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Publication
JCP Books, LLC (2009), Edition: 2, Kindle Edition
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Mystery. HTML: "This urban fantasy series follows psychic detective Victor Bayne and partner Jacob Marks in a world where psychic ability is accepted, if still a bit creepy. ... Fans of Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake books would enjoy this series with paranormal activity as well as romance." - Library Journal Once upon a time if you told doctors you heard voices, they'd diagnose you as schizophrenic, put you on heavy drugs, and lock you away in a cozy state institution to keep you from hurting yourself or others. Nowadays they test you first to see if you're psychic. Victor Bayne, the psychic half of a PsyCop team, is a gay medium who's more concerned with flying under the radar than making waves. He hooks up with handsome Jacob Marks, a non-psychic (or "Stiff") from an adjacent precinct at his ex-partner's retirement party, and it seems like his dubious luck has taken a turn for the better. But then a serial killer surfaces who can change his appearance to match any witness' idea of the world's hottest guy. Solving murders is a snap when you can ask the victims whodunit, but this killer's not leaving any spirits behind. Among the Living is book 1 of PsyCop, an ongoing M/M Urban Fantasy series featuring steamy love scenes, astonishing psychic talents, gruesome murders, and a slew of creepy otherworldly creatures..… (more)
Language
Original language
English
Media reviews
User reviews
LibraryThing member maybedog
More of a novella than a novel but a good first book. I enjoyed it immensely. The love story is sweet and all the characters are interesting. I love the main character's insecurities, although he makes himself sound like he isn'5 good at anything except seeing ghosts which is just automatic not a
The mystery is adequate and parts weren't predictable. I was also pleased that things aren't all wrapped up in a tidy little bow at the end. I can't wait to read more and find out what happens next. Having the books linked with at least subplots is what makes for a good series. Hopefully the rest measure up.
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skill in his mind. I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him everything is okay and that he has a million things to offer the world. I didn't like how closeted he is but I think it's probably pretty normal in the police force. I'm glad the author made the love interest out and proud in same force (though different precinct).The mystery is adequate and parts weren't predictable. I was also pleased that things aren't all wrapped up in a tidy little bow at the end. I can't wait to read more and find out what happens next. Having the books linked with at least subplots is what makes for a good series. Hopefully the rest measure up.
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LibraryThing member knitwick
What can I say? I'm hooked...
Think paranormal urban fantasy police procedural romance and you'll have some idea of the basic premise of this novella. Sounds like it could be a bit of a shit storm, huh? But it's not. Price really pulls it off well. Among the Living somehow manages to set up
I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but now I feel as though I have to catch up, like yesterday.
Think paranormal urban fantasy police procedural romance and you'll have some idea of the basic premise of this novella. Sounds like it could be a bit of a shit storm, huh? But it's not. Price really pulls it off well. Among the Living somehow manages to set up
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interesting, multi-dimensional, lovable characters, a charming romance and an intriguing world while spinning a compelling (if brief) mystery plot all in the span of roughly 30,000 words. Impressive, if you ask me. Hopefully, though, the longer format of later entries in the series will lend itself to mystery plot lines that have a little more time to be fleshed out. While perhaps not Nobel Prize material, the novella is a well written, enjoyable read.I'm a bit late to the party on this one, but now I feel as though I have to catch up, like yesterday.
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LibraryThing member DianeYu
This is my first book by Jordan Castillo Price and I'm absolutely thrilled with her writing. Her dialogue in particular is extremely well done - I never find myself anticipating correctly what the characters will say as I often do with some writers.
I'm anxious to continue this series as I enjoyed
I'm anxious to continue this series as I enjoyed
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everything about this book and the relationship between Vic and Jacob. Great suspense and a paranormal aspect just makes it all that much better. Show Less
LibraryThing member ReginaR
“Once upon a time if you told doctors you heard voice, they’d diagnose you as schizophrenic, put you on heavy drugs, and lock you away in a cozy state institution to keep you from hurting others. Nowadays they test you first to see if you’re psychic.”
