Novel: PsyCop: Among the Living
Author: Jordan Castillo Price
Genres: Paranormal, Crime
Released: 2006
Part of Book Series: PsyCop Series (Book #1)
Summary: Victor Bayne, the psychic half of a PsyCop team, is a gay medium who’s more concerned with flying under the radar than in 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.
Post’s Author Opinion:
Note: This is a personal opinion, it does not reflect YaoiOtaku’s official position towards the novel.
Oh dear, a lot of people are going to hate me for this, but, here goes. I don’t understand what the hype is about this series. I have read quite a number of books with a police-psychic combination and there was nothing special about PsyCop. I mean, it’s not bad (if I’m being generous), but really, the way people described it was totally blown out of proportion.
Let’s start with the main characters: Victor and Jacob. Victor is unmotivated and bordering too close to being a loser cop. There was nothing that he did in the slightest that would personify himself as a cop. He was aware about his department’s dress code for years and he has only 2 sport coats? I don’t know how he passed his police exams, but I wouldn’t even put him on office duty. Next, we have Jacob. Really? Jacob Marks? I found solace that Marc Jacobs is at least not bad looking and doesn’t sport a goatee. Not sure if he did in 2006, but the only reason why a goatee would be seen as hot was because the book was published in that year. I’m sorry.
The whole story in general was meh. Right off the bat we have Jacob mauling Victor in his ex-partner’s basement bathroom during a retirement party. I knew from the short story which precedes this novel that Jacob already had the hots for Victor, but seriously, they barely exchanged greetings and Jacob was all over Victor. This appears to be Jacob’s MO throughout the book – not trying to get to know each other or trying to flirt like normal, then suddenly BOOM! Sex.
I’m not sure if it was because the author was aiming for a short novel, but the chapters almost always ended abruptly. I was expecting the chapters would reveal more about the case they were working on but out of the blue, it ended in the middle of a conversation and I had to start with the next chapter that has no connection to what they talked about previously.There was also no detailed explanation about the murder. I don’t know the relevance behind describing a specific scene (mirror shards x victims) just to be forgotten in the end.
I was utterly surprised that ⅔ into the book, the story suddenly took a turn from Ghost Whisperer to Harry Potter + Supernatural. That was when I threw in my towel and called it quits. I rushed through the ending and decided to not go beyond the first book.
So, to anyone who would like to give it a try, do go ahead if you have some free time since it wasn’t a long book. Please be warned that there are 7 installments and a rather handful of short stories in this series. But if you are open to suggestions, I would recommend The Spectral Files by S.E Harmon more.
What’s your opinion on PsyCop: Among the Living novel? Please let us know in the comments below.
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