First of all, I want to thank Netgalley and Burning Chair for the e-ARC of "The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency" by Peter Oxley.

The first thing that drew me to this ARC among the sea from the Netgalley read now section, was the title >...>...tell me that it doesn't call to you when combined with the cover! >..<

We follow in this almost 250pages urban fantasy with thriller and horror/paranormal elements 2 low-life grifters, Spencer(the mousy, street smart and extremely coward little guy) and Bart (the empty-headed big muscle guy) while they try to figure out a way to make ends meet after once again they fall short on the food chain of London's Est End; all these while London trembles at the mentioning of the Tappers! >..>

CW: possessions; violent deaths; manipulative men to the extreme; domestic abuse;

Let me tell you...in the beginning I wasn't sure if these 2 would keep my attention...I never read something similar before..or, at least, with similar MCs, but Spencer and Bart pulled through for me :). Loved how they communicated with each other, how despite being small fry they didn't give up and the author shone a light on them, so we can see that even these people have worthy stories and are not just background props for the main hero in some big fantasy!
Another character..Tessie got me confused a little..that's why I cannot give this book 5 stars...she's a woman of scientific beliefs that wants to be acknowledged and considered worthy in every possible scenario, but with her husband...Marchant wasn't that I thought him to be (he was a pathetic person and I loved how the author decided to do to him in the end ^^) but she became this fragile flower around him without any good reason. Early in the book we have a scene when we meet Tessie...and I believed that will be an accurate portrayal of her personality, only to be contradicted next time I see her...anyway...I'm not completely sold on her, that's for sure!

When it comes to the plot, for such a short book, we have all the elements of a thriller(says the person who never read an actual thriller..>..>) : suspanse, gory bits, a mystery or several, characters that act in confusing ways, actions scenes and lots of planning!
I must say that not everybody will be happy with the plot development: some bits are fast-paced and easily solvable when they shouldn't be, others...Spencer lets his cowardliness play leading role on the stage...but if you keep in mind all Peter Oxley wanted to say in this novel... I don't think you can say he wrote some stuff at the expense of others. I firmly think he chose the right parts to focus on! This "Grate" Agency has room only for growth! ^^

As I said before, this one is fast-paced and equally character work and world-building. I looked into his back-catalog and I believe this will be the start to a new series in the one established with The Infernal Aether...not really sure, so don't quote me on that. Anyway..I really want to see what happens next with our gang and the villains. Also,...where is our helpful magician and what role will he play in the bigger picture????? >..>..Cannot wait to find out!

In the end, I believe this book is perfect if you want something on the shorter side with an urban fantasy setting mixed with thriller and paranormal elements that focus onto lesser known POVs.

Enjoy

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency by Peter Oxley is an alternate London historical fantasy where demons have invaded the city and two idiots think they can stop them.

Spenser and Bart are failed thieves who decide to open a demon hunting agency to pay the rent. The book also follows Tessie, a woman who recently lost both her parents and is unhappy living with her controlling husband.

Spenser and Bart are very disagreeable protagonists. They are not nice people and are bad at their job. Their incompetence is treated as humorous, but the humor was lost on me. This book is also quite violent. Spenser and Bart are bullies and their favorite weapon is an axe.

This book has a lot of set-up. There are multiple chapters from several one-off point of view characters that all feel like prologues. The story doesn't really start until Chapter 5, and the two storylines don't intersect until the half-way point. This is also a slight story, with no internal motivation from any of the characters and no interesting side characters to distract from the principals.

Thanks to NetGalley and Burning Chair for access to this e-book for review.

This was a fun, quick read.

A few years prior to 1868, demons invaded London from the Aether. Humans now live alongside demons, though not very happily. Our protagonists Spencer and Bart are former crooks turned straight. Having fallen out with their former employer, and with few criminal prospects, they turn their minds to the best way for them to have a steady supply of beer and pies. What better way than to advertise their services as demon hunters?

The friendship between Spencer and Bart was wholesome and enjoyable. Both characters grew as the plot progressed, though I did feel like they could have been more fleshed out. The latter was true for all the other characters in the book, particularly Tessie, a sort of secondary protagonist. We are told some of her background, making her easy to pity and difficult to relate to. There were no layers to characters like Tessie's husband (I already forget his name...Marchant?), Thaddeus, Mr. Emerson the antagonist, etc. I think the character development could use some work.

Though the plot was interesting and fast-paced, I'm not sure it fully delivered on the title of the book. I would have expected a lot more demon-hunting and a lot less husband-following. I think the reader also could have benefitted from a bit more knowledge about the difference between the demons and the wraiths, whether the wraiths exist on a different plane from both the humans and the Aether, and how, if at all, they are related to the demons. In that sense, the world building was little lack-lustre, recognising of course that this is an urban fantasy.

We are promised a light-hearted twist to this 'gothic' story, and while I think the lightheartedness was executed well, the promise of a gothic adventure did not really come to fruition. I also anticipated the book being a lot funnier than it was, à la Terry Pratchett. Overall, I think it would do better marketed to a YA audience as opposed to an adult audience.

