"The Immortal Detective" drew me in with its fascinating premise, following Celestine Crenshaw's journey from a regular detective to an immortal vampire. I loved how the author mixed in famous historical figures like Queen Elizabeth I and Leonardo Da Vinci, adding depth and humor to the story, which was beautifully captured in the audiobook's narration. As Celestine navigates her new life, unexpected twists kept me hooked, and the big plot twist at the end really surprised me.

While I enjoyed the mystery, romance, and supernatural elements, I felt a bit disappointed with the ending, especially when it came to Celestine and Tristan's relationship. Still, "The Immortal Detective" offers a fascinating exploration of what it means to be immortal, with plenty of action and intrigue to keep readers entertained.

A vampire detective story? Sounds great right?

The premise seems super promising and has a lot of great ideas, but just doesn't seem to hit the mark as well as it could. I found myself confused in the beginning chapters of the story and felt like there was a lot of context misisng. So much of this book was disjointed at times with characters that were introduced with little to no context.

The main character, Celestine, spends so much time lamenting her transformation into a vampire. She gives off extremely mixed feelings on whether she actually wants to be a vampire or not and spends o much time adjusting, that we don't get to see her actual detective work until close to halfway through the book. When we do get into her detective work, the story certainly picks up and catches your interest more. It's a whirlwind of crime solving that really makes up for the slow start

The general idea is great, but could've been executed a bit better with more context to better understand character dynamics and overall world building, alongside have a more cohesive flow to make details mesh better together. Overall, a fun interesting read!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to it's release. (Note: I read this via NetGalley's audiobook option)

With a first line of "The only thing worse than never waking up, is waking up dead" I had such high hopes! Sadly, the opening line was quite possibly the best part of the book. While this is touted as the first book in a series it starts in the middle of a story clearly in progress, leaving the reader very confused for a couple of chapters. Not to mention so little of the backstory is even explained. Who are these "harvesters?" Why is there a war? Overall the book created more What/Who/How/Why than it answered.

A vampire detective on a the Kansas City Detective Squad was such an intriguing idea, yet even the police procedural drama/action aspect felt very flat, one dimensional. Dialogue was dull and unbelievable. Characters were entirely unlikeable and scenarios entirely unbelievable - Celine can basically do Jedi level manipulation at every turn? I'm sorry, no. I'll easily and happily suspend my disbelief for a vampire story any day, but this reeeaaaally tested my ability to do just that.

#TheImmortalDetective #NetGalley

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator seemed flat and didn’t add much to the storyline. The book itself was super confusing from the beginning and it felt like I was starting in the middle of even though this was supposed to be the first in a new series. I gave up at 33% as it wasn’t getting any better. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some but it wasn’t the book for me.

We are thrown into a bit of chaos upon the opening of this book. Celeste awakens in her newly turned vampire form and she doesn’t want it. As a detective in her human life, she yearns to return to that life and a sense of normalcy. However, with her new powers and new hunger for blood, she seems to be getting herself into quite a few situations which cause her job to be a bit more difficult.

I wanted to like this book, but thought there was a lot going on. I cannot say I was the biggest fan of the opening chapters of chaos and confusion. I did not know what was going on except this girl did not want to be the vampire which she now was. There were several things which didn’t feel fully explained and I kind of felt we needed to slow down just a bit in order for me to better grasp the situation. She is new in her abilities and “nightlife” so her family helps her along the way, but it’s still kind of a mess. I think towards the middle it evens out and we start to get into the actual immortal detective, but it takes a minute to get there.

Celeste is fiercely against being turned into a vampire, but that is exactly what is happening at the very beginning of the book. She is being taught of her newfound abilities by the Elders who have gifted them to her. After she has some semblance of control, she returns to her life. One of the most important people is her 5 year daughter, who also happens to be a vampire but is not aware of it. She is also a detective and has to find out how she can do her job without being tempted by blood and without going out in the sun.

I was so excited about the idea of this book. I hate to say that book fell short. The overarching plot was confusing and the characters were not developed very well. The only character we really got to know was her daughter. I would have loved to have a better understanding of everyone and also about the world her story takes place in. It had so much potential and ended up short.

Please don't say a book is the first in the series when it isn't. I was so lost in this book because there obviously was backstory well established just not in this book

This is one of the few books I didn't see through to the end. It was peculiar, I didn't expect it to be about vampires! I did stick with it as long as I could but in the end simply gave up through frustration at both the narration and the story. The narrator wasn't appealing. Afraid I wouldn't recommend or buy.

