I’m a sucker for H.P. Lovecraft pastiches and the novella, Missing in Miskatonic (2024) by JP Behrens, certainly fits the bill. It’s 1928 and Travis Daniels is a private detective who specializes in the weird and supernatural. Daniels is hired by a sinister figure, Sir Edward Martin Mandeville, to find his niece, Leslie Owens, who has gone missing from the Armitage Memorial Library at Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts. Daniels learns Leslie Owens was doing research in the Rare Books section…where The Necronomicon and other restricted, dangerous books were kept.
Needless to say, Dark Forces show up to threaten Daniels in his search. If you’re a fan of the Mythos and enjoy private eye fiction with a twist, Missing in Miskatonic will provide you with some thrills. GRADE: B-
Sounds interesting, George, although it is very easy for writers to take a wrong turn when writing Lovecraftian stories.
I misread the the title and originally thought the book was about the world’s richest man owning a fast food chain: MISSING IN MUSKASONIC.
Jerry, very funny! JP Behrens takes readers on a walking tour of Arkham which is a bit chilling. Some of the writing is a bit clunky, but I’m confident Behrens will improve in future books.
Uh oh. When The Necronomicon shows up, that can’t be good. Sounds more interesting than a lot of the Lovecraft pastiches.
Jeff, the mash-up of private eye tropes and Lovecraftian dread makes for a quick and deadly story.
Like Guy Townsend, I don’t care for private eyes mixing with the supernatural!
Bob, you and Guy are purists!
They have to be at least A- to engage me.
Todd, I respect that.