This was an entertaining murder mystery set in a world filled with superheroes and villains of varying levels of fame and notoriety. The noir/hardboiled feel was a lot of fun, both in terms of voice and plot. It didn't feel overdone or belaboured. I'm not fond of grim, pessimistic stories, and this one didn't feel too dark for my tastes.

As we'd expect for the genre, nearly everyone's out to double-cross everyone else. I'm not sure I completely followed all the switches in alliances and loyalties as I tagged along to see what trouble Curse would end up in next. Additionally, there seem to be a lot of characters with superpowers, and I didn't always manage to keep track of who could do what. However, I was more than happy to just go along for the ride.

Warning: a few minor spoilers below.

Dane Curse is a rip-roaring, clever yarn, filled with countless one-liners, high-octane action, strong characterization, and a complex whodunit plot – it's the whole kit and caboodle.

Let's start with the strongest weapon in Abraham's arsenal: his wit. Literally every page has some “wow” bit of dialogue from one of his snarky, street-wise characters. Dane himself, our PI protagonist, is a veritable fountain of funny and caustic observations – “heels so high the guy who made them needed a building permit,” for example. Since it's his story, and his perspective, he gets the lion's share of the good lines, but pretty much every other character can hold their own when it comes to witty repartee.

The characters themselves are unique, with their powers – if they have any – being well-developed, and incorporated into their personality.

The plot moves along at a breakneck pace, with Dane driving, fighting, intimidating, bargaining, and in general wreaking havoc and ruffling feathers all over Gold Coast City. There's plenty of action and cliffhanger-ending chapters, but Abraham knows when to slow down and give us a breather so we can catch up with the plot.

Like a good detective tale, the story is complex without being inscrutable. We whip from culprit to culprit and motive to motive until we finally get to the climactic scene, which is of course a doozy of a brouhaha.

So why only four stars?

I thought Abraham built up Dane to be far too awesome during the first three-quarters of the novel, with his adversaries far too inept. There's also a standard “wade through cannon fodder” comic book scene, but I expect that sort of thing from Captain America, not a guy who's been billed as a “small-time PI.”

Abraham may have been building Dane up only to lay him low towards the end, but if so, it didn't work for me. Don't get me wrong, Dane gets into plenty of trouble, but I never felt like things were truly serious until the novel's ending.

Don't let these complaints deter you from purchasing this book, though. I guarantee you'll enjoy it, even if you aren't a fan of noir or superhero-style stories. If you are, this is a gem you don't want to pass by.

“Do you like pulp?”

“What do you think?” ( )

A transposition of the hard-boiled private investigator in an environment that includes super-heroes (and anti-heroes). Quite fun and well-crafted with some nice twists, though the characters may suffer somewhat from receiving little development beyond the archetypes they embody. ( )

A former Super Villain gone straight, as a PI, in a world of Super Heroes, reading like a classic Pulp novel! Awesome, to say the least! And Dane still has all the powers, but now he uses them for 'good'! And yet, some old habits die hard. I love the premise here. And when the worlds most popular Super Hero actually is murdered, Dane Curse is called on to solve it. But he's only got 5 days to do it, before all hell breaks loose. With all the twists and turns, he might not! ( )

Dane Cook by Matt Abraham

Dane Curse is a Private investigator with special powers. He has only five days to solve a crime. Due to the death of this prominent superhero the entire city of Gold Coast is in trouble. He has to face tough Black capes and bad White capes in order to complete his mission. Will Dane Curse be able to pull it off?

A well written original story. Dane is unique, but very likable. He has super-powers, and sharp wits. The story flows at an even pace. There is a lot of action, drama, suspense and edge-of-your seat moments. The characters are well developed, attention to detail brings you into the story.

I feel that those who love a great action/suspense with super-power heroes will enjoy Dane Curse. I liked the cover, it has a comic book feel, yet captures the spirit of (Dane) and the story perfectly. ( )