I really wanted to like this, but I couldn't get into it. The humor felt a little forced, almost like the narrator was trying to point out to the reader how funny he was. There were definitely some unique ideas, though, and I think fans of urban fantasy might find it an enjoyable, light read.

this was a great start to a series, I liked the premise and I really enjoyed getting to know the characters. I look forward to more from the author.

There are weird and wacky stories, and there are those that work well only in that exact combination. When I started reading this book, I found it entertaining. The deeper I got into the story, the narration had me laughing out loud so many times!
It is probably hard to believe, but I found this book about an average private detective getting caught up in an underworld infested with 'magical creatures' in San Diego hilarious.
It starts off innocuously enough with our Mr John Smith walking sedately to his office building when he is suddenly under attack. Things continue along that vein while he constantly challenges authority in the most absurd manner. The introspection and the asides were funny to me too. I am not sure if it was the timing of my reading it or the book in itself, but I enjoyed myself.
It has all the characters from fantasies playing cameos, but I should let the book do the introductions. The predominant ones who are the major players throughout the storyline are Vampires.
It is not, in any form or fashion a book to be taken seriously or read by someone on something in the more severe style. It should be read how it's written- flippantly, for maximum effect. At least, that has been my experience.
The cover page was the thing that drew me to the book in the first place, and I must say it is engaging in its simplicity.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on how hard I laughed during the reading

A mid-twenties PI accidentally becomes part of the hidden, supernatural world in Investigation, Mediation, Vindication by Chris Tullbane.

A quick plot that doesn't reinvent the genre, but certainly adds to it, Tullbane writes with clever banter and intrigue as our aptly named protagonist, John Smith, fumbles into the politics of the supernatural underbelly of San Diego.

Investigation, Mediation, Vindication is light and funny. This novel is a quick read, with a well-rounded, thought out plot. Though it might not have razor-sharp wit, it does produce some giggles, and the characters are altogether charming.

Investigation, Mediation, Vindication by Chris Tullbane, a fun read full of quick wit and humor. Has a past decision ever caught up to you? Have you ever wanted out of a sticky situation that quickly turned humorous? This is the book for you?

Thank you to Netgalley and author Chris Tullbane for an ARC of this book for an honest review!
°。°。°。Summary°。°。°。
Investigation, Mediation, Vindication by Chris Tullbane is a fun and hilarious fantasy novel that sweeps you away into lovable main characters John Smith's thoughts and feelings as he tries to navigate a fantasy world full of creatures he never knew existed. Its a comedy book, and I often found myself laughing out loud at John's quips.
John Smith, a PI in San Diego, takes out a dunk ad claiming he is willing to work in investigation, mediation, and vindication. This quickly turns into a mistake as he is hunted by crab men and kidnapped by vampires. A war between vampires and a demigod is going to happen and soon if John can't mediate a peace between them.
°。°。°。Characters°。°。°。
John Smith is so cute! I love his no f's given attitude when dealing with vampires (a species that had proven time and time again they could kill him.) His inner monologue, which takes us through the story, is full of sharp one liners that never seemed to fail for me. He is not the typical chosen one in a book, he is not fit, is totally broke and has no redeeming qualities really.
Another character that I truly loved was Juliette, a "femmepire" (female vampire) that is tasked with watching over John as he mediates. Juliette's sarcasm bites deep (see that vampire joke I slipped in there ;) ) She is a total bad a$$ that gets it done. Her character development is incredible in the book as well. I love the changes that she goes through (especially with her relationship with John) but she still stays true to her inner self which is important.
°。°。°。Plot°。°。°。
This book seems like a satire of your normal fantasy book, it makes a lot of jokes at the expense of vampires and the fantasy world they inhabit. I think that though this books had a slowish pace to it, it made sense considered we learned things at the rate that our protag John Smith is, and he is left out a lot. Once the action started though, about halfway through the book, I really started having fun.
Though there were moments that the jokes seemed to bog me down a little bit, they were still funny. There were also moments where seriousness was ruled more important than joking, and I was grateful for a reprieve. The action in this book kept me on the edge of my seat and I was caught up in it. I had to force myself to relax I was so tense for John and Juliette.
°。°。°。Overall°。°。°。
I enjoyed this book! It's one of those books I would suggest if you are stuck in a reading slump (like I was when I picked it up)
One of my favorite things about this book is the chapter titles. They actually have quirky titles and it that much harder to put the book down at the end of the chapter.
A well deserved 4 stars! :))