Have you ever wanted a psychic power?
The main character of the book –the story is told from his first person point of view – is Victor Bayne. Vic sees dead people. But he does not only see them, he can talk to them, hear them and they follow him around and generally make his life miserable. Vic uses his talent as a member of the Chicago police force, but when he is not on the police force Vic medicates himself with prescribed drugs that help dull his ability. Kind of, the drugs kind of work. Vic is a flawed character, definitely not perfect. In Among the Living, the reader follows Vic through his day and investigation; poor Vic stumbles through most encounters and his inner monologue is unintentionally funny from his perspective – Ms. Price is a genius at writing witty inner monologues. Here is an example, the story starts off at a retirement part for Vic’s partner. Vic heads through the house and passes his partner’s child and some friends as Vic debates saying something to the kids he thinks this, “I quelled the urge to go back into the rec room and tell Maurice’s kid that his dad would probably shit a brick if he heard that expression in his home. But that’s lead to a long-winded discussion of civil rights, yadda yadda yadda. Plus I’d be absolute certain to come off as a creepy, white asshole then, in case there was any doubt at all.” This is typical of Vic’s inner thoughts. Another example of Jacob’s messy life and his thoughts on it (this scene takes place as Vic’s new partner drives Vic’s car), "I rummaged around my glove compartment and found an old pair of shades crusted with mysterious dust. How did things get dusty while they were shut inside a glovebox? .....Gutierrez' eyes were on the tiny GPS navigation screen. Also dusty, I noted. …I stared through my dusty plastic lenses at a string of Indian grocers and sari shops and noted that I could kind of see over one lens but not the other. Therefore, the shades were probably crooked as well as dusty. Charming.”
Other great examples:
“I sat in the passenger seat of my car and picked the brim of a Styrofoam coffee cup into a dozen small, ragged pieces. I hesitated before letting them fall to the floor, and then I realized that it was my own damn car and I could do what I wanted.”
“I went out to my car with the intention of grabbing a very late lunch when I saw there was someone sitting in my drivers’ seat. Since Guitierrez still had my keys, I realized that was a good thing.”
“I swung around to grab her and shake some sense into her, but the seat belt caught me by the neck. I swore at it and clicked it open, but by then I’d calmed down enough to stop myself from acting like a lunatic.”
Vic is not the only interesting character in Among the Living. There are three other characters introduced in Among the Living, Vic’s partner Lisa and two other detectives partnered together – Carolyn and Jacob. Each of the characters are complexly written, funny and add to the story. Warning: I absolutely love this series, but it is not for everyone. The main character is gay and there are some explicit gay romance and sex scenes. The story and the series involves the developing romantic relationship between Vic and Jacob, like everything else in the story, it is well written and purposely layered. During the ins and outs of Vic’s daily life, he pretends he is not gay, “I fixed my gaze on a completely irrelevant nail hole on the wall and pretended they weren’t talking about anything gay. I always figure I’m going to get some kind of telltale look on my face and tip somebody off about my own lifestyle.”
This book is a fun mystery, intriguing urban fantasy world, interesting characters and a sweet romance that does not dominate the story line. Among the Living is a novella and a quick easy read; I highly recommend just picking up this story and taking the dive.
My favorite line of the book, which is a bit of a spoiler
“‘You really don’t know, do you?’ He pressed a gentle kiss onto one of my eyebrows, then the other. ‘It was you, Vic. He disguised himself as you.’”
Ms. Price has written a number of books in this series, the main novels and novellas are for sale, but she offers the in between short stories free (for the most part) on her website:
Have you ever wanted a psychic power?