Thanks for the NetGalley arc of this audiobook.

I was slightly confused at first with this book as I did not know that there was a first. Aside from that, I was able to follow the story along and it makes me want to get the first book and then read this one again.

Different from what I’ve read about vampires and the paranormal that it was a refreshing and relief not to be some cookie cuter kind of book.

Even though read out of order I look forward to completing this series.

First I want to thank NetGalley and the books publisher for giving me an Audio ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

I’ll start by saying that I wasn’t aware that this was a second in a series as there was no indication on the cover nor in the description of the ARC. Had I known that I may have read the first one before consuming this one as maybe the first several chapters would have made more sense. However, by the end of the book you have enough sense of the first book for this one to be a stand alone. Except it didn’t make me want to go a read the first book.

The first half of the book comes off like a different writer than the second half completely. The first several chapters are disjointed, confusing and just poorly laid out. The reader (especially audio reader) is left completely lost. This books suffers from an author with too many ideas. They bring in people from history both real and fictional and try to weave them together but is unsuccessful.

The other issue is it’s clear that the author is trying to create a new world within the vampire genre. Except it’s not accessible to the masses. The world has no clear vision as it has a “everything under the kitchen sink” vibe to it of random details thrown in for no purpose.


However, all that being said, the actual half of the book that deals with the main character being a vampire whilst solving crimes is engaging and interesting. It’s why I have it 3 stars as that story was one I wanted to read and enjoyed. I just wish it was the entire book as you had to weigh through the absurd to get there. It’s a good thing I do not DNF books as I would have and then not gotten to its heart.


Link to my review on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6319654682

What did I just listen to?
30 minutes in, I have ZERO idea what's going on. No idea who these people are, where they are or what the story is. Did I just start in the middle of the book? Is my audiobook corrupted and I missed a whole part? Oh, and now the character is being abducted and taken to a land populated with DINOSAURS?

No. Don't start a book by deliberately confusing your reader. I can't even tell (by google search) if this is actually part of a series. If it was, MAYBE I'd say ok, I'm missing plot points as I didn't read the previous book(s). But any good writer is going to remind their read what happened before. (And provide clues to those readers who may not have read previous books.) So no forgiveness there.

I read lots of mystery/horror/vampire fiction. I don't have time to read books that make no sense.

This is my first audio review for NetGalley thank you for the opportunity. In the start of this audiobook book the author sets the stage from the first book which I will I would have listened to first. I found it very confusing and hard to follow. I don't know if it was due to the narrator changing her voice some many different ways or if it was just the story line itself that had me confused. The story tells the journey of a brand new vampire and her transition with her new powers. There are many historical figures that are incorporated into the story as well that were given there perspectives within the story as well.

In the end I made it through have way of the audio book. i just couldn't finish it. I just felt like I was in the middle of a story that I had no idea where it started. I think if I would have read the first book I would have enjoyed it more.

I do believe the story line is solid and if I would have read the first book I would have enjoy this one.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn't my genre like I thought it would be. It was well-written and full of in-depth lore about the society these vampires live in. Characters were distinct and interesting, but also made some really odd decisions. I enjoyed reading it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for intense vampire lore, tragic stories, hidden identities, and a fun mystery to solve too.

This book was a little disappointing for me, although I may give the first book in the series a go and read this book again via hard copy.

Unfortunately I found the story a little confusing at first and wasn't quite sure what was happening, however, it did improve as the story progressed. I did enjoy some of the characters, especially Celeste.

I quite enjoyed the storyline once I knew what was happening but found the narration a little emotionless which made it difficult to imagine the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, author and narrator for the opportunity to listen to this ARC Audiobook.

