Completely gripping from start to finish. This hooked me immediately and I devoured it in one sitting. Fabulous writing and cannot wait to read the next one.

The Ministry is a secret organization that dispatches supernatural entities to fight evil. Hayden Church, a member of the Ministry’s supernatural army, is an undercover reaper, an individual who can resurrect and inhabit dead bodies, so he can battle evil. Hayden is running against the clock to save a little girl. Hayden is a great main character and the story is solid. This is the first of a series, so I'll be checking out the sequels.

This is more of a novella than a novel, the first about Hayden Church, from his childhood with an abusive mother to his time as a Reaper with the Ministry of Wraith. The story moves at a good clip, and there's some good writing in here (though I thought it needed a quick second glance to deal with a couple of typos and grammar issues, which I noticed but perhaps other wouldn't).

One critique I had was the worldbuilding: this needed more of it! I'm still a little unclear on the Ministry, on what a Reaper is, what the Avernus Collective is . . . there's a paragraph of explanation early on in Part 2, but the rest of the book doesn't really build on what we're told (for example, a Reaper is called "a demon", but it's not clear if Hayden is meant to be a demon, or is possessed of a demon, or if that's some sort of term of art in this world. And is a blood singer part of the Avernus Collective, or some freelancer? There was a backstory between Hayden and the blood singer that was barely hinted at and never expounded upon, and in context it really needed some explanation to give the reader a sense of what was at stake.) The characters were a bit flat, but it wasn't clear to me whether that was a fault of the author or a function of the relative brevity of the story.

Overall, I thought this had potential, but it really needed more polish.

Full review to come.
I deeply apologize, but life is a handful lately and I'm using all my free time to read, not review. I hope everybody understands.

This was an original, gripping and fast-paced reading. I liked the story and the MC a lot, and the worldbuilding has some potentialities in it. It’s not the best ever, but it’s interesting, and the book is a really short one, so maybe with a little bit more of length we could have seen something more of it, but all in all, I enjoyed it and it’s quite original so I would look forward to the next installment.
3.5 stars

A rather enjoyable but slightly short read. The writing is very well done and the plot was entertaining. It's definitely worth the read and I'd definitely love to read more by Patrick McNulty.

The Blood Singer was good. I didn't really relate to the characters very much, but the writing was excellent, the plot was fantastic, and I do recommend it!

I quite enjoyed this short read!! It starts with us seeing Haden as a young child and everything that his parents, particularly his mother, put him through! He is then recruited into a mysterious society called The Ministry. This organisation fights evil and Haden is a reaper, a person who can resurrect and inhabit dead bodies. He is called upon to save a childs life and inhabits the recently dead body of the childs grandmother. But his time in the body is limited and he must call upon an old enemy for help, The Blood Singer. What will her price be?

I liked Haden. He was brave, selfless and willing to do anything necessary. I liked Moses too. Moses is Haden's... handler I suppose you'd call it. He is there to help and advise Haden, even if Haden doesn't always listen to him!!

There was so much to like about this book, but also things to dislike! My biggest complaint is that it was too short and suffered from that fact. The characters weren't as well developed as I'd like and I would have liked to get to know the world more. If it was longer it would have been a 5 star read!!

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking forward to more. I'm intrigued to find out more from the world and characters and am hoping the author can make these longer in the future!!

I received this from Netgalley and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

This book was weird. It was very interesting and I wanted to keep on reading, but it was also too short and I did not understand the world and the powers of each person. I found there were too many protagonists and POVs for such a short book and this made it very confusing. Otherwise it would have been at least a 4 star book 😄

What first caught my attention about this book was the cover. I saw the cover and I knew this book is for me. And it was. Good read, unfortunately a short one.
The story kept me interested, and I was truly curious about what a blood singer is.
The only character we get to now a little is Haden. I feel the other charcters also have interesting past but we get only some hinst nothing else. I sure hope there will be a full novel, I will definitely read it.

The Blood Singer by Patrick Mcnulty is a supernatural horror novella, a child of the Ministry of Wrath series. The Ministry is a unique, secret organization that dispatches supernatural entities to fight evil. Hayden Church, a member of the Ministry’s supernatural army, is a reaper, an individual who can resurrect and inhabit dead bodies, so he can battle evil—undercover. The tale begins with a heart-breaking glimpse into Church’s childhood, then rockets right into a quest to save the life of a child. His time is limited, so he must move quickly. Wearing the skin of the child’s grandmother, Church has no other option but to go to the blood singer to gain the information he needs to complete his desperate mission.

