Twice As Dead, Harry Turtledove
Twice As Dead, Harry Turtledove
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Twice As Dead

Author: Harry Turtledove

Series: City of Shadows Trilogy

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 12 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/18/2025


Synopsis

Rudolf Sebestyen is missing, and Marianne Smalls is involved in an illicit affair with the shady Jonas Schmitt. Both cases converge when Dora Urban, Rudolf's beautiful and mysterious half-sister, and Lamont Smalls, Marianne's suspicious husband, hire Jack Mitchell, a hard-drinking, chain-smoking private investigator. Dora wants Jack to uncover what happened to her brother, while Lamont seeks proof of his wife's infidelity. But Dora is a vampire, in a city teeming with creatures of the night.

As Jack dives deeper, he discovers that both cases are linked to vepratoga—a dangerous new drug spreading through Los Angeles. Twice as Dead is brimming with vampires, wizards, zombies and zombie dealers, the Central Avenue jazz scene, an exclusive after-hours club, adultery, a New England ghost who prefers Southern California's warmer clime, corrupt cops and politicians, spying rats, and a smart-mouthed talking cat.

When Jack's home is burned to the ground, the strands of his investigations culminate in a showdown at a tire factory, where even the reliefs on the walls are not what they seem. In this unique noirish urban fantasy set in postwar Los Angeles, Jack finds more adventure, danger, and romance than he ever imagined—and learns that success may come at too high a price.

About Harry Turtledove

Harry Turtledove (he/him) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer whom Publishers Weekly has called the "Master of Alternate History." He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Hugo Award for Best Novella, the HOMer Award for Short story, and the John Esthen Cook Award for Southern Fiction. Turtledove's works include the Crosstime Traffic, Worldwar, Darkness, and Opening of the World series; the stand-alone novels The House of Daniel, Fort Pillow, and Give Me Back My Legions!; and over a dozen short stories available on Tor.com. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, novelist Laura Frankos, and their four daughters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Simon on August 19, 2025

Recent Reads: Twice As Dead. Harry Turtledove's fantasy LA noir takes to an alternate California, where vampires escaped a world war and zombies sweep the streets. PI Jack Mitchell is in the eye of a storm, trying to solve three cases at once. Can he survive the blowback? Classic crime with a twist.......more

Goodreads review by Robert on December 16, 2024

Thanks to Arc Manor for copy. Excellent alternate history urban noir set in 1950’s. Recommended.......more

Goodreads review by Ivan on February 20, 2025

Harry Turtledove is one of my favorite authors, albeit I didn't read his entire bibliography. I got know his writing with The Lost Legion and I've read those books probably ten or more times and when one set started to fall apart, I bought a new one. After first four Videssos books I found Gerin the......more

Goodreads review by Lorraine on March 06, 2025

This is the start of a new series from Harry Turtledove. It’s an interesting departure from the alternate history he’s written a lot of, and although it starts a series it works well as a stand alone. I found it entertaining and absorbing. Jack Mitchell is a private detective in a Los Angeles that do......more

Goodreads review by Metaphorosis on March 07, 2025

3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews Summary In an alternate post-world war Los Angeles full of vampires, zombies, and wizards, Jack Mitchell is a private investigator with a smart-mouthed cat and more debts than clients. Until Dora Urban, a glamorous vampire, hires him to find her half-brother, and Mitchel......more