Carter Brooks has arrived in Glasgow to search for his sister, Sarah. She has been missing for almost a month and no one has any leads on what may have happened. What makes this different from your average missing persons story? Magic.

Carter comes from a family of special abilities. They can see what others cannot. Sarah has gotten herself involved in a cult that practices sex magic. Just what every brother wants to find out about his sister. Sarah hasn’t mentioned her brother’s abilities to anyone in the group. Only just that he doesn’t agree with using magic.

In reality, Carter has many abilities that he tries to keep under wraps. With the help of her best friend, Alex, Carter must retrace his sister’s steps. When a powerful being comes to Carter in a dream, it offers information on Sarah’s location in exchange for servitude. Can Carter find his sister before he has to accept the offer?

Before disappearing, Sarah found an old book that contained the diary of a man trading with The Collector. The Collector is a fountain of information about the magic world. Now, Carter must use what his sister has already discovered to save her. Along the way, he runs into demons, angels, vampires and more creatures. Carter does it all full of sarcasm and bitterness that will make you laugh.

If you love magical realms and fantastical creatures, this is the book for you!

This book was difficult to get into, and I struggled with enjoying it and keeping up with what was going on. The writing was good, it was just the plot that was hard to follow.

Super spooky and perfect for a Halloween or October read.

Supernatural books are either a hit or miss and this book was a miss for me. Everything could have been cut down and the plot wouldn’t have suffered at all.

Also the author needed to step back and analyze the characters a bit more because it was painful to read a book and not care about the characters because they were so annoying and monotones.

3.5/5

Like some of the other reviewers have already stated, there is quite a bit going on here-the occult supernatural, paranormal to name a few. I’m usually engrossed with any genre involving a missing person, but the diary entries mar the progression of the present day characters. One of those books I picked up and put down for about a year. The halfway point is what caught my interest as that is where the quest truly really began for me. So much to elaborate on with this, but it is a different release for Silver Shamrock Publications. Not a bad thing.

NetGalley Review.

I loved this very much! The characters, the actions and even the plot itself! Very inspiring for my own book too!

this book... I didn't like it at all, it was not for me, I mean it was something I expected, it was worse than I expected, but this only my expierence so maybe you have another opinion but I just didn't like this book

i really enjoyed reading this book, the story was really spooky and what I wanted from a horror novel. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot.

I enjoyed this book, but probably would have enjoyed it more had it been stream-lined a little. There was not a lot of action going on for the amount of plot points happening at the same time. I enjoyed the attention to detail and the world building, but some of the inner thought dialogue could have been cut and had the same effect. Overall a three star read from me, and I will continue to look for other reads from the author!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I couldn't get into this one. The characters just got on my nerves and it was long winded dialogue and no story line. Just didn't care for this one

The cover is fantastic! Drew me right in. The story- not so much. Well, I am sure it will find it's audience, just not for me. Sorry.

A Stranger’s Guide was a well-written and engaging noir fantasy novel, albeit predictable. The author presented a familiar theme - sibling goes to find their missing sibling and is pulled into a dark world where they must use supernatural gifts to escape - delivered with a smooth writing style.

This novel had true potential, but the telling left much to be desired. The story traversed the delicate line between an array of genres - mystery, fantasy, hint of male/male romance, horror, noir.

Are you looking for an LGBTQ+ modern mystery/dark fantasy/horror novel? Do you like sarcastic, snarky characters and m/m romance, with a dash of "lovecraftian" atmosphere?

Boom.

A Stranger's Guide!

This story about a young psychic searching Glasgow's fantastical supernatural underbelly for his missing sister is a well-written, exciting irreverent journey that I would gladly take again. It started to feel a little formulaic about two-thirds of the way through, and I almost quit reading.

But I didn't! I kept on reading and I love what I read. Even though I'm a straight male, the homoeroticism didn't bother me (maybe in one scene, but that's my own problem) and the book was so well-written and interesting that I could not have put it down if I wanted to.

