
Dead Man's Hand
The Unorthodox Chronicles, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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James Patrick Cronin
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By:
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James J. Butcher
About this listen
In the tradition of his renowned father, James J. Butcher’s debut novel is a brilliant urban fantasy about a young man who must throw out the magical rule book to solve the murder of his former mentor.
On the streets of Boston, the world is divided into the ordinary Usuals, and the paranormal Unorthodox. And in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs, the Auditors are the magical elite, government-sanctioned witches with spells at their command and all the power and prestige that comes with it. Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is…not one of those witches.
After flunking out of the Auditor training program and being dismissed as “not Department material,” Grimsby tried to resign himself to life as a mediocre witch. But he can’t help hoping he’ll somehow, someway, get another chance to prove his skill. That opportunity comes with a price when his former mentor, aka the most dangerous witch alive, is murdered down the street from where he works, and Grimsby is the Auditors’ number one suspect.
Proving his innocence will require more than a little legwork, and after forming a strange alliance with the retired legend known as the Huntsman and a mysterious being from Elsewhere, Grimsby is abruptly thrown into a life of adventure, whether he wants it or not. Now all he has to do is find the real killer, avoid the Auditors on his trail, and most importantly, stay alive.
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Critic reviews
“Woot! Get set for a wild ride! Debut author James J. Butcher hits one out of the ballpark. Nonstop action in this character-driven urban fantasy that is both laugh-out-loud and terrifying—sometimes at the same time.”—Patricia Briggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Clear your schedule. You won’t want to put this down. With awkward heroes, convincing villains, and reluctant deadly mentors, James J Butcher’s Dead Man’s Hand is a gem. Uneven alliances evolving into comrade-in-arms, personal growth, and, most important to me, inventive world building all make Dead Man’s Hand an entirely enjoyable read that proves once more that snark is indeed a deadly weapon. Read it. You will not be disappointed. I eagerly await the sequel.”—Kim Harrison, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Dead Man's Hand is splendid, a spectacular debut novel and the best book I’ve read in years. James J. Butcher is an outstanding storyteller and I can’t wait to read what he comes up with next.”—Faith Hunter, New York Times bestselling author
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Join scholar and spell-caster Everson Croft in this five-book urban fantasy set, from the discovery of his magic in the prequel novella, Book of Souls, to his battle against a mind-warping evil in the shocking finale, Death Mage.
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Plagiarize much?
- By robyn K on 04-26-21
By: Brad Magnarella
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Time-Marked Warlock
- The Chronos Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Shami Stovall
- Narrated by: Annie Ellicott, Jeff Hays, Justin Thomas James
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Adair Finch is the most powerful warlock in the world, and one of the best private investigators for hire. He has dealt with corporate vampires, murderous werewolves, and even fae royalty. Everything was perfect until he lost one case—the case where he also lost his brother. So Finch retired. From magic. From PI work. From everything. Bree Blackstone, a twelve-year-old witch, doesn’t know or care about any of that except Finch’s reputation. In the middle of the night, she bangs on Finch’s door. Her mother has been murdered, and now the assassin is after Bree as well.
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One of the best books I've listened to.
- By Jason on 08-22-24
By: Shami Stovall
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The Junkyard Druid Novellas Boxed Set
- By: M.D. Massey
- Narrated by: Steven Barnett
- Length: 20 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Enter the Druidverse® and discover a world of magic, mythology, and urban fantasy! This set contains three short story collections and three novellas: Blood Scent (a prequel novella), Druid Blood (a prequel novella), Blood Circus (a short story collection), Blood Ties (a short story collection), Blood Bound (a short story collection), and Colin McCool Saves Christmas (a Christmas novella). The novellas primarily focus on everyone’s favorite down-on-his-luck druid, Colin McCool, while many of the short stories feature supporting characters.
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This was a hard listen
- By Daniels Family on 06-21-24
By: M.D. Massey
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The Black Knight Chronicles: Omnibus Edition
- By: John Hartness
- Narrated by: Nick J. Russo
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The Black Knight Chronicles: lots of vampires. No sparkles. Serious snark. This bundle includes books one through there: Hard Day's Knight, Back in Black, and Knight Moves.
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It's been a hard day's Knight . . .
- By LITRPG Audiobook Reviews on 07-18-18
By: John Hartness
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Starship Gilead: The Complete Series
- A Military Space Opera Box Set (Starship Gilead Box Sets, Book 1)
- By: John Graves
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 24 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Get the Starship Gilead Box Set, featuring all three books in the series. 50+ hours of space fleets, conflict, and military space opera action.
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Great Series
- By Jeremy Derby on 03-16-25
By: John Graves
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Sandman Slim
- Sandman Slim, Book 1
- By: Richard Kadrey
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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When he was 19, James Stark was considered to be one of the greatest natural magicians, a reputation that got him demon-snatched and sent downtown - to Hell - where he survived as a gladiator, a sideshow freak entertaining Satan's fallen angels. That was 11 years ago. Now, the hitman who goes only by Stark has escaped and is back in L.A. Armed with a fortune-telling coin, a black bone knife, and an infernal key, Stark is determined to destroy the magic circle.
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jack bauer + spawn = sandman slim
- By Mike Naka on 11-03-12
By: Richard Kadrey
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The Grand Dark
- By: Richard Kadrey
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 16 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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From the best-selling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison - a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos. The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair.
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Kadrey does it again!