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Communicating with others telepathically? Making objects move? Being able to speak with animals? Well, I used to want to move objects with my mind. Reading Firestarter by Stephen King when I was a kid made me imagine all the possibilities that I could have available to me, if only I could learn to end a spoon. Unfortunately, spoon bending was not an ability I was able to master and I had to develop other skills to make a living. But the idea continues to intrigue me. The world of crime solving urban fantasy novels is saturated and there is quite a bit of overlap in world building and supernatural talent. That is not the case with the PsyCop series by Jordan Castillo Price. The stories take place in present day Chicago with a twist. Psychic talent is widely acknowledged and utilized by police forces; there are psychic pairs of police officers – one without psychic talent (the “stiff”) and one with psychic talent; but the talents vary - -and Ms. Price has come up with some unique talents. I do not want to spoil anything for new readers, but I will just say that the talents she writes about are nothing I have seen in other supernatural based television shows or books. The main character of the book –the story is told from his first person point of view – is Victor Bayne. Vic sees dead people. But he does not only see them, he can talk to them, hear them and they follow him around and generally make his life miserable. Vic uses his talent as a member of the Chicago police force, but when he is not on the police force Vic medicates himself with prescribed drugs that help dull his ability. Kind of, the drugs kind of work. Vic is a flawed character, definitely not perfect. In Among the Living, the reader follows Vic through his day and investigation; poor Vic stumbles through most encounters and his inner monologue is unintentionally funny from his perspective – Ms. Price is a genius at writing witty inner monologues. Here is an example, the story starts off at a retirement part for Vic’s partner. Vic heads through the house and passes his partner’s child and some friends as Vic debates saying something to the kids he thinks this, “I quelled the urge to go back into the rec room and tell Maurice’s kid that his dad would probably shit a brick if he heard that expression in his home. But that’s lead to a long-winded discussion of civil rights, yadda yadda yadda. Plus I’d be absolute certain to come off as a creepy, white asshole then, in case there was any doubt at all.” This is typical of Vic’s inner thoughts. Another example of Jacob’s messy life and his thoughts on it (this scene takes place as Vic’s new partner drives Vic’s car), "I rummaged around my glove compartment and found an old pair of shades crusted with mysterious dust. How did things get dusty while they were shut inside a glovebox? .....Gutierrez' eyes were on the tiny GPS navigation screen. Also dusty, I noted. …I stared through my dusty plastic lenses at a string of Indian grocers and sari shops and noted that I could kind of see over one lens but not the other. Therefore, the shades were probably crooked as well as dusty. Charming.”
Other great examples:
“I sat in the passenger seat of my car and picked the brim of a Styrofoam coffee cup into a dozen small, ragged pieces. I hesitated before letting them fall to the floor, and then I realized that it was my own damn car and I could do what I wanted.”
“I went out to my car with the intention of grabbing a very late lunch when I saw there was someone sitting in my drivers’ seat. Since Guitierrez still had my keys, I realized that was a good thing.”
“I swung around to grab her and shake some sense into her, but the seat belt caught me by the neck. I swore at it and clicked it open, but by then I’d calmed down enough to stop myself from acting like a lunatic.”
Vic is not the only interesting character in Among the Living. There are three other characters introduced in Among the Living, Vic’s partner Lisa and two other detectives partnered together – Carolyn and Jacob. Each of the characters are complexly written, funny and add to the story. Warning: I absolutely love this series, but it is not for everyone. The main character is gay and there are some explicit gay romance and sex scenes. The story and the series involves the developing romantic relationship between Vic and Jacob, like everything else in the story, it is well written and purposely layered. During the ins and outs of Vic’s daily life, he pretends he is not gay, “I fixed my gaze on a completely irrelevant nail hole on the wall and pretended they weren’t talking about anything gay. I always figure I’m going to get some kind of telltale look on my face and tip somebody off about my own lifestyle.”
This book is a fun mystery, intriguing urban fantasy world, interesting characters and a sweet romance that does not dominate the story line. Among the Living is a novella and a quick easy read; I highly recommend just picking up this story and taking the dive.
My favorite line of the book, which is a bit of a spoiler
“‘You really don’t know, do you?’ He pressed a gentle kiss onto one of my eyebrows, then the other. ‘It was you, Vic. He disguised himself as you.’”