I've received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for the honest review.
Well, it was OK. I would probably like it more if I was still in the high-school.
'Investigation, Mediation, Vindication' tells us about a 25-year-old private investigator who finds himself in the middle of the conflict of supernatural beings in San Diego. He either resolves this dispute or throws the city into the war between vampires and a demigod of nightmares. And though it's his first experience in the mediation he is going to bring his case to success being a charming and funny fellow he is.
Humorous urban fantasy pretty much sums up the essence of this book. There are a lot of jokes and gags, and while the humour is really simple, the novel can bring several good laughs. This book is good for killing a time when you don't want to think too much. The plot and structure are OK for this genre, but the novel is severely lacking a style. A first person point of view rarely creates a decent story, and you are stuck with neverending gags in the dialogues. A fountain of humour can bore you too. On the positive side, a protagonist's name is a nice touch, and I found myself smiling each time he thought about 'mahogany' wood. It rings an irony.
World-building brings nothing unique, in my opinion, but characters are easily likeable.
I would recommend this book to those who want an easy and fun read for a few hours. If you are tired after the class or working hours it's your book. But if you are a fan of a well-thought irony, this novel is not for you.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy of this book.

Actual rate: 3.50 stars

This book wasn't what I expected, but at the same time it was.
Plot-talking, it quite surprised me: knowing that this was a humor book, i didn't expect it to have such a well-thought story, with interesting worldbuilding and characters.
On the other side, I knew that the "humor" part was going to be a hit or miss (and most probably the latter), but fortunately it was enough entertaining to make me want to finish this book. I really really liked how this novel basically portrayed classic fantasy tropes under a comic light, making you see how ridiculous they can be.
The funny parts, though, often created the flaw that made me lower the rate: the rhythm of the book was too slow, it often dragged just for the sake to say a joke or two about how a place or a person looked. I think that if a few of the useless puns were avoided, the book would have flown more easily.
Overall this was a very interesting novel, I would describe it as the perfect book for someone who is looking for something articulated but also light to distract theirselves for a while.

Taking place in San Diego, a mid 20s mildly successful PI is accidentally introduced to the hidden supernatural world.

An entertaining read with a likeable protagonist, who changes with his circumstances but manages to retain his human values

I received an ARC from Netgalley. I am leaving my honest review.

An excellent urban fantasy according to my heart! It was an engrossing and entertaining read that made me laugh and kept me hooked.
Being a huge fan of The Dresden Files I couldn't help acknowledging the influences and appreciating how the author was able to add his personal touch.
The world building is under development but it promises to be exciting, the characters are well thought and I loved the humour.
It was a fun read that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Within the first couple of pages of Investigation, Mediation, Vindication I was seeing the influence of Jim Butcher's Dresden series and to some extent Wilkie Martin's Inspector Hobbes books. An urban fantasy where characters are completely unaware of the existence of supernatural beings who are faster and stronger than humans but still seem to hide in the background. Upon finishing the book, Chris Tullbane confirms he wrote this as a first draft back in 2003, a couple of years after the first Dresden book was published and he continued with another three books in this series. So, my initial comparisons were a little unfair.
Due to an add put in the yellow pages a couple of years ago whilst drunk, John Smith, private detective, finds he is now the only mediator available to mediate a potential war between vampires, which he did know exist and a demigod. Again he did not know exists. Unfortunately for John, he is thrust into this previously unknown world without any magical powers or super strength. He is not even hard-boiled, just a PI who is a little sarcastic and still lives with his parents.
This is a really entertaining book with characters that grow on you and the more you progress the more enjoyable it becomes. At first, I thought I could not take another fantasy with beautiful female vampires and the male counterparts built like bodybuilders. As I became more engrossed this stopped being an issue and as soon as the demi-god turned up, I couldn't care what my initial gripe was anyway.
The world is not fully developed yet, but sometimes a book such as this can spend so much time world-building that it loses focus of the story it is trying to tell and leaves no mysteries and development for later books.
A great new addition to the genre and highly a recommended fun and easy read.

Thanks NetGalley and autor Chris Tullbane for allowing me to read this book. I found it a quite enjoyable experience!

I really liked how the book shows a satirical view on the description of the characters. It's funny, but balanced, especially whe the narrative turns to a more serious direction.

