Death Has a Name by Jerry Hanel is the griping tale of Death and the lengths people must go to in order to keep him at bay. We are introduced to Brodie Wade who knows all to well that there are things that can't easily be explained all around us. As a child he was thought to be insane and did his time in the nut house. Finally given a clean bill of sanity at sixteen, Brodie used his gift to help the police solve cases that were unexplainable. Brodie's gift tests him daily as he fights to lead a normal life. This gift allows him to see what is known as The Truth. Manifestations can appear at any time and demand Brodie to listen. So when a headless man comes to Brodie for some help and Brodie finds himself in jail for murder, he will have to rely on the gift he wishes he could ignore to save not only his life, but life on Earth as well. Jerry Hanel gives us an intriguing look into Death, what he represents, and the league sworn to protect humanity. There is some mild gore description during some crime scenes, but nothing that can't be handled by a mature audience. From the excerpt at the end of Death Has a Name, it looks as though there is another book in the Brodie Wade series and I am interested to see what situation Brodie finds himself in next. ( )

Death Has a Name by Jerry Hannel is a lovely bit paranormal mystery. Several other reviewers of this book claimed they couldn't put it down, and while that wasn't literally true for me, it was as close to being true as I ever get with a book.

So, what is so wonderful about this little gem? Brodie Wade.

There's a term from fan fiction that has crept into the world of original fiction: Mary Sue (or if male, Gary Stu). A Mary Sue is a character that can do anything. She's got amazing powers, gorgeous looks, a winning personality, there's no problem she can't solve, and she's probably kind to animals as well. She's just perfect. And, she's annoying as hell. Unfortunately she has a tendency to show up a lot in fantasy because it's just too easy to write a story where Mary Sue has the magical power that just saves the day. Now, in good storytelling, if a character has some sort of great power, it also has to have some sort of flaws or weaknesses. Brodie is an example of good storytelling.

He is described as a psychic. The Truth (not an Obi Wan Kenobi-your-point-of-view-my-point-of-view-truth, but the literal, Platonic Ideal, imagine it standing next to the rest of Neil Gaiman's Endless, TRUTH) is real and wants people to know it. Brodie, for whatever reason, can see the Truth, and it can see him. It's very insistent about getting its message across. To the point of beating it into Brodie when need be, and it defines need as pretty much whenever Brodie doesn't immediately hop to and do whatever it wants. So, Brodie has great power; he knows what's really going on, even when he doesn't want to. He knows he's sane. He knows what he sees is real. But he's jumpy, nervous, and constantly on the edge of institutionalization. Every day of his life is a struggle to hold onto a thin veneer of normal. And, of course, as a result of this, he doesn't exactly have a booming social life.

Characters like that make me especially happy. When I see real world set paranormal/fantasy I want to see characters struggling with the fact that the rest of the world doesn't believe in what they see. I want to see a cost to great power. Brodie is a broken mess of a man, but he's a very appealing mess. The kind of character that encourages a desire to take him home, clean him up, and try to protect him from the big, bad world. If Hannel had marketed this to the YA world, Brodie would have a huge collection of devoted teen girls swooning over him.

Okay, before I get too far into fan-girl-mad-crush squeeing, let me get back to being a critical reviewer. In addition to Brodie, is Detective Phil Dawson. Brodie uses his skills to freelance investigate cold cases. Detective Phil is actually a member of the LAPD. We don't get a lot of backstory, (Actually, we get no backstory on this.) but somehow these two are friends. Maybe they worked a case together and just clicked. Maybe Phil also finds Brodie's mess of a life appealing. For whatever reason, Phil actually likes Brodie; believes, as much as he can, in Brodie's talents; and supports him. Phil is the guy Brodie calls when he's missing his cat and jonesing for a cigarette to deal with the stress. (Brodie is very attached to his cat. If he's got a love of his life, it's the cat. Hear that sound? It's a thousand teen girls sighing.)

Brodie wakes up in the middle of the night, his cat is covered in blood, and the Truth wants him to investigate a murder. The next morning, Phil gets a call: a horrible murder has just happened. And thus the plot is set in motion, because, of course, those cases are one in the same.

The pacing is quick, hence the 'couldn't put it down' reviews, and the dialog is sharp. Without dialog tags you can tell Phil from Brodie. The plot is interesting, but not overwhelmingly complex, which also aids in keeping the pacing quick. Though this isn't the greatest comparison, not the least because they spend no time in a lab, this book reads a lot like an episode of CSI. There's not a ton of background on the characters, the case is the primary motive aspect of the plot, and the writing is tight.