Ms. Price has written a number of books in this series, the main novels and novellas are for sale, but she offers the in between short stories free (for the most part) on her website:
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LibraryThing member MlleEhreen
Three things about Among the Living:
(1) It's excellent
(2) It's short
(3) It's expensive.
I usually don't whinge about price. I think, for the most part, books are good value for money. If I get to sit and read for an entire afternoon, let alone for several of them, at the price of a movie ticket I'm
Among the Living was $3.99 and it's a novella. That's...okay? I read it in an hour or two and finished it wanting more. The next in the series is $4.99 and it's 40,000 words, which is half the length of a proper novel and still 2/3 of a normal YA. Same with #3. I am biased against short books in general. I don't want to keep coming back to the well, parched and dry mouthed and reaching for the buy button, always unsatisfied and wanting more.
This is totally bumming me out because, as I keep saying, the book is damn good. The voice is excellent. Vic is so unassuming, so unaware of his own value, with a great, sharp sense of humor. I rooted for all the other characters, even when I didn't expect to - for his new partner Lisa, for snappy Carolyn, and big, sexy Marks. They were crystal clear and real and I wanted to spend time with them.
The story itself is dreadfully, painfully short. Vic is a strong psychic who can see and speak to the dead. Usually murder victims can't wait to tell him whodunit. But a series of bodies are popping up and there are no ghostly victims in sight. Why isn't Vic's power working? What's gone wrong? Every scene is fun and engaging and wonderful but no sooner has the case heated up than it's solved.
I don't have a negative word to say about the writing or the book. But it's short, short's not my thing, and that means I'm going to wish this author and her fans much happiness together while I find something else to read.
(1) It's excellent
(2) It's short
(3) It's expensive.
I usually don't whinge about price. I think, for the most part, books are good value for money. If I get to sit and read for an entire afternoon, let alone for several of them, at the price of a movie ticket I'm
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pretty happy. Plus, I want authors to make a living. This is literally the first time I've ever bought book, thought it was excellent, and decided not to move on to the next in the series because of a price issue. Among the Living was $3.99 and it's a novella. That's...okay? I read it in an hour or two and finished it wanting more. The next in the series is $4.99 and it's 40,000 words, which is half the length of a proper novel and still 2/3 of a normal YA. Same with #3. I am biased against short books in general. I don't want to keep coming back to the well, parched and dry mouthed and reaching for the buy button, always unsatisfied and wanting more.
This is totally bumming me out because, as I keep saying, the book is damn good. The voice is excellent. Vic is so unassuming, so unaware of his own value, with a great, sharp sense of humor. I rooted for all the other characters, even when I didn't expect to - for his new partner Lisa, for snappy Carolyn, and big, sexy Marks. They were crystal clear and real and I wanted to spend time with them.
The story itself is dreadfully, painfully short. Vic is a strong psychic who can see and speak to the dead. Usually murder victims can't wait to tell him whodunit. But a series of bodies are popping up and there are no ghostly victims in sight. Why isn't Vic's power working? What's gone wrong? Every scene is fun and engaging and wonderful but no sooner has the case heated up than it's solved.
I don't have a negative word to say about the writing or the book. But it's short, short's not my thing, and that means I'm going to wish this author and her fans much happiness together while I find something else to read.
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LibraryThing member jules0623
3.5 stars. I hate the word 'jizz' particularly in narrative but the story was interesting, although I don't think I got to know either of the MCs well enough to like or dislike them.
I want to say this is gritty but that's the wrong word. It's not a pretty read but I'm curious enough to check out
I want to say this is gritty but that's the wrong word. It's not a pretty read but I'm curious enough to check out
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the other books. Show Less
LibraryThing member Abby_K.
