Sealed With A Hiss by Eule Grey
I would like to thank the author for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Ninestar Press
Published – Out Now
Price – £3.27 Kindle eBook
Kitten and Blonde: Mostly Paranormal. Sometimes alien. Always gentle.
Mave Kitten is ecstatic when she lands a dream job as a paranormal journalist for a local newspaper, the Echo. It’s a chance in a lifetime for a neurodivergent Witch. She’s a little nervous about the boss, leather-clad motorcyclist Lisa Blonde. But Lisa’s got a heart of gold, and Mave soon settles into her new role. There’s even an office cat to help out. Only one tiny problem remains—Lisa doesn’t believe in the paranormal. How is Mave to change her mind?
It’s October, Halloween gets ever closer, and the evenings are getting earlier and darker. Unsurprisingly you’ll notice the blog gets a little spookier but the supernatural is not always about terror. It can also in the right circumstances make you laugh and occasionally find love. In Eule Grey charming and funny Sealed With A Hiss we go up North to meet some memorable investigators who battle the uncanny and also find there is more than a spark or two between them
Fifty-something Mave Kitten has started her new career in journalism and that brings her to the Litten Echo which reports on the comings and goings of Litten Vale. Her Boss the six-foot blonde Lisa has agreed to a podcast that Mave will use to tell the village about the goings on. Yet Mave has been intrigued by reports of many strange noises by the canal. A case that calls to her and brings danger, potentially the love of her life and a new avenue for future investigations.
I had so much fun with this story which manages to be very funny, intriguing and when it wants a little steamy. Grey provides in ‘Mauve’ Mave Kitten (due to the level of purple she wears) and Blonde (Lisa) you get an unusual pair of gay fifty-something paranormal investigators who we soon realise are falling in love with each other and on top of that have a dangerous missing to start.
The first part of the tale is told in the form of a podcast (with its own catchphrase) and we are pulled along with Mave’s esoteric descriptive style. Grey has a beautiful grasp of humour be it observations on people; the weirder comments the podcast is receiving and that we start to realise she has six-foot knight in armour with a penchant for pickles. Yet, the mystery works, its unsettling and we start to realise something is after Mave. The exploration of that works with peril and delivers some interesting angles covering history and social issues.
The second part of the tale is set a little later and we move out of the podcast format as this manages to be a supernatural tale with a more personal dimension. Mave and Lisa are investigating the reports of a large lizard at a nearby reservoir. They also have a missing university employee to look for. But this case is crawling with strange, suited companies and Mave and Lisa are finding they realllllly are having a hard time resisting each other. Which is complicated as Lisa is very distant about moving things to the next level. This section while less laugh out loud gives us character depth, we get to see the women behind the masks their vulnerabilities and desires. Indeed, temperatures do rise and its well-crafted storytelling plus a decent mystery.
One other enjoyable aspect is many of these mysteries have a focus on gay characters and always sympathetically without the various traps Hollywood tends to deliver badly. These are interesting, heartwarming and funny stories with characters that I really enjoyed getting to know and I can see further adventures await. For those seeking a less terrifying spooky tale this would be a fine choice. Definitely recommended!