I strongly recommend this book and I'm actually hoping for a sequel.


SPOILER ALERT!


The ending was so predictable!

Of course Luke was the bad guy! I saw that coming easily halfway through the book. Especially after he and Carter started sleeping together. It was so obvious that he was John Mercer but I almost quit reading out of disappointment. But that is the only bad thing I have to say about this book.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and net galley in exchange for an honest review.

I spent most of the night last night and most of the day/night tonight reading this novel because it was published by Silver Shamrock and I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone and really dig into something different. I was underwhelmed a little bit with this novel. Not a bad thing as I am sure there are people out there who will disagree with me, however, as someone who doesn’t typically read the “fantasy” aspect of horror or fiction I was intrigued by the story which is what kept me reading until the very end. The authors use of a “diary” aspect was what really kept me pushing though because I needed to know what that history was, what that person was seeing/feeling back in 1885, it’s what drew me in. Will I recommend?? Of course, why you ask?? Just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean there isn’t a reader out there who wouldn’t absolutely love this novel and set out proving me wrong on why I shouldn’t have been underwhelmed.

The cover, the story, the magical creatures combined with horror, it all called to me. Unfortunately the book failed to really grab me and keep me interested and I think the combination of so many genres was what made the plot so messy.

A boy is looking for his missing sister and finds her friends and colleagues, as well as a strange diary which he thinks will give him clues. Apparently they all have magical powers in the family and that might be a clue on her disappearance, her magic power and abilities. However, after about 30% into the book, I still didn't know if I cared why this girl is missing and I started to rapidly lose interest.

The concept is really great and the bits of this old diary that we get to see and the whole story behind the creatures and her disappearance seems like something you would want to know more and more about but I ended up not really understanding the magic and I just was confused about the whole plot. That plus not caring for any of the characters sadly made me not enjoy the rest of the book.

I found A Strangers Guide to be an ok supernatural fantasy with slow pacing and the plot was confusing. Not great for me but maybe for someone else.

This took a while to get into, it was a round the 30% mark where things started happening, the intrigue went up and I wanted to continue and find out what was happening. Before that I was struggling to find the motivation to pick it up. It didn't help that I didn't connect with any of the characters, although I appreciate the main character being bisexual. It's not something we tend to see in male characters let alone ones in the fantasy genre
There were so many side plots, that the meanderings took me out of the story quite often. I enjoyed meeting all the different paranormal creatures and the conversations that took place between them and Carter. The author's take on these mythological creatures of old and how they fit into modern day Glasgow was interesting. Sadly a lot of these creatures were dropped and their plot points and stories went no further than the initial meeting.
I saw the plot twist coming, and the bad guy seemed obvious, especially as the novel went on and everyone else was eliminated yet we were still being told it was a mystery.
This novel has some great elements, but it felt like it had too much thrown together at once. A good idea, but one I think could have been better executed. I was interested enough by the end that if this turns into a series I would be tempted to pick up the second book.

Schottland und übernatürliche Wesen gehören einfach zusammen. Kombiniert man all das noch mit einer klassischen Detektiv-Story samt verschwundener junger Dame – oder in diesem Fall Magierin - und rüttelt es einmal gut durch, erhält man Charlotte Platts Debütroman A Stranger’s Guide – und die ungewöhnliche Mischung funktioniert erstaunlich gut.

