titles, and a recipe for 'Aunt Jenny's strawberry tart' in the back. This book falls far to the horror/paranormal-with-violence end of the spectrum. There are no recipes. That being said, Mr. Wybrow writes very capably.

There is a lot of sarcastic humor here. It will definitely appeal to devotees of Butcher, Hearne, Kadrey and others in that vein. Readers should be aware that this the protagonist is a private investigator whose purpose is to help victims of violent death move on to 'The Next' stage from the 'InBetween'. As such, his clientele is made up of people who died violently. There's quite a lot of graphic violence in this book.

The plotting and pacing are slow to develop and revealed slowly over several hundred pages to a crashing and satisfying denouement which left open the possibility for future stories and left me wanting more. The characters are three dimensional and stay true to their internal motivations; I never found myself scratching my head and saying "Wait, what"?! The dialogue is well written, if absolutely drowned in sarcasm. The author has a tendency to go for the cheap laugh. (Like Kadrey, Hearne, Butcher, Elliott James, et al.).

Well done. A long and fun read. I'm quite looking forward to the next installments.

Four and a half stars for fans of the genre.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I enjoyed this book immensely - it is well written, pacy and very entertaining.
He's sworn to help the murder victims stuck in The InBetween by revealing their killers so they can move on Painter Mann, the best P.I in the InBetween, goes around looking for clients who need his help.The telling of separate stories, that would later become linked together, was a good idea.

The in between can be a stop gap or an decade sentence depending on your death. If you are murdered, you can't move on until the crime is solved. One man has become a detective, self appointed, to help others move on. The in between has unique rules.

I liked the premise, but found it a little too graphic/disturbing.

One part Ghost . 2 parts wise cracking dective,. add mystery, murder , humor and action, stir together and you have
a wild and wacky whodunit...!!

I’ve never read this author before, but the blurb sounded intriguing so I went for it. After a little bit of a slow and slightly confusing beginning, I settled in to enjoy the ride. This book was a very interesting concept with Painter being the only ghost PI, and he helps other ghosts who have been murdered move on to the next phase of ghosthood. I found the plot interesting, and I really liked the villain. I did, however, at times felt a little removed from the characters and the plot. After a bit when it happened (or I reread a little), it did get better. I also admit that at times I felt Painter looked down on his clients a little too much. He should sympathize knowing his own history (of course!). However, I did like this book and am looking forward to reading more in this unique world. Recommend this book, and I received a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Painter Mann could just be the world's best private investigator. Mainly that's because he's dead.
He's sworn to help the murder victims stuck in The InBetween by revealing their killers so they can move on. But a new case threatens everything after Painter recognizes the serial killer's face. They also murdered him.
Exposing them will free dozens of ghosts but will also clear Painter, leaving no one to help the souls trapped in The InBetween.
Is Painter willing to risk everything to save those he's sworn to help?

This book took me a while to get into, but once I was involved it was a lot of fun. I wasn't keen on Painter Mann; he was snarky and unlikable at times, but it didn't put me off the book.

It was an unusual premise which was fairly well written although the plot does get confusing at times and I occasionally found myself a little lost.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This will be posted to all links on July 4th

In a world of violent death, those that are that are murdered can’t pass on fully until their predator is brought to justice in The In Between by Dick Wybrow. That is where a ghostly private investigator, Peter Mann comes in.
Mann, the only (that he knows of) ghost P.I. and his Scooby Gang referred to as “temps,” help victims of the most brutal deaths find the justice necessary move on from the limbo they are stuck on to eternal peace.
Add in a dark sense of humor, which I found quite entertaining but may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and it really reminded me of the Buffy spin-off Angel (I always preferred Angel). That is, if instead of being out of the Hellmouth and led by a Vampire with a soul, they were all ghosts.
Original, brutal in description and humorous, for a while I thought it wasn’t going to falter. Unfortunately, towards the middle of the book it found room to stumble. Multiple storylines weren’t coming together. Eventually they would but it was a bit too late for full impact.
The length of time it took for those storylines to meet-up caused memory gaps. I found myself going back to reread parts so that I could be sure I was understanding the significance of when storylines did intersect.
Unfortunately, that took steam out of the twists and turns in the last third of the book. If there was a more clear, coherent map of how the storylines were coming together, the last third of the book would have really walloped the punch. With that in place, the In Between would have been a great summer read by the pool nostalgic of Angel. High praise indeed, coming from me.

This book kept me riveted until the ending. It takes a bit to get into the story, but then it is a wild ride. This is Christopher Moore meets Stephen King. Although, I appreciate that is was more of Moore. I laughed out several times and said “Oh xxxx!” a few times also.

Read This Book

I liked this book, it well written and I appreciated the plot originality.
The characters are fleshed out, the plot is engrossing and entertaining.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It's a different, fun detective story, and it made me laugh a few times. I'd love to read book two when it comes out. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

I loved this book. What a interesting and inventive take on being a ghost. I love how Painter takes on the cases to help the other ghosts find their closure. I hope there is a sequel. #TheInBetween #NetGalley

It took me quite a while to get into this story. For probably the first quarter of the book, the chapters alternate between different characters, then as the characters all become involved in the same story chain, the story starts to make more sense and is easier to read. Overall I enjoyed it, but the beginning was a bit more of a challenge to stay with.