I was sucked in from the beginning. This is the type of book where you don't realize that time has passed because you are deep into the story. I didn't even realize until I was adding the book in my Fantastic Fiction list that there was another in the series. The Immortal Twin came out in 2020 and The Immortal Detective came out in 2023.

I really liked the narration. I had listened to a few other books that Lisa Larsen has narrated. She always does a great job with creating distinctions between the characters. She also has great pacing that help to keep you interested in the story. She definitely knows how to ratchet up the suspense with her voice.

The story revolves around Detective Celeste Crenshaw. Her parents died in a bombing when she was younger. Her brother and her were taken in by a vampire couple who raised them as if they were their own. Nick has already been turned into a vampire. Celeste doesn't want to be turned. However, Celeste is on her death bed, she is turned by her adoptive vampire mother Bianca.

The vampires in this book do more than just drink blood or turn into bats. They have a long list of powers that they need to learn. And not every vampire is capable of learning every skill. The Elders assist in teaching Celeste how to use her powers. At first, she is failing miserably to the point that she feels that she will never be able to do even the simplest of tasks.

Once she has gotten far enough along in her training, she is allowed to return to work as a police detective. Her first day back on the job and they have a murder. It seems that it is linked to several other murders. It is up to Celeste to make sure that the bad guys don't get away with another one.

The author did a superb job of world building. The vampires not only walk the surface of the Earth, but they also inhabit a magical land called The Hollow Earth. You could almost see and smell what the author is describing as the story unfolds.


I highly recommend this book if you like supernatural stories, police procedurals or mysteries.

I would like to thank NetGalley and CamCat Books for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an open and honest review.

I received this audiobook as a ARC and want to thank the publishers for the opportunity to listen. I realized about 10 minutes that the author was setting the stage of what happened in the first book, and unfortunately I had not had the chance to read it. While I think I would have connected with the characters better, it did not matter. D.B. Woodling does one heck of a job revisiting key points and character building. I felt like I was right on track quickly, which I commend author for.
These characters are FUN! Celeste, newly immortal, happens to be a crime detective and she is not going to let her new "condition", vampire family, or hot immortal boyfriend stop her from her duties. Her an Tristan have plenty of spice in her coffin, and other inconvenient locations. Often to the chagrin of Fane.
I don't think a better character has been written than Fane. Fane is described as "unicorns and rainbows, tornadoes and Armageddon, all wrapped up in one disturbing package.” Literally sold on that line.
I am immediately looking to read the first because, upon completion, I feel I'm not done with characters!

I received a free audio Arc of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest voluntary review.

We are following Celeste, a newly made vampire detective, whose entire family and love interest are all vampires, and she feels it to be an abomination. She was not happy when her family went to their "tribunal" on her behalf to have the gift of immortality bestowed upon her and she is very vocal about this fact. Once she accepts the gift, she returns to her life, with slight adjustments due to her new living situation.

The storyline fell flat for me. I wanted to see more conflict between her working in a "normal" job around the living and her being a vampire. Like the television series with the main female character being a zombie and a coroner.


The narrator did not show very much emotion so it was hard to connect to the characters and truly embrace the world. After listening to this book I found out there is a book before this one. I may go back and read that one, revisit this book, and feel better about it.

The title and cover art had me expecting a gripping whodunit with an intense supernatural/magical presence.

This story just did not do it for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for the opportunity to listen to and review an ARC of this audiobook.

The first book in D.B. Woodling’s genre-defying series was an eclectic, sprawling, time-hopping spread. This is much the same. To get a proper grasp of what’s happening here, it’s best to read them in order. The main characters, twins Nick and Celeste, were born to ordinary mortals. Young adults in Book 2, they have grown up in a world peopled by vampires, werewolves, immortals of various species, fantastical creatures, and a cult of « Harvesters » who embody the worst of all possible species. When their parents were killed in a Harvester-caused bomb blast, they were adopted by vampires Bianca and Ramzan Tobruk. Because vampires aren’t good in daylight hours but mortal children are, they hire a non-vampire but non-human nanny, Fain. Loving and affectionate, the gay Fain is no conventional nanny. Nick was a mischievous boy and is still a rebel. Celeste, now a detective, remains the good girl, though tormented by her teenage crush on the mystic warrior Tristan who is a significant presence in this story of many significant presences.

