Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey cover art

Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey

Crawshanks Guide to the Recently Departed

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Dead Serious Case #1 Miz Dusty Le Frey

By: Vawn Cassidy
Narrated by: Joel Leslie
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About this listen

In the business of unfinished business....

Tristan Everett has always preferred the company of the dead because they usually don't talk back. Being a somewhat awkward introvert working as a pathologist at the Hackney Public Mortuary suits him just fine. That is, until a freak accident with a rogue ice cube and suddenly he can see ghosts. No longer content to just lie on the table and let him figure out how they died, they're now peering over his shoulder critiquing his work and confessing their most lascivious sins before skipping off merrily into the afterlife.

Just when he thought his life couldn't get any weirder, sassy drag queen, Dusty Le Frey, is wheeled in with a toe tag, and she's not prepared to go quietly into the light. Not only is she furious at the prospect of spending eternity in last season's gold lame, she's determined that he help her solve her murder.

Suddenly Tristan finds himself thrown into a world of sequins and fake eyelashes, and worse still, he may have developed a bit of a crush on Scotland Yard's brand-new drool-worthy detective, Inspector Danny Hayes, who's been assigned to Dusty's murder. Oh, and as the icing on top of a really crappy cake, the killer now wants him dead, too....

All he ever wanted was a simple life but suddenly he's juggling work, a deliciously sexy detective, a stubborn ghost, and a relentless murderer...and things have just gotten dead serious....

From author Wendy Saunders writing as Vawn Cassidy comes this hot and funny, slow-burn, opposites-attract paranormal caper across the East End of London.

©2021 Wendy Saunders (P)2023 Wendy Saunders
Romance Supernatural Thriller & Suspense
All stars
Most relevant
I read this book when it first came out, and I absolutely loved it. When I found out an audio version was coming out and Joel Leslie was narrating it, it was a no brainer instant buy.

I've just finished listening to it in preparation for book 2 of this series (can't wait) and I found that what was already an excellent story by a talented writer with great comedic timing, was elevated to exceptional with Joel's narration, acting, and his own comedic timing.

Either reading or listening (or like me both through Kindle App Whispersync) this is a book that shouldn't be missed!

Joel Leslie Does it Again!

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I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book when I first read it. There was just so much going on - a ghost, a murder mystery, a romance, complex characters with angsty histories, humour albeit rather dark, more ghosts, and a lot of unanswered questions. Then I read the second book and got more of the story. So when I saw the audiobook was coming with Joel Leslie as the narrator, I had to pre-order because he’s high on my list of must-hear narrators. After listening to the audio, the characters felt more likeable than when I first read the book. I’m interested to see how the story progresses in future books.

Interesting, different, quirky, unusual….

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I had a few issues with this book actually.

It was cute and fun, the supernatural sub-plot was great (I love ghosts), Tristan, Dusty, and Chan were all buzzing with heartfelt charm and energy, and Joel Leslie elevated the humour and drama to the point I was either laughing or in tears at certain points.

However, the romance and mystery were not as defined.

Danny was one dimensional and had some internalised misogyny and machismo which made his thoughts about Tristan frustratingly gender essentialist and bottom shamy at times. This would have been an interesting and understandable flaw to unpick (considering his upbringing) if it weren't obvious the reader was supposed to see him as a perfect specimen of heroic masculinity... and if Tristan didn't also buy into that heteronormative nonsense at times. In fact, the relationship I was most invested in was Tris and Dusty who had the best scenes, conversations, and were simply good for each other— Tristan keeping Dusty genuine and Dusty challenging Tristan's conventional outlook on his self and own sexuality.

The Queens were treated with compassion but there seemed to be a lot of confusion about gender as performance and gender as identity. Drag Queens are a performance and Dusty and Chan would still be Dustin and Chan(?) the gay men off the clock unless they were trans. Are they trans? I'm as confused about what their pronouns are as the author is. There is also a bit of orientalism with Chan but I loved them so it was easier to ignore than Danny's limitations, the outdated movie references, and gratingly thoughtless allusions to Harry Potter.

The thing about a good murder mystery is that the reader could potentially piece it together with clues gathered throughout the book. However, the solution in this book felt unearned, made Dusty look unbelievably foolish (of course the information they were sitting on was important???), and would've been better as a red herring because it was far too obvious when the clue was eventually unearthed in the last quarter. I also had issues with the murderer's written presentation and how useless Danny was as a police officer...

Okay, so long criticisms. Not because I think it's a bad book but because I think these problems can be fixed to make future books in the series stronger. Danny and Chan can be developed better with more thoughtfulness, the mystery can be written better with practice, but if you want a book about a dynamic friendship between a budding medium and a ghost this was one of the better ones I've read.

Joel is excellent as always

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This is a lovely and charming start to a new series.

Tristan and Danny are really sweet together and Dusty is absolutely delightful.

Vawn Cassidy runs the gamut from over-the-top hilarity to tear jerking feels. The drag queens are so funny but also remain real, and Tristan's breakdown over the situation with his father had me close to tears.

Joel Leslie narration is excellent as always; He does comedy so well!

The only real negative I have is Danny's Northern accent which, while correct for the character, is (in my subjective opinion) the least sexy accent I've ever heard, and so makes Tristan's opinion of his voice being so sexy a bit off-putting for me.

All-in-all, I can't wait to see where the stories go from here. I'll definitely be looking out for future additions.

Sweet start to a new series

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This book was so entertaining, brilliantly performed by Joel Leslie. His cast of character voices are clever and distinctive. Well written, well performed.

So entertaining

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What a great story and a fantastic performance by Joel Leslie. He does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. In fact all the books that he narrates are absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend this book.

Awesome Book

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I often pick based on Leslie's narration. It was great to find an enjoyable story.

Worth the listen

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Loved the characters, the humour & romance, the supernatural element & the mystery solving. Read by the amazing Joel Leslie. What’s not to love! This is a new author to me & I am so excited. Love a series I’m so looking forward to the next one!

Fantastic. Loved it!

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I enjoyed the story and characters, the narrator was great and easy to listen to.

Kept me listening

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