View source for Soul Fraud (The Debt Collection Book 1) by Andrew Givler

{{infobox
|title=Soul Fraud (The Debt Collection Book 1)
|author=Andrew Givler
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=A satisfying and engaging first volume in a planned urban fantasy series. A quirky premise, great characterisation and a world to immerse yourself in. What more could you want?
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=340
|publisher=Sad Seagull Publishing
|date=June 2022
|isbn=978-1958204030
|video=
|cover=1958204021
|aznuk=1958204021
|aznus=1958204021
}}

''Matt has a terrible life. Seriously—it's awful. It is so bad that Dan the Demon is shocked when Matt turns down his infernal offer: 10 years of a blissful life in exchange for his soul.''

Poor Dan! I know, I know, we shouldn't feel sorry for soul-catching demons. But he really is a terrible salesman. He never hits his targets and, when he fails to get even Matt to sign on the dotted line, he's so desperate that he simply forges Matt's signature. Matt, of course, wants his soul back and sets out to find it. But what Matt doesn't expect to find is a parallel world of supernatural creatures living side by side with him in Los Angeles. They even have local bars, for heaven's sake.

But this otherworld has factions, fractious and unruly, and the delicate balance keeping the uneasy peace is crumbling. So Matt is going to have to search for his soul while navigating a possible supernatural civil war while he's about it. It's just as well he has a sarcastic and mordant sense of humour as his principal defence.

I thoroughly enjoyed this urban fantasy and it has much to recommend it whether you're a keen reader of the genre or not. The worldbuilding is excellent and you can see straight away that 
Givler has thoroughly developed his environment and is confident in it that he's happy for the reader to discover it bit by bit as the narrative demands. There is no tedious exposition, a common irritation for me in some fantasy writing. The dramatis personae is limited but not sparse, which gives Givler the opportunity to gift his readers with fully-rounded characters who aren't stocks and who are memorable, whether they're goodies or baddies. 

There's plenty of action, including gore and violence, but there's a lot of humour to break it up and readers can play spot-the-pop-culture-reference as they go along. They'll be rooting for Matt - an initially reluctant hero who ends up embracing his fate with gusto.

''Soul Fraud'' is the first in a planned series and I'm very much looking forward to seeing where Andrew Givler takes this new and exciting world of his in the next book.

Recommended.

If you enjoy urban fantasy, you could look at the [[Otherworld Nights by Kelley Armstrong|Otherworld series]] by Kelley Armstrong, in which supernatural beings also live alongside us.
 
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