The Immortal Detective by D.B. Woodling is a vampire detective novel and an exciting hybrid of supernatural and mystery genres. It wasn’t clear that this is a sequel to The Immortal Twin (which also follows our FMC Celeste), which I now feel compelled to read if only to understand the vampire world better. Woodling does an excellent job with the hook at the beginning, throwing us in Hollow Earth with famous vampire characters, including Nostradamus, who turned into my favorite character.
Then, when it switched to Celeste returning to her old life and returning to work as a detective, albeit on the night shift, Woodling started to lose my interest. I enjoy mystery novels and have read several detective-specific stories, but something about this didn’t quite work for me, and I zoned out in some places and had to try to rewind.
The narration was good, thankfully. There are no distracting breathing or swallowing noises that can trigger my misophonia (noise anxiety disorder), so that’s a win for me right there. I could also speed it up without losing quality. I saw some reviews mention disliking the narration, but I thought there was the right amount of emotion behind the words and dialogue for this genre.
I do wonder why the cover art they chose made it all the way to publication, though. Doesn’t match the plot or vibe of the novel, in my opinion. I chose this book for the description and title and definitely not the cover.
It was a tough call on the rating because I wasn’t that into it by the final chapter but at the same time I want to listen to The Immortal Twin. In the end, three stars for the hook, the narration, and Nostradamus.
I listened to the audiobook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I almost stopped reading this book multiple times... I kept hoping that it would get better.. And it did not.
It felt so disjointed. It somehow felt like I was dropped into the middle of a story, missing a lot of information AND that it could have skipped all of the time in the hollow earth and just started with her going back to work..
I appreciate what the author was trying to do, merging the super popular genres of vampire and crime novels, but I wish it was done better.
Between her "preternatural" senses, and the overly stereotypical "gay best friend" and, now outdated feeling, COVID references, it was just a hard book to get through.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this ARC.

Unfortunately, this book is my first DNF. It is one thing to not realize a book I requested is the second part in a series. But unfortunately I quickly realized I was not at all the intended audience either. The summary sounded entertaining and one that I would enjoy, but the speed at which the beginning took to try to surmise all the world building from the first book and general plot progression made me acknowledge that this book was not meant for me and even if I were to read all of the first book to understand the second book, it would not make me enjoy it any further.

Judging by other reviews, I know I am not alone in stating that this book summary needs to be more clear that it is part of a series. The plot also felt like it was jumping through so many concepts that it was hard for me to follow due to me already lacking in world lore. The narrator did a good job at creating distinct voices for characters and had an easy to follow diction for a not so easy to follow story. I could see myself enjoying this book if I liked romance more, it's an easy (if you knew the world building) and entertaining story. But the general plot reminded me too much of the supernatural romance books I read way too much of in Jr high that I couldn't keep going.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was given the audiobook version of this book.

I am going to be brutally honest, I REALLY wish it was made clear of the description that this is the second book of a series.
I very nearly didn’t finish this because of it.
The world building was clearly all done in the first book, I had no knowledge of the ‘lore’ of this vampire world and I got so lost and confused in the first 25%.
I decided to just try and continue but now having completed, I’m sorry to say I don’t have much good to say.
The narrating was alright, but could have been so much better and I’ve seen other reviews say the same. And agree with them that maybe I would have liked it and taken it in a bit more had I read it myself.

Giving it 2 stars as I did finish it and think in different circumstances I may have enjoyed it more.

"The Immortal Detective" follows the story of Celestine Crenshaw, a human detective who reluctantly embraces immortality as a vampire. Reluctant at first, she eventually learns to embrace her new existence, discovering her unexpected powers along the way. However, she soon realizes that the journey of immortality holds unforeseen challenges beyond her imagination.a detective She

I was totally into it from the start! The author's blend of historical figures like Queen Elizabeth I, Nostradamus, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Socrates was genius. Their interactions were hilarious! And the narrator in the audiobook? Flawless! The way they switched accents for each character was mind-blowing! And that plot twist? Completely blindsided me! I never saw it coming!
My thoughts about it, it started really gireat. I loved how the author mixed it with some of the renown people such as Queen Elizabeth I, NostradamusNotradamus, Leonardo Da Vincci, i, and Socrates. It was actually really funny, especially their interactions with each other. What I also loved is how the narrator, in the audiobook, was able to change his/her accent whenever these renown people speaks. Wow! It was really amazing! And when
When it comes to that major plot twist? Wow! I didn’t see it coming. It was a total surprise.

I gave it a 4-star rating because I was let down by the ending. I wanted more of Celestine and Tristan's story! It felt like there was so much left unexplored, and I'm left with a ton of unanswered questions.Why I rated it 4-star nonly is because I was really disappointed by the epilogue. how it ended. I was craving for more of the Celestine and Tristan story. I feel like th I feel like there’s more to it, l have so many questions that are left nunanswered.

If you are a fan of vampires, romantasy, paranormal, supernatural, then this book is totally worth reading.If you're into vampires, romance, fantasy, and all things paranormal and supernatural, this book is a must-read!

I got about 20 percent into this book before I found out this is actually a sequel which made sense because I was so confused and lost while reading it.
Unfortunately not that invested to go and read the first book so I will leave this as is