Having launched their beloved twins, Bianca and Razman are now taking care of young Raina, whom Celeste rescued and adopted in the first book. The fun but not terribly reliable Fain does duty again, while the vampire grandparents sleep and Celeste is preoccupied with her work. Much of her time and energy, however, are focused on the « adaption » that her parents and their vampire friends urge her to undergo. Although the process could use a clearer definition, it seems to involve the receipt of a gift of immortality from a chosen vampire donor whose blood has to be sucked by the intended. And the potential donors are no ordinary vampires. They are an elite of history’s most famous, and infamous, leaders in politics, art, literature, philosophy, mysticism, and so on. They include Socrates, Elizabeth I, Leonardo da Vinci, and Nostradamus, among many others. They are, in this novel, both literally and figuratively immortal.

Here’s the basic problem, for me at least. Despite the elegant writing, I had difficulty keeping all this straight, to such a degree that I could seldom follow the plot, which meant that I often couldn’t say what was actually happening. Nick, Celeste, the Tobruks, and Tristan are charming characters, Fain is hilarious in an over the top « gay » way, and the historical characters are witty and funny, playing on their own legends. But there’s so much going on. The historical vampires jump through time and space to interact with each other, and they all seem to know each other and interact across timelines. Celeste is at times both vehemently opposed and in favour of accepting immortality, though her twin, and Tristan, have done so and her parents want her to do it for her own sake. She seems to be bandied about, alternately wooed and bullied, by everyone.
Some of this is resolved in the epilogue, when Tristan’s secret is revealed and Celeste discloses one of her own, and another menace arises. Of course, in the nature of the continuing series, this new information opens the door to another set of exciting things to come.

Magic, fantasy, and mystery - some of my most favorite genres all in one!

This story follows a brand new vampire and her journey learning about her powers.

The book was alright, I may have enjoyed the text version more than the audiobook.

It was hard to follow along with, and even though the narrator changed her voice depending on the character - she was didn't express much emotion and was a bit monotone.

The Immortal Detective - what could possibly go wrong with a vampire story and detective work? Well, there's nothing particularly wrong. I have enjoyed every bit of it.

The book was fast-paced, and it had that fantastical feel when Celeste first awoke as a vampire and other vampires were teaching her all she needed to know about using her powers.

I think the only reason I removed a star from my rating is that there is a bit of a disconnect in the first few chapters. I then realized that this might be because it's the second book in a series. There was a book called Immortal Twin by the same author. I think if I had read that first, then I would have been able to fully embrace and truly appreciate Celeste.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this via audio and following along with the accompanied ebook. The narrators did a great job voicing the characters and no issues whatsoever.

#TheImmortalDetective #NetGalley. Thank you for the early copy of the audiobook #CamCatBooks.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this book. Unfortunately I DNF after an hour of listening. I was expecting it to be a detective story but after an hour there was still no case or anything remotely sounding like a detective story.

Not sure what else to add but my review needs to be at least 100 characters long so adding this.

This audiobook was AWESOME. As soon as I started listening I was invested, but trepidation set in as soon as there was mention of teeth and I was dreading the direction the audiobook would take (fictional vampires do NOT sparkle) but let there ring forth a chorus of angels (or demons depending on your preference) if it isn''t significantly more inclined toward the style of Anne Rice! (I have read all of Anne Rices books and while both authors are very disfferent in their writing style, I absolutely ADORE the true grit and hierarchy in this tale, the change, the adapting, the hiding in plain view and so much more. Jeepers bejillikers if this was not downright amazing!


Celeste is a badass FMC and I love how she has this sheer bloody-mindedness (excuse the pun, but it was on point) She still has a heart to save those who are in peril, but stuff anybody else who tries to tell her what to do or how to live. And let us face it, when you give someone with this attitude immortality and exceptional supernatural powers, things are going to get feisty

Brilliantly read by Lisa Larsen, I was gripped throughout. This was a fantastic pairing of author and narrator and Larsen really brought out Woodlings phenomenal prose, bringing the story through at a blistering pace. Simply stunning

I am absolutely invested in DB Woodling and I am looking forward to both readng and listening to more!

Thank you to Netgalley, CamCat Books, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks the author DB Woodling and narrator Lisa Larsen for this awesome ALC. I need a cuppa! My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own