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency appealed to me as I was curious to try something a little different where there is some humor mixed in with the fantasy. The novel is based in an alternate Victorian age in the 19th century where demons live amongst us in London. Bart and Spencer are morally grey crooks who decide to open their own agency. The novel looks like it is currently set-up as a standalone, but, for me, it reads as a prequel where the agency is established and there is room to expand this into a series in the future.

Bart is the muscle while Spencer is the brains from their initial depiction, which was a little too expected. There seemed to be hints at more complexity for their characters, however, the shorter number of pages does not allow a lot of time for character development. The two of them are hired by Tessa (Tessie) Marchant, wife of Lord Merchant. This leads to a chaotic adventure as Bart and Spencer attempt to help Tessie. For me, I wish there were more demon hunting leading up to the main plot. I think that would have helped establish the characters a little more as some additional backstory could have been integrated. This would have felt more complete instead of a little rushed. The world-building is also reflected in the quick nature of the story as there is a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time, so the reader does not have all the pieces to properly put the puzzle together. Overall, it was an entertaining read with a lot of promise. If this does turn into a series, I would be interested to see what new adventures await the agency in the future!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Burning Chair Limited, for the opportunity to read this novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This feels like a book that you've been dropped into the middle of an ongoing story; not in a bad way but there is not a lot of back story or world building it's more like hey, demons and people who dabble in the occult are running around London and some are nefarious so an odd version of Holmes and Watson bumble around trying to go legit as a demon hunting agency.

It was fun, easy read and you don't have to think too hard. Demons aside, it's a regular mystery that I'm sure will have more outings to come.

2.5 stars and recommendee.

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency is a very non-serious historical paranormal fantasy romp set in Victorian London, which looks to be a series opener for a spin-off from the author’s Infernal Aether series, which I have not read. I’m unsure if the lead characters, Spencer and Bart, featured in those books - there are mentions of previous events, but it wasn’t a problem as you get enough background to know who they are. While not apparently being marketed as such, this felt like a book most suitable for 10-14 year old kids rather than adults.

A couple of East End crooks - Spencer, the slight sneaky one, and Bart his bumbling hulk of a best friend, find themselves outside of their usual gang and being watched by the police, so decide that their only option is to go straight, forming an agency to help rid local businesses of the plague of demons tormenting the city. Tessie is a recently orphaned aristocrat unhappily married to an older man with an unhealthy interest in magic. When she hires them to follow him to find out what he’s up to, the friends’ new skills will be put to the ultimate test.

This was mildly enjoyable nonsense with a fairly predictable plot padded out by cartoonesque fight scenes and plenty of slapstick humour. I’m unclear how likeable the protagonists are meant to be, I had an issue with Spencer referring to Tessie using the ruder term for a female dog, but the main story is about them finding their morals and becoming the heroes, with the ending making clear there are more adventures to come - but I’m unlikely to read them. There are only two kinds of female characters, feeble toffs and feisty hookers, and I’m unsure of the messaging in this day and age when the evil characters are repeatedly described as “dark”. It’s a short book and passed the time, but I think I’m the wrong reader for this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Burning Chair for the ARC. I’m posting this honest review voluntarily.
Publication date 2nd March.

I had trouble getting into this book at first, and it feels a little like we are coming into it immediately in the beginning of a series, but overall it was a fun read and while I'm not sure I'd read a second book, I don't regret reading this. 3.5

I found this book so so hard to get into, which is strange for me as I usually love books with this sort of premise. I had to stop halfway as it just wasn't doing it for me. This book had a very interesting idea behind it but, it just wasn't what I expected, hence my review. It would be amazing for others, however, it just wasn't for me.

This book has a killer opening. Punchy, full of tension, and a great premise. It piqued my interest!

I didn’t know this at the time, but this is a continuation of the Infernal Aether series. In this book London is post demon invasion and the demons are somewhat of a lingering annoyance that mainly float under the radar.

The book primarily follows Spencer and Bart as they exit the crime world and start a demon hunting business, and they’re a likable duo. The majority of the chapters are from their point of view, and a good chunk are from Tessie’s point of view, with a few other view points added in.

I found the writing style kind of jarring at first because the perspective switching happened too quickly for my liking. I found that it made it kind of hard to keep tabs on the story initially and made me lose some interest.

However all the different perspectives converge at the end of the book, and you can slowly see how things will pan out during the last third of the book.

This book features demons, mediums, seances, magicians, and evil people fixated on the paranormal. Will they be able to figure out who the tappers are and where the disappearing women are going?

I thought the ending was really good and overall the story was well written, even though the style was hard to get used to initially. I deducted stars for the style as it made me lose interest initially, and it didn’t quite have that wow factor that makes me read it in a day! I’d read a sequel to it though as I really enjoyed the characters!