I've been hooked on paranormal books for years, especially anything with psychics. However, I'm relatively new to the M/M genre, but figured I could broaden my horizons. I read the first half for free through Jordan's website for free (love being able to try before I buy) and immediately had to buy
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the book. I'm glad I did! From beginning to end I was riveted. The mystery kept me guessing and the romance was certainly hot enough. My only possible complaint would be I wish the story was longer (luckily books 2-5 are available to fill the gap, plus plenty of short stories) Show Less
LibraryThing member Tam2603
Nice, but felt rather short.
LibraryThing member Cynical_Ames
I'm fairly new to m/m but I really enjoyed this. The characters were great. All of them were very real to me. None of them were perfect. The world-building was well done and the story was gripping. The romance and sexual tension was bold, exciting, hot and yet sweet at the same time. I'll
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definitely be continuing with this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kaysbooks
Isn't it just wonderful to write a novella about psychic cops? You can put anything in there you want, psychedelic stuff, sex, adventure, fun and twist it all together as one coherent story!!
Victor Bayne is a policeman in a special police force because he has psychic abilities and can connect with
Very tempting to have a go with all the other PcyCop detectives from that series. This is fun!!
Victor Bayne is a policeman in a special police force because he has psychic abilities and can connect with
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murder victims. That comes in handy when he and his new partner Lisa have to find out who kills gay men while having sex, leaving shattered mirrors behind. But Victor can't talk to the victims here, so he needs all the help he can get from the drop-dead gorgeous police detective Jacob Marks. Did I mention that those two are attracted to one another? Well, step on the funny plot-line of Price to have a priceless and entertaining read that wants you not to go to sleep until all is settled and well.Very tempting to have a go with all the other PcyCop detectives from that series. This is fun!!
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LibraryThing member mishmelle
This novella was a nice surprise. A good balance of mystery, m/m relationship, psychic stuff, paranormal stuff (that I didn’t expect), good dialogue, likable characters, and some smexy times. I think the scope of the story fit the novella length well. It didn’t feel rushed, which is a nice
Victor is a Psych. He has the ability to see and talk to dead people which can be handy when you are a homicide cop. The saying “dead people tell no tales” doesn’t really apply when Victor is around (usually). Jacob is a Stiff, or a non-psychic cop. A Psych and a Stiff are usually paired together, however, Victor and Jacob are not partners. They do however, end up working together on a case.
Jacob comes off very confident and knows exactly what he wants and goes after it, which seems to be Victor. Victor, on the other hand, lacks Jacob’s confidence and seems to have a lot of self-doubt. He always seems so surprised at Jacob’s advances and interest in him. I actually had a bit of a hard time seeing Victor as a cop considering his uncertainty and lack of confidence in himself.
So here are some issues I had with the story and things that left me a bit confused.
- Jacob starts hitting on Victor right from the beginning without any warning or build up. It just seems to come out of nowhere. He zeroed in on Victor right away and it left me wondering why. (I've since learned that there is a free short story that is supposed to explain this on the author's website but I haven't read it yet. So why isn't it just bundled with this book? It would make a lot more sense to do that and the readers wouldn't be left wondering. Oh well *shrugs*)
- What was the deal with the mirrors and the eyes? There seemed to be a significance to the mirror fragments and how they were used in the story. They were used in two ways and neither was explained.
- Why couldn’t Victor hear the murdered people? Again, never really explained that I can recall.
- The sex scene at the end was a little hard to follow the way it was written. It was like watching a game of twister – how did he get that hand over there?
So, yes I had some issues with the story but overall I really liked it. The story engaged me (and I’m not even that big a fan of mystery/detective themes). The characters felt well developed for a novella size book. I want more of Victor and Jacob, and even Lisa and Carolyn were interesting. I wouldn’t call this a romance. It had romantic elements but not a true HEA and the characters continue in future books. I wanted to keep reading when it ended and that is always a good sign I enjoyed the book even if I questioned some of it. The story arc and mystery were resolved for this book. A good example of a story that doesn’t need to have a cliffhanger to make you want more, and I definitely want more.