Von Magiern und anderen Wesen
Carter kommt aus Manchester, doch diesen Oktober bleibt ihm nichts anders übrig, als nach Glasgow zu reisen. Warum? Seine Schwester ist verschwunden und er ist vermutlich der Einzige, der sie finden kann – oder zumindest der Einzige, dem er zutraut, sie motiviert genug zu suchen, um sie tatsächlich zu finden. Die Komplikation an der Sache: Um das tatsächlich zu schaffen, muss er unangenehmerweise seine Schilde fallen lassen. Keine sozialen Schilde, die es ihm üblicherweise erschweren, mit seinen Mitmenschen zu sprechen – de facto wäre es überhaupt kein Problem, wenn er nur mit Mitmenschen sprechen müsste – nein, wenn Carter von seinen Schilden spricht, dann meint er die Barriere, die er zwischen seine Umgebung und seine magische Wahrnehmung bringt, um von all dem übernatürlichen Kram um ihn herum möglichst wenig mitzubekommen. Carter und seine Schwester sind nämlich keine gewöhnlichen Twens, sondern Magier. Und genau das dürfte Sarah auch zum Verhängnis geworden sein: Der einzige Hinweis, den er auf ihren Aufenthaltsort hat, ist nämlich ein mysteriöses Buch aus dem späten 19. Jahrhundert, das von allerlei Begegnungen zwischen dem Autor und nicht-menschlichen Bewohnern Glasgows spricht – und Sarahs Aufzeichnungen, die deutlich machen, dass sie vor ihrem Verschwinden einen nach dem anderen darunter besucht hat ...

A Stranger’s Guide beginnt wie viele andere Detektivgeschichten: Eine verschwundene Person, ein motivierter (Möchtegern-)Schnüffler, eine ganze Reihe an mehr oder minder hilfreichen bis verdächtigen Bekanntschaften des Opfers, die befragt oder befreundet werden wollen, sowie vage Hinweise, die sich im Laufe der Story zunehmend verdichten. Das alles alleine würde schon genug Material für eine spannende Story bieten, doch Charlotte Platts Roman wirft noch ein wenig mehr Würze in die Mischung und präsentiert uns ein Glasgow, das nicht nur von Magiern mit unterschiedlich motivierten Talenten wimmelt, sondern auch von Wesen wie Dschinns, Mänaden und Feen, die Geschäfte führen, rachsüchtigen Geistern, die Betrunkene je nach Laune sicher nach Hause führen oder im Fluss ertränken, oder Dämonen, die nichtsahnende Engländer im Schlaf heimsuchen, um ihnen unmoralische Angebote zu machen. In letzterem Fall sprechen wir natürlich wiederum von Carter, denn eine verschwundene Schwester und übernatürliche Wesen, wohin man blickt, sind scheinbar noch nicht genug Probleme ...

Your friendly neighborhood demon
Im Laufe der Story werden zwei Dinge schnell klar: Carter mag seine Fähigkeiten selbst zwar nicht mögen, der Großteil von Glasgows nicht-menschlichen Bewohnern ist davon allerdings regelrecht angetan – und Sarah ging es vor ihrem Verschwinden nicht viel anders. Diese beiden Tatsachen führen dazu, dass sich Carter in der Story scheinbar problemlos eine Tür nach der anderen öffnet – von Bekannten Sarahs, die nur allzu willig sind, alles liegen und stehen zu lassen, um ihm bei der Suche zu helfen, über Wesen, die sich üblicherweise tief im Verborgenen halten, mit ihm aber mehr als willentlich kommunizieren, über Handelspartner, die konstant mit Infos rausrücken, auch wenn sie immer wieder betonen, dass sie dies eigentlich nur im Austausch für handfeste Gegenleistungen tun wollen. Hier liegt auch die größte Schwäche von A Stranger’s Guide: Obwohl die Story spannend aufgebaut ist, fällt Carter alles ein klein wenig zu leicht in die Hände. Kein einziges Mal lässt ihn jemand kalt abblitzen, und die wenigen, die nicht sofort mit der Sprache rausrücken, verlangen Handelswaren, die er innerhalb von Stunden ohne großen Aufwand auftreiben kann.
Auch die Informationsverteilung in Glasgow ist während des gesamten Buchs ein kleines Rätsel: So scheint es gelegentlich, dass bestimmte einflussreichere Charaktere zwar im Grunde alles über die Stadt, ihre Bewohner und die Machenschaften zwischen diesen wissen, gerade jene Infos, die Carter als Neuling hat, dann aber doch noch nicht kennen, sodass dieser jene gegen weitere Hinweise eintauschen kann. Carter selbst beginnt seine Suche indessen als jemand, der beim ersten Anblick von übernatürlichen Wesen einen halben Herzinfarkt erleidet – sieht er sie dank seiner speziellen Fähigkeiten schließlich, wie sie wirklich sind – bereits Stunden im Buch später jedoch jedem noch so schrecklichen Wesen ins Auge blickt und abgebrüht damit umgehen kann, dass ihn Leute ans Messer liefern wollten – und dabei nicht mal nachtragend ist. Die Charakterentwicklung passiert hier ein wenig zu spontan, was wohl auch der kurzen Story-Dauer insgesamt geschuldet ist – innerhalb des Buches vergeht kaum eine Woche von Anfang bis Ende.
Seltsamerweise tun diese doch recht deutlichen Plot-Schwächen dem Lesespaß aber nichts ab, was vor allem daran liegt, wie wundervoll schnell und pfiffig A Stranger’s Guide geschrieben ist. Ein Großteil des Buches besteht aus Dialogen, die weder steif noch aufgesetzt wirken, sondern indessen ein wundervolles Gefühl von unterschiedlichen Persönlichkeiten hervorrufen. Die Charaktere selbst sind abwechslungsreich gezeichnet und führen den Leser auch ein wenig in ihre Mythen ein, sodass hier ein ganzes Universum entsteht, in dem potenziell noch weitere Geschichten folgen könnten. Ich persönlich würde jedenfalls gerne noch mehr über Glasgows übernatürliche Szene lesen.