Thanks to @netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Spencer and Bart are trying to go straight. Milton, their old boss, doesn't agree with their plans but it's not clear whether he has much say once they start hunting and destroying demons. Tessie is very unhappily married to the evil Lord Marchant who has gathered up all her family money and is making her life a living hell.
When Spencer and Bart cross paths with Tessie, their already complicated world gets even messier.
Combining a well researched Victorian London with a fantastical world of demons, wraiths and the odd golem, Peter Oxley has created a rollicking good yarn of adventure and gore. I like my steampunk books a bit more punk than this but I enjoyed the rollercoaster of the adventures that the two misfit friends get up to. It's a great introduction to a new Oxley series which I will happily continue to read. It's fun and well-paced. Not overly challenging but a really fun read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Burning Chair for access to this e-arc.

This was an enjoyable romp. It's not usual to get protagonists who are pretty inept at what they're attempting to accomplish, but it was fun to read. And the author was good at creating the atmosphere of the period, as well as the imagery of the demons and other entities "haunting" the city.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Burning Chair for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great intro to the fantasy genre, with the smallest dash of the supernatural.

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency is historical fantasy novel by Peter Oxley that follows the crooks of Spencer and Bart, who must go straight in order to avoid the cops. Which involved them creating The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency, which helps them bite off more than they can chew as they go face to face with criminals, demons, and crazed magicians. Can they save the day, and solve the crime? Maybe, you'll just have to read to find out.

What I liked most about this novel, is that appears to take itself very seriously, but then proceeds to not. It's very light hearted, and filled with plenty of funny moments and the tiniest of twists on the gothic genre. I feel like this book is perfect for anyone looking to make fun of the more snobby side of historical fiction, and isn't afraid to fist-fight a werewolf.

So cool! I love Bart and Spencer. Their dynamic is so cool to see. They are great characters, very funny. I love demons and this was great!

A mystery thriller set in an AU Victorian era with a generous helping of slapstick humor — and yet the tone is once again something better suited to an audience younger than adult. Same premise but with a more mature take on it would have been much more up my alley and more accurate to the marketing, I feel. Perhaps would be suitable to Lockwood fans.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Give me all the Victorian demon hunting society vibes honestly. This was such a fast-paced, fun read and while the writing was somewhat simplistic (for something set in alternate Victorian times), I think that it actually helped the pacing and overall feel of this story rather than detracting from it. This was just fun overall.

The Great Big Demon Hunting Agency is set to be published on March 2, 2023. Thank you to Burning Chair, NetGalley, and the author for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I did not read the book entirely. Oxley draws from his Aether series, which I have not read. Therefore the book was confusing to me. This makes me unable to give a good review.
However, this book has made me excited and interested to checkout the Aether series!

Morally grey protagonists? Check. Funny? Check. Enjoyable? Check.

This was a quick read, and I loved the characters; Thaddeus is shaping up to be my favourite, despite not being a focal character in the same way as Spencer and Bart!

If dumb and dumber were British and had demon hunting as a career option. This was light fun and a quick read. The story seemed a little rushed but was a fun lighthearted read, I love a himbo character, and our heroes were def dumb t but they also get lucky and got a new friend and love interest.

This book was just as fun as its cover.

The gates of Hell opened a few years ago and demons now run free through the streets of 19th century London. Our two main characters, Spencer and Bart, grew up on the streets and only knew one job all their lives, the illegal kind. Tired of working illegally and all the dangers that come with it, they decide to go legit and start a demon hunting agency. The problem is that they don’t know how to hunt demons. Between this slight inconvenience and a past they can’t escape, everything seems to be against our two friends.

The friendship between Spencer and Bart is simply perfect. They are the classic duo of a big intimidating but not very smart guy and his smaller but very clever friend. A combination that no longer needs to prove its effectiveness and that works every time. They reminded me a lot of Locke and Jean from the Gentleman Bastard series and I loved it!

The first chapters were very promising. The atmosphere was on point and the writing style was simply brilliant. However, I find that there are some inconsistencies regarding the way our two friends started their business.

Beside the fact that I still don’t understand why they decided to create a demon hunting agency when they have no idea how to do it, their first encounter with a demon is quite chaotic and they come out alive only thanks to bystanders who saved their lives. And what makes even less sense to me is how after that these bystanders proclaim how good their agency is at killing demons?

Beside this little incoherence, the writing was really good. It was easy to follow with a humour perfectly dosed and a well maintained pace. No sequel has been announced yet, but I really hope we get more shenanigans from our favourite demon hunters!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

All in all an entertaining read with a dynamic plot and easygoing language that you would find in YA fiction. Some of the themes in the book were quite dark for a YA novel though but then the character complexity wasn’t quite there for an adult novel so I feel it would be good for future books in this series to be a bit more intentional with the audience for them.

Loved the ending and how fast it all unravelled but to be honest I was trudging through the first 30% of the book trying to wrap my head around who the main characters were and what was going on. Now that the scene is set though, I’m excited to find out more about this world and the adventures the crew get up to. Will definitely be looking forward to the next in series.