Tempus Investigations: A Fictional TV-Show
By Claus Holm
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I will say I wasn’t sure about this book when I first read the description. I do enjoy supernatural books but I was afraid this was a little too far left for my taste. I was not so disappointed.
Tempus Investigations is incredibly unique; the book takes place in San Francisco and centers on an investigator who has an unfortunate case of immortality. Spanning 4 ‘episodes’ of a television show, Tempus Investigations follows an agency owned by a man who actually died in the 1930’s. His partner, Mercedes, keeps him tied to this world but she has no powers in the story and that was somewhat of a relief as the main characters frequently crossed paths with other souls from the supernatural realm.
The narration and style of writing is something I enjoyed. It’s a simple style that anyone can cling to and it’s full of slick sarcasm and witty banter between characters. Jim and Mercedes are a loveable pair who easily light up the pages as you read. Their personalities are distinct and their relation to one another is displayed wonderfully through the writing. The detail in the book wasn’t extravagant but I enjoyed it because it worked more like an outline—or a frame. Holm pieced together what was needed and I filled in the rest. In an awkwardly adventurous novel like this, I appreciated the loose narration.
The reason I describe this as ‘awkwardly adventurous’ is because the world Holm has created isn’t explored to its fullest. We had a very big taste of this supernatural universe with time rifts, magic, and other folk from the community but I feel there is an awful lot to look forward to in season 2 of Tempus Investigations and that’s not a complaint.
The fact that the book follows a television show is pretty interesting. I liked the originality that aspect offered as I haven’t read many other books that were written as if they were a television series before—I think maybe one other book to be exact. Although it was interesting, part of me is still deciding if I would like to go back for more. I may simply be too used to the traditional style of writing, but the episodic nature of the story worked out well and definitely highlighted Holm’s creativity.
If you enjoy supernatural fiction, then you will like this unique read. Any young adult to adult reader will appreciate this novel but it will be enjoyed most by those who like supernatural with a bit of mystery.