I liked the characters, by the way, and John shows a huge evolution throughout the book, without loosing his essence. His self-deprecating way of being funny, plus his honesty and ethical sense made me relate to him (notwhithstanding the whole "emasculation" thing).

I wanted something funny, and that's what I got. It made me laugh so much, that even the moments of violence, that could have been a problem to me, were somehow easier to read, and I recommend to everyone who likes a nonsensical humor and supernatural narratives.

I'm not sure if lately my general mood of ennui is due to the current world COVID climate, but most things I've picked up lately have been dull, uninspiring, and just a wee bit meh. But then I came across this one and it absolutely made my day. It was silly, irreverent and just a whole lot of fun!

It might be a familiar formula: under-achieving slacker PI saves the day from supernatural forces, but it is very worthy of your reading time. Will definitely be picking up any sequels.

Recommended for fans of Fated, Rivers of London, Storm Front, The Atrocity Archives and Sweet Silver Blues.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ghost Falls Press for the ARC.

Found that this was a little hard to get into! I got an Adult Swim kind of vibe reading this (like Harvey Birdman kind of?) and while I appreciate the setting, it didn’t really feel like it was the right read for me. I cringed a bit while reading certain points and ... just couldn’t after a while.

If you like that kind of stuff in writing, you might enjoy this more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley and author Chris Tullbane for allowing me to read this book in return for my honest review.

4+ stars. Investigation, Mediation, Vindication is a comedy urban fantasy book, which to be honest, is not my usual reading. However Chris Tullbane has knocked it out of the park with this one. Wacky and hilarious, I highly recommend this book.

The story centres around haphazard private investigator, John Smith who unwittingly finds himself mediating between a house of noble Vampires and the Demigod of nightmares. Being the only surviving mediator, will John be able to save San Diego from all out war?

I was attracted to this title by the description -humorous and supernatural? I'm in. The first few chapters made me wonder if I had made the right decision. There's a very strong 'man-boy' vibe in that he's old enough to have a business, but we still hear (over and over...) him refer to a beautiful woman as his "future wife." Also, we hear repeatedly about his poor fashion sense. Not going to lie, I was really starting to wonder why I was still reading.

Then, Bill. Oh, the moping over beautiful women and poor fashion sense didn't entirely disappear, but somewhere around the introduction of Bill, it took a back seat and my reading brain settled in more happily and could enjoy the characters and where the story was going. I'm still not a fan of the characters that just fake their way through events and miraculously come out unscathed on the other side, but Tullbane made it work in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC!
4.5/5 actually!
John gets caught himself in mediating a dispute between two supernatural factions coz of his year old ad in which he mentioned himself to be a mediator in a drunken state. He's a not so successful investigator trying to solve the dispute and stop a war. He's not charming, not handsome and not careful which makes his actions fun and most of what's going on his head is super funny.
Overall this was a fun read and with the way the book ended I suspect this might be a series.
0.5 less for the lack of world building and for not giving the depth of supernatural beings.

Amazing! This book had me laughing out loud. Brilliant characters, great banter and most ridiculous but brilliant plot I've ever read. Hats off to you Chris Tullbane, for the first book you ever wrote I am very impressed and it gives me great hope for what I can achieve when I eventually put my book out into the world. Read my full review over on my website at https://www.rebelscribe.co.uk/post/investigation-mediation-vindication-by-chris-tullbane-a-review

Urban fantasy involving paranormal investigation, up there with the Dresden Files. Great world building and lots of unique and inspired characters that you want to know more about. This book picks up quickly and stays there throughout. The plot is clever enough to keep you guessing until the end, but light enough to not feel like a kafkaesque mental exercise. Last but not least, the use of vampires doesn't drag the story down. Would highly recommend this work and I cannot wait for the next one.

Thoroughly enjoyable urban fantasy that I devoured in a day. I particularly liked that the main protagonist wasn’t some beefed-up superman with underlying emotional issues (seriously, the whole ‘you killed my father, prepare to die’ trope is getting old). The humour isn’t in-your-face slapstick or black satire, but instead shown in the interactions and thoughts of our endearing (and slightly pudgy) hero.

I read this book because I very much enjoyed Tullbane’s debut novel See These Bones. This was a less serious offering but equally well done. It’s great to see an author that can expand into different genres and still maintain quality.

I eagerly await whatever Chris Tullbane produces for us in the future.