The characters in this novella are very well drawn. With an economy of words, Mcnulty manages to create characters that are clear, believable, and for the most part likable. The main character Hayden Church is brave, driven, noble, and charming. He is willing to put his life on the line to save an innocent, all the while preserving a droll sense of humor. Church could be considered similar to the beloved Odd Thomas from the Dean Koontz series. Church’s handler, a wraith named Moses, offers support and companionship. The child’s mother is real, believable, and worthy.

The plot is original, tight, and flies leaving no time for boredom. However, some readers might wish for a longer work that would allow time for subplots and glimpses into Church’s backstory. Readers will no doubt wish to see into Church’s mind to learn who he is as a person, not just as a reaper. As it stands, the adult Church is a cypher, and many readers will be sorry to see this striking tale end so quickly.

Mcnulty’s prose reveals intense visual messaging and strong writing skills. His word choices are concise, and his phrasing is beautiful. His metaphors, visual imagery, and descriptions make the settings and action easy to see. Perhaps his strongest point is his ability to portray emotions and feelings via physical symptoms and actions, not through tell. The Blood Singer is a pleasure to read. The only minor flaw one can mention is the tale’s brevity. Church and the Ministry are so appealing that the ending comes far too soon.

The Blood Singer may not be the first choice for hard-core horror fans who insist on more depth. However, for readers who enjoy skillfully crafted fiction or are simply looking for a burst of scary fun will love this delightful tale of supernatural action.

Patrick Mcnulty is a writer of great potential who deserves watching and will no doubt go on to great literary achievements.

The Blood Singer is highly recommended.

Haden is different. He is a young adult working for the Ministry of Wraiths to track down evil. When a worried Grandmother approaches Haden concerning her Granddaughter, Haden and his sidekick Moses are the only people able to help.

The first thing to make readers aware of is that this is only a novella and not a full length novel. I was quite cross about this as I had invested a lot in the story line, characters and urban fantasy world only for it to come to an abrupt end. Personally I loved the book and I am glad that I read it despite its short length but it is something to consider.

The book hits the ground running in the first few lines and doesn't really stop. It doesn't take the author long to get the reader immersed in the world that he has created. Yes, there is lots still to learn but I was hoping to learn about that in the rest of the book! The characters are three dimensional with clear personalities showing very quickly.

I really loved this book. I would be very keen to hunt out further books in the series provided they are full length novels - I am not a lover of short stories.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

A relatively short read, but worthwhile reading if you like supernatural, urban fantasy, or dark fantasy. This novella introduces an interesting world with unusual entities, with plenty of room to write further installments, but without an annoying cliffhanger ending. Some aspects of the story and characters could have been given a little more depth, but that could be largely rectified with further, longer books in the series.

The Blood Singer is a short story that follows Haden Church, supernatural antihero with the power in inhabit the dead, as he tries to thwart an otherworldly plot by rescuing a girl kidnapped by her father.

This was a quick and easy read. It was fast paced, owing to its short length, but I felt this was largely to the detriment of the story and character development. The first part follows Haden as a boy, taken by his deranged mother from his foster parents, as she believes him to be possessed by evil forces. It’s straight into the action, with no pause for breath. This should serve as a proper introduction to Haden, and give a background to the supernatural elements he possesses and the world building - but it doesn’t. All that really happens is that we are introduced to Moses, a ghost or spirit guide, sent to Haden to recruit him into an ancient society. It takes until 30% of the way into the novel before anything further is explained into what Haden can actually do, and even then it’s rather fleeting and vague. A proper introduction into the world would have certainly helped with the chaotic nature of the novel at this point, and helped with my confusion. As the story progressed, and more supernatural elements are introduced without much explanation I felt out of my depth at times, and struggled to get to grips with what was happening.

The secondary characters are not really developed well either, although there are hints of intrigue. I was particularly drawn to Olivia the blood singer and really wanted to know her backstory and how she knew Haden. There were hints of a past with Haden and previous hostilities which aren’t explored either, which was a shame. The ending was wrapped up reasonably well considering the short length, and was satisfying enough to cover most aspects of the story.