- By Lilah Quinn on 06-14-19
By: Richard Kadrey
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The Nate Temple Series: Books 0-3
- The Nate Temple Series Boxset Book 1
- By: Shayne Silvers
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 41 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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My name is Nate Temple, and I’m secretly a wizard. I ride a foul-mouthed unicorn, I drink with Achilles, and I’m pals with the Four Horsemen. I’ve even cow-tipped the Minotaur. I understand the theory of following the rules...I’m just not very good at the application. Because rules were meant to be broken, and St. Louis has a bit of a supernatural infestation these days. Someone should probably be keeping an eye on these things -and probably an eye on me, too. Before I blow up another building...or three.
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Basically Batman with lizard brain
- By Ross Hageman on 04-01-20
By: Shayne Silvers
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An Inheritance of Magic
- By: Benedict Jacka
- Narrated by: Will Watt
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Stephen Oakwood is a young man on the edge of this hidden world. He has talent and potential, but turning that potential into magical power takes money, opportunity, and training. All Stephen has is a minimum wage job and a cat. But when a chance encounter with a member of House Ashford gets him noticed by the wrong people, Stephen is thrown in the deep end. For centuries, the vast corporations and aristocratic Houses of the magical world have grown impossibly rich and influential by hoarding their knowledge.
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Great start to new series, content warning
- By patrisi on 10-24-23
By: Benedict Jacka
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The Forgemaster Cycle Trilogy
- By: Joshua C. Cook
- Narrated by: Eric Bryan Moore
- Length: 47 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Be pulled into the world of the Forgemaster Cycle, as William Reis finds his life changed beyond recognition as he discovers ancient truths that will shatter not only the land of Palnor, but all of Alos. William Reis just wants to be a Guild Smith, a dream shared by generations of Reachers. When he breaks a law older than any other, he unleashes a torrent of danger that just might destroy not only him, but the only family he has left. To save Duncan Reis, his cousin, Will must accept a fate he doesn’t want, and do the impossible....
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Worth a credit
- By Nate on 08-26-22
By: Joshua C. Cook
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Strange Brew
- By: Caitlin Kittredge, Jim Butcher, P. N. Elrod, and others
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel, Therese Plummer, Jennifer Van Dyck, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Today's hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic! For anyone who's ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who's imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!
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Inconsistent
- By Carrie on 11-10-09
By: Caitlin Kittredge, and others
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Witches Be Crazy
- By: Logan J. Hunder
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The beloved King Ik is dead, and there was barely time to check his pulse before the royal throne was supporting the suspiciously shapely backside of an impostor pretending to be Ik's beautiful, long-lost daughter. With the land's heroic hunks busy drooling all over themselves, there's only one man left who can save the kingdom of Jenair. His name is Dungar Loloth, a rural blacksmith turned innkeeper, a surly hermit, and an all-around nobody oozing toward middle age, compensating for a lack of height, looks, charm, and tact with guts and an attitude.
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perfect nonsense
- By Jen on 09-04-20
By: Logan J. Hunder
the characters are good
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I'm an enjoyer of paranormal detective stories and this one was a pretty good book that I saw on the shelf at work (I work at a library) and I decided to read on a whim. This book is set in an urban fantasy setting and follows to unlikely partners as they uncover the mystery behind a tough witch's mysterious death. I liked the character dynamic and the humor scattered throughout the book. I found the plot to be interesting enough to binge this book. I had an audiobook to go along with my physical copy and couldn't stop listening as I worked. Finished the book in less than a week and I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for a fast-paced paranormal mystery novel.
Another thing that Butcher gets props for is his easy to comprehend writing style. I struggle with reading comprehension, but while reading this book I didn't have many moments of confusion due to the language being too complicated for me to comprehend. So kudos to Butcher for writing something that didn't have me re-reading paragraphs over and over again to figure out what it was trying to say. I like it when I read books that have simple language that don't get in the way of me enjoying the story.
Honestly, I don't really have anything super bad to say about this book. It was a good book and I enjoyed reading it for what it was. I will say though, I wish I would've gotten a little more in terms of world building. I love reading about urban fantasy worlds, so it would've been neat to get more info about the magical elements in the world of this story. Hopefully book 2 will expand more on the worldbuilding. I'll be picking up book 2 in the Unorthodox series today and I'm excited to read what's in store for Grimsby and friends in the next book.
I enjoyed this paranormal mystery
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An OK 1st book
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Engaging and enjoyable magical combat.
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Fun adventure
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Magically delicious adventure!
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Looking at it from an author’s perspective, foreshadowing was impressively well done. Red herring work is top-notch. Character design is both relatable and intriguing with backstory hints that have me asking questions even at the end of the book. The meshing of the start components of the story with the end climax was seemless. At that Epilogue… GAHH!! I already want the next book and I can’t wait to see how James works with what he has already used.
I only have one issue with the story and the only reason I spotted this plot hole is because I’m an actively practicing witch in my downtime. His Ogham is off. I can’t say too much without serious spoilers but, but I’m reasonably fluent in the script of the druids and the layered meaning doesn’t fit.
But even with that issue I still give the story 5/5.
Impressively good combared to his Father's work
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I can relate to the main hero character; who hasn't been trapped into working a customer service job, been treated like slave labor by your boss and customers, with nothing but the hope that it won't get worse.
Grimsby is very good as a hero in training, but Mayflower is a great hero who's glory is slowly fading away. He reminds me of Clint Eastwood/Chuck Norris after the cameras stop filming.
I love the way the narrator almost losses it when he gets to the part about the "Taco Fairy" uniform: pink tutu and taco wings. Only a true hero could wear that in public with any amount of dignity
the horror of the TACO FAIRY!
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A Very Fun Read/Listen!
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Amazing story
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