Word Count: 29,000
Kindle Locations: 1597
Story text ends at 1495 (93%)
Includes Table of Contents
Heat Level: Erotic (but not as much as I expected). Door is wide open.
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change of pace from some other novellas I’ve read recently. However, I did have some questions that I’ll get to below. It is one of those stories that I can have some issues with but still really enjoy it.Victor is a Psych. He has the ability to see and talk to dead people which can be handy when you are a homicide cop. The saying “dead people tell no tales” doesn’t really apply when Victor is around (usually). Jacob is a Stiff, or a non-psychic cop. A Psych and a Stiff are usually paired together, however, Victor and Jacob are not partners. They do however, end up working together on a case.
Jacob comes off very confident and knows exactly what he wants and goes after it, which seems to be Victor. Victor, on the other hand, lacks Jacob’s confidence and seems to have a lot of self-doubt. He always seems so surprised at Jacob’s advances and interest in him. I actually had a bit of a hard time seeing Victor as a cop considering his uncertainty and lack of confidence in himself.
So here are some issues I had with the story and things that left me a bit confused.
- Jacob starts hitting on Victor right from the beginning without any warning or build up. It just seems to come out of nowhere. He zeroed in on Victor right away and it left me wondering why. (I've since learned that there is a free short story that is supposed to explain this on the author's website but I haven't read it yet. So why isn't it just bundled with this book? It would make a lot more sense to do that and the readers wouldn't be left wondering. Oh well *shrugs*)
- What was the deal with the mirrors and the eyes? There seemed to be a significance to the mirror fragments and how they were used in the story. They were used in two ways and neither was explained.
- Why couldn’t Victor hear the murdered people? Again, never really explained that I can recall.
- The sex scene at the end was a little hard to follow the way it was written. It was like watching a game of twister – how did he get that hand over there?
So, yes I had some issues with the story but overall I really liked it. The story engaged me (and I’m not even that big a fan of mystery/detective themes). The characters felt well developed for a novella size book. I want more of Victor and Jacob, and even Lisa and Carolyn were interesting. I wouldn’t call this a romance. It had romantic elements but not a true HEA and the characters continue in future books. I wanted to keep reading when it ended and that is always a good sign I enjoyed the book even if I questioned some of it. The story arc and mystery were resolved for this book. A good example of a story that doesn’t need to have a cliffhanger to make you want more, and I definitely want more.
Word Count: 29,000
Kindle Locations: 1597
Story text ends at 1495 (93%)
Includes Table of Contents
Heat Level: Erotic (but not as much as I expected). Door is wide open.
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LibraryThing member ToniFGMAMTC
This book was pretty short, but super interesting. I can't wait to start the next one. It has crime, murder mystery, cops, science fiction and fantasy elements, hot sex scenes. . . I'll be on to the next book asap.
LibraryThing member NannyOgg13
Re-read May 24, 2012
I don't know if it's because I'm in a different mood or if it gets better if you read it again after you've read the rest of the series. Up to 4 stars.
I don't know if it's because I'm in a different mood or if it gets better if you read it again after you've read the rest of the series. Up to 4 stars.
LibraryThing member selia
interesting premise but badly written. very flat, no depth to telling the story or fleshing out the characters. there's no chemistry between the MCs, and they meet and hookup so quickly i felt blindsided. Lots of interactions between people are glossed over so there's no time to get to know
Also, this book reads like it was written in the 80's for all of its offensive language, not 2006. You're a writer and you can't come up with better writing than derogatory language that hasn't been acceptable for decades?
this is my first book by this author and i will not be trying any others. thank god i got this for free.
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characters. Poor world building, the murder mystery could have saved it but it's barely given any time either.Also, this book reads like it was written in the 80's for all of its offensive language, not 2006. You're a writer and you can't come up with better writing than derogatory language that hasn't been acceptable for decades?
this is my first book by this author and i will not be trying any others. thank god i got this for free.
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