I’m so glad I took a chance on this one – it’s a solid gem. The SFF murder mystery sub-genre is easy to get wrong and hard to nail, but Stovall manages it. This tale gives us many of the familiar tropes – a young, desperate heroine who finds herself alone and terrified… a burnt-out, bitter P.I. who has retreated from the world… a nasty, elusive villain who always seems one step ahead of everyone else… a cute animal/demon who helps with the humour… This could have so easily dropped into predictable grooves that had me flipping through the pages finding my guesses about where the story would go next entirely too accurate – but it doesn’t. I was guessing, alright. Apart from anything else – I was very invested in the characters. Bree is a bright preteen who finds herself in a nightmare situation and initially very traumatised. I did wonder how Stovall was going to get past that problem. Having Finch scurry along a grieving twelve-year-old as he is plunged into this fast-paced, time-looping investigation wouldn’t work well.

However, Finch has made a pact with a chronos demon, enabling him to rewind time and tweak or alter events to uncover or neutralise a villain. Stovall’s clever handling of this trick reminds me of Benedict Jacka’s Alex Verus, a mage who can see thirty seconds into the future. I really liked the fact that despite this powerful trait, Finch also has vulnerabilities and cannot rewind time more than twenty-four hours ahead of his default setting. And if he doesn’t make a particular note of the time, then he doesn’t have a default setting anyway – a lesson he’s already learnt in the hardest way possible.

This murder mystery has a Groundhog Day vibe in the best possible way, with a denouement that works really well and had me sighing for more by the end, despite the book being a generous 374 pages long. I’m definitely going to be on the lookout for the sequel, Chronos Warlock, due out in November as I want more of Adair Finch’s adventures in my life. Highly recommended for fans of SFF murder mysteries. While I obtained an arc of Time-Marked Warlock from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

Adair Finch can manipulate time along with other magical skills and he reluctantly agrees to investigate the murder of a witch and a kidnapping when 12-year-old ,Bree turns up at his door begging for help. He finds himself dragged into a much bigger conspiracy and dealing with frictions between so many different sections of society including witches, warlocks, and academics as well saving dogs.
I read this fast-paced urban fantasy in one sitting- I just couldn’t put this book down. I’m not normally a fan of short chapters but this format works well with this story.
The book has all the elements of good urban fantasy- magic, humour, action and of course lots of sark but the developing relationship between Bree and Adair is the highlight of the book. The magical system work and there is a hint of a longer subplot that I can’t wait to read about in the next book.
This book will appeal to all urban fantasy lovers ,especially anyone who loves Groundhog Day.

Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovall - First book in the series (thank goodness).

Adventurous, challenging, emotional, funny, hopeful, inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.

Fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0 Stars

This book is FANTASTIC.

I laughed, cried, cheered, and was thoroughly entertained. It was a perfect book for me.

Now, I love this type of time novel. I love the move Ground Hog Day. I seen this done in many different ways, and this was done PERFECTLY.

I also love "buddy cop" stories. This isn't really a Buddy Cop story, but it really is. When you read it, you will see.

I love reading Crime Thrillers, especially the ones written by Lee Child. Reacher and how he deals with the people in his investigations. Adair is different from Reach in many ways, but his intelligence has been equaled in my mind.

I also love the Alexander Southerland, P.I. series by Douglas Lumsden. It is a Detective Noir series in an Urban Fantasy world, too.

So, when you mix the brilliance of Reacher and Alexander Southerland, but make him a Warlock, in this Urban Fantasy world (which is an alternate universe of Stockton, California), it is just perfect.

I just wanted to become a citizen in this town, so that I could experience and possibly meet the great Warlock, Adair Finch.

Now, the character of Bree is precious. Her age, and her background, and her situation...all work to "work on" Finch...and he will proceed with this case. Loved their banter and how he had to humble himself a bit for Bree, for she's a victim in this story, and he knows what he has to do, but he also has to be mindful to do it right. Not just for righteousness sake, but because he's got eyes on him...and he NOW is responsible for her. So well written and revealed through the story.

There are so many great moments in this story, but I want you to have it revealed to you...like it was to me.

Needless to say, I want a sequel...and what I hear from the author, that it's already finished, and will have a release later on this year.

Now, with that being said...I wouldn't mind it going on for 20+ books/stories, either. That may be asking for too much, but from what we've been exposed to in this ONE story, my mind is reaching for the many ways that stories can be explored in the future novels (at least twenty more).

I was intrigued by the description of a cross between Dresden and Groundhog Day, so I decided to check it out and I’m very glad I did. Great characters and an interesting magic system made this hard to put down. I’m greatly looking forward to the next installment.

Frequently, I talk about my absolute favorite genre, and when I saw this book, I was pretty sure this would tick all the boxes. Boy was I right! Adair is still wallowing in the death of his brother when he’s pulled back into the PI business by the daughter of a friend. From then on, this book just took off. Speaking of the beginning, I was immediately pulled in, and the book didn’t let me go until the end. I just love the characters in this, I love how everything played out, and I just love the universe; I loved just about everything. In fact, this book reminds me of one of my top 5 series, The Dresden Files. Anyway, I just loved this book, as I just said (LOL!), and I hope this series lasts a very long time! Very highly recommend! I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.