The lack of background is my main quibble with this story. I would have liked to have seen a deeper backstory. I would have liked to know why Phil believes in Brodie. I would have liked more information about The Apprentice (the bad guy), Contego Veritas (the mysterious organization protecting the world from Death), how the whole Death thing worked (Death is trapped in a box kept safe by Contego Veritas, and trying to get The Apprentice to get him out.) You've probably seen someone say a book is only as good as its villain? Well, that's not necessarily true. This is a good book, but the villain is very sketchy. An extra fifty pages spent following him, showing us how he got to where he was, what was motivating him, how he was finding his victims, all would have been welcome. More than welcome, that would have made this very good book a great one.

Brodie is the only character we get any real backstory on. I would have liked to know more about him as well, but I think the level we got was appropriate. There are mysteries left to solve and quirks left to discover for later novels.

My other quibble with the book was the ending seemed rushed. Phil's storyline gets dropped. We leave him hanging, having to prove his case is right under penalty of losing his job. The reader knows he's correct, but we never find out if he's able to convince his supervisor he was right, soon enough to not get fired. I understand why it was left out, after all, we already know how the story ended, but a bit of extra wrap up on him would have been nice. Likewise Brodie's storyline also felt a little rushed. Not bad, but very quick. All the plot lines converged in a matter of minutes (literally, in story time the climax takes maybe fifteen minutes tops) into the climax of the story.

All in all Death Has a Name made me very happy. I'll call it an extremely well recommended four star. Brodie will be back soon, and I'm looking forward to it. ( )

I thought this was a well-written novel, and a good start to a series of Brodie Wade books. I think some of the secondary characters could have been explored more in depth, but hopefully they will grow as the book grows. Plus, I think this story answers the questions about the credibility that a psychic who is successful at solving cold crimes the way Brodie is may have to deal with at some point, so this is dealt with right away, though I will admit I had a hard time believing that when someone has that much evidence stacked against them that they'd be able to clear their name so easy.

However, if you're looking for an urban fantasy book that doesn't focus on werewolves or vampires or witches/warlocks, than this is a great departure. ( )

I enjoyed this book. It's nice to see something different in Urban Fantasy for a change. But I would have liked to have more character development for some of the secondary characters. f another Brodie Wade book comes out I'd read it. ( )

Brodie Wade is unlike the typical example of a "psychic detective". For one thing, he is neither debonair nor overtly creepy. For another, The Truth, a strange combination of a spiritual realm and an abstract concept, is more of a handicap than a gift, one that has physically tortured him and inadvertently removed him from a loving mother's care. In a twisted form of symbiosis, it has also put a roof over his head.

It is difficult to pin this novel into any one genre. First and foremost, it's a mystery: who is after the orbs, and what is The Truth attempting to convey? The story also brings in elements of the supernatural, what with Death and magical orbs hanging over Brodie's head for the duration. The atmosphere has somewhat of a gritty feel, one that would be at home in a thriller. What this hodgepodge of categories means is that Death Has A Name can appeal to a wide range of readers.

It certainly had me hooked. I actually had to set it aside until I could devote a good chunk of time to its consumption. The story moves along at a smart clip, giving readers just enough time to absorb their surroundings before moving onto the next locale. Nearly every scene was important for plot development, which means that readers who are easily bored will find themselves paying rapt attention. Unfortunately, it also means that a lot of "nice to have" information is missing, most noticeably decent background information about our protagonist. We learn that he was institutionalized, but the book offers no details as to how he became involved as a consultant for the police. This is something that is highly relevant, given that his occupation is how he became involved in this whole sordid mess to begin with.

As far as characterizations go, I found that this story fell a bit short. Michaels, for instance, is rather one-dimensional, while Phil falls neatly into the role of "skeptical friend". The pacing of the storyline compensates well for this deficiency, but it was unable to cover the inconsistency in writing quality. On several occasions, key words would be repeated two or three times within the same paragraph, and mentions of Death and his "bonds" soon became wearisome.

Redundancies aside, Death Has A Name is an engrossing read that I would recommend to those who like idiosyncratic protagonists and storylines that move.

Stimulated Outlet Book Reviews
(Review copy provided by the author) ( )