I felt this just skimmed the surface of its potential. It had the right atmosphere, but no emotional or great depth to it and would have really benefited from being longer and more detailed.

Thankyou to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Patrick McNulty for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Blood Singer.
What a unique storyline. I thought it was well thought out and gets you in from the first chapter. I was happy when I realised that this book is only the first in a series featuring Haden Church. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more.

I thought this book and story was great! I couldn't put it down. However for my 3 star reason, I thought it needed more built up. More story till the climax. I would have liked to read about what happen to after his mother died. I hope I get to see more of this authors work.

I really wanted to love this book. The story, which has a lot of promise, is about a young man name Haden Church who is apart of some secret organization who can see dead people and help solve crimes... or something like that, unfortunately that is about as much background that is given.

I read this entire book in less than a day since it is more of a short story and sadly I felt like I was missing so much of what was going on.

The author really needs to take this concept and add 200 more pages of details and character development. I feel like I just read the synopses to a movie. Something quick and just touching on the basic idea but not enough to really pull me into the world.

Loved the concept and general idea, just really was disappointed in the execution.

This has the bones of an excellent story. It's creepy, mysterious, and I found myself wanting to know more about the characters. Unfortunately, that's where I stayed - wanting to know more.
The world is rich and well worth exploring, but I felt the author did not take the time to explore, rather instead pushing the plot forward at a breakneck speed. At one point I glanced down to see I was sixty pc through the book, and I was very disappointed - how does Haden get his powers? How does his guardian work? What's the story of his escape from his mother - is she mentally ill or possessed in some way? I wanted to know more about the Collective that opposed the council of wraiths, and more about Moses. Instead, I got a vignette from the world that could have easily had another couple hundred pages in it.
Whilst fine for a short read, there were a few poorly constructed paragraphs and a few missing words - the teenagers presumably look up from their group and give 'the eye' to the protag, yet the noun is missed out, leaving me re-reading the same sentence a few times trying to make sense of it and thus jarring out of the head space the author wants me in.

Perhaps I'm asking too much, as large, weighty, whole-world books are my passion, and certainly I enjoyed what little there was. Solid three out of five.

This book is a really short, really fun read. Haden is a very unique character: as a kid he can see ghosts, a skill his mother tries very, very hard to beat out of him. After being taken in by the Ministry of the Wraith, he's taught to use those skills to essentially transport himself into a corpse, gaining all of that person's knowledge and memories. There's a downside though: while transporting his consciousness into a corpse, his own body is left vulnerable in a comatose state, and any injury he takes as a corpse transfers to his living body.

I honestly grabbed this book based entirely on the cover. It just caught my eye as I was browsing, and I HAD to read it! At 142 pages, it isn't a huge time-sink either. It would make a great one-sitting book, especially since it moves pretty quickly. I did sometimes get a bit bogged down by the sheer number of missing/extra commas, but given that this is a galley I guess I can't hold it against the book too much.

Its short length was a bit of a downside for me though. The story is fairly well fleshed out, but still I wanted more. I wanted to know more about Nyah's past assignment, about the intervening years between Haden being recruited and when the reader meets him again as a full-fledged Reaper. The author touches briefly on the mysterious Avernus Collective, but they never really get involved in the story. In a way it could be seen as a positive that I want so much more from this book: I'm definitely going to be eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Review: THE BLOOD SINGER by Patrick McNulty

A delightfully comic horror with an engaging protagonist, a solemn and cynical foil as the protagonist's wise ghost mentor, a premise particularly imaginative and engrossing, combines in a very fast page-turning supernatural novel. There's nothing funny about Haden Church's childhood; his mother is horrid and Haden himself is, if not one of a kind, close to it. Haden sees ghosts, they congregate to him, and his abusive mother considers that the work of Satan and believes it her God-given mission to thoroughly exorcise her son. 

As an adult, Haden is in the employ of the Ministry of Wraiths, but he might as well be freelance, he is so obstinate and stubborn, following his own ethical code. When his mentor-companion Moses brings to Hayden the ghost of an elderly lady vitally (and rightly) concerned for her wayward son and her young granddaughter, Haden leaps into the fray irregardless of his personal safety, in order to rescue the child.