Agent Carter im Dämonenland
A Stranger’s Guide ist eine wundervolle Mischung aus mythen-inspirierter Dark-Fantasy und Detektivstory, die zwar mit einigen Umsetzungsschwierigkeiten zu kämpfen hat, dabei aber dank sympathischen Charakteren und ihrem flotten Schreibstil dennoch von Anfang bis Ende bei der Stange hält. Gerade in Sachen Charakterentwicklung herrscht hier auf jeden Fall noch Verbesserungspotenzial, der Lesespaß kommt bei A Stranger’s Guide aber dennoch keinesfalls zu kurz. Wer Krimis und Fantasy liebt, der findet hier also eine interessante und durchaus empfehlenswerte Kombination aus beidem.

This is a decent urban fantasy with an original supernatural premise. However, the pacing is very slow for the most part and the plot is a little messy. Still worth a read but I probably wont be revisiting it.

A fantastic supernatural mystery, set within an ancient and beautiful city, I really enjoyed this book. The range of characters within the book were brilliantly inventive, and I loved the way in which the author matched their species traits up with their positions in the "real world". The descriptions were excellent too, and really added to the stor, which flowed at a good pace. The blend of the take with the narrative of Luke/John's book also worked very well and added an additional dimension that the story definitely benefited from.

There are a couple of slight negatives with this book. Firstly, although there is resolution in terms of Carter findings reaching his sister, the reason she went into hiding in the first place (Luke and the cult) is not dealt with. Luke is left alive, and the cult members are disbanded but not killed. Although Carter technically has power over them, there is in fact little to written from finding others to sacrifice. Finally, although Carter's laidback personality helps him cope with the events of the story, he seems to deal with the trauma (especially the dramatic and climatic events of the cult meeting) with too much ease.

However, these are minor issues compared to the story as a whoke, which drew me in and keep me glued to the pages from beginning to end. The supernatural aspects, the likeable and Interesting characters, and the desire to know what will happen next easily earn this book 5 stars

This seems like a really good fantasy for people who like dark fantasy.
I only got half way through and had to stop - I found it long winded and the swearing over the top, really not necessary to enhance a good story, in my opinion.
However, the characters were unique and the setting and the plot interesting.
I do recognize that although this was not my cup of tea, other people might find it gripping.