Dead Spots

Written by Melissa F. Olson

Narrated by Amy McFadden

Scarlett Bernard knows about personal space: step within ten feet of her, and anything supernatural is instantly neutralized—vampires and werewolves become human again, and witches can’t cast the slightest spell. Scarlett uses her status as a null to cover up crime scenes for Los Angeles’s three most powerful magical communities, helping them keep humanity, and the LAPD, in the dark.

One night Scarlett gets caught at the scene of a grisly murder by the all-too-human LAPD cop Jesse Cruz, who blackmails her into a deal: he’ll keep quiet about the supernatural underworld if she helps him crack the case. Their pact doesn’t sit well with Dashiell, the city’s chief vampire, who fears his whole empire is at stake. And when the clues start to point to Scarlett herself, it’ll take more than her unique powers to catch the real killer and clear her name.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469248158

Melissa F. Olson

Melissa F. Olson is the author of the Scarlett Bernard series of urban fantasy novels for Amazon's 47North and the mystery The Big Keep. She lives in Madison, WI, with her family and two comically oversized dogs.

Reviews for Dead Spots

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you are looking for a different kind of paranormal, DEAD SPOTS is for you. Our heroine Scarlett Bernard is a Null. When she gets withing ten feet of any paranormal creature, either vampire or werewolf, they turn human. She is very rare. She only knows of six other Nulls in the world.Scarlett works cleaning up crimes committed by supernaturals. But one day she is called to the most gruesome crime she has ever seen. Someone has tortured and killed three vampires. The head of the Los Angeles vampires Dashiell needs someone to blame for the crime in order to keep his standing in the community. He picks Scarlett because only a Null could have made it possible for the vampires to be killed. He gives her a deadline to find the real criminal or he will execute her for the crime.Luckily, Scarlett doesn't have to work alone. A newly minted detective named Jesse Cruz sees her at the crime scene and tracks her down. Because he finds out about the Old World, he is also scheduled to die if they can't find the true criminal. And Scarlett has the assistance of Eli who is a werewolf. Eli likes hanging around with Scarlett because he hates being a werewolf and Scarlett makes him human. Scarlett isn't so sure she likes being used and she is very good at avoiding any sort of emotional connection to people.The three of them have to follow a lot of clues, deal with a variety of supernaturals, and find the criminal before Scarlett's time runs out. The story was well-paced. Scarlett was an interesting person who is dealing with a lot of past trauma but who has a sort of courage that she defines as stubbornness. Scarlett also grew a lot during this story as she began to overcome the trauma that kept her from connecting with other people.Fans of paranormals will enjoy this suspenseful and entertaining story.

[sbshepherd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first book in the Scarlet Bernard series is a good start. Interseting storyline and characters with a strong plot. Though the head vampire made my hackles rise, I liked the other characters. Mystery, murder, & subterfuge as well as lusty tension, love triangle, & relational frustrations are included.

[sigje-950906 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The universe constructed is very promising and I look forward to seeing more from this author. My main problems with this book was that it bounces between points of view inconsistently.

[booksandliquids · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an entertaining, quick read and there's a lot to like about it. I especially appreciate the absence of hormonal teenage behaviour by adult characters.

The backstory of vampires, werewolves and witches is okay, I wasn't particularly excited about it. Some things about the general setup of the story need a lot of suspension of disbelief, but that's mostly all right.

I like that the story is told from the perspective of those low on the supernatural food chain, and I like that Scarlett is not the chosen one to save the world(TM), although I didn't really understand why she was the lowest of the low with her powers. She's also a super rare urban fantasy heroine: actually acts clever most of the time and uses her common sense, she has one-night stands and sees nothing wrong with that, she doesn't let her love life take over her whole life.

Most of the secondary characters I found interesting and believable in an urban fantasy-way, especially the vampires. Scarletts housemate is refreshing and funny with a hint of tragic, and it's great to see the old, powerful boss-vampire to actually behave like one (most of the time) and not fall in love with the heroine and act like a homone-controlled teenager because of it.

The love triangle is not my favourite trope, but it was done okay here, and the characters behaved like the adults they are, which made me happy. Problematic romance tropes were pleasantly absent.

Pacing is good and the plot is interesting enough.

All in all, this is more of a 3-star-book, but since it didn't do so many of the things that usually annoy me to no end in urban fantasy novels, I have to give it a fourth star, simply because I am so happy about that fact.

[bm2ng · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked it. Well written, characters well developed. A great mystery story.

[montzaleew · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dead Spots by Melissa F Olson and narrated by Amy McFadden is book one in a series about vampires, werewolves, witches and more. Our gal of the story is a Null. That is something special that cancels out the magic of all the supernatural creatures that are close to her. There is only a handful in the world. She works for a crabby vamp doing clean up! I don't mean cleaning houses. She ends up getting accused of killing victims of a scene she was sent to clean. Cops got there first, the master camp is mad and others noted a Null there prior to the death. Now she has a limited time to find the real killer or she will be killed to save face for the master vamp. It ends in a "to be continued" which I hate! This is the book's only flaw. I knocked off a star for that but everything else I really enjoyed. The narrator was very good.

[whatsmacksaid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not a bad debut at all. The writing lagged in a bunch of places, like Olsen needed to write a scene she didn't much want to or care about, but the story was pretty solid. Minus points for the love triangle, though. I am so tired of those.

[thelibraryhag · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Scarlett Bernard is a null. That is a very rare human who very presence turns all magic off. So supernatural creatures, convert to mere humans. When three vampires are murdered, the assumption is that Scarlett had to have been there. But could there be another mull in town? Scarlett needs to investigate to save her own life.This is the first book in the series and I really liked it. Of course as the first book there is a lot of world building and character introduction, but even so, the story moved quickly. There is plenty of action yet I felt that I got to know Scarlett pretty well. As usual there are the 2 hunky guys who are interested in Scarlett. But despite the standard storyline, the world is really interesting and Scarlett's power is pretty unique. I have already started the second book in the series.

[crazybatcow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty typical urban fantasy, with significantly less graphic sex than usual. There is a female main lead with a special power, surrounded by hot males, in a world where vampires and weres and witches exist. Gender stereotypes abound: males protect females, vampires exist in both genders but males are the tough ones, the were are all male and the witches are all female... There is a bit of action, and the author put some work into developing a reasonable world with reasonable explanations for the existence of these supernatural creatures. The main character is decently fleshed out, and has an interesting back-story, though has a lot of self-blame for things which I didn't find believable (i.e. I don't think most people, and certainly not males, would blame themselves for the things she blames herself for...)Anyway, it was overall okay. The story is wrapped up here, but it is part of a series so the character development carries over into the next book. I am not sure I will be reading it though...

[bookjunkie777 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first book in the Scarlet Bernard series is a good start. Interseting storyline and characters with a strong plot. Though the head vampire made my hackles rise, I liked the other characters. Mystery, murder, & subterfuge as well as lusty tension, love triangle, & relational frustrations are included.

[madison_keller-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Scarlett Bernard is a null, meaning that whenever anything supernatural enters her vicinity, the magic fails (defuses? this part is never explained. Where does the magic go? The first of many plot holes). These nulls are incredibly rare, and there are only 7 known in the entire world.Whenever a spell goes wrong, a vampire gets out of hand, or a werewolf looses control, Scarlett is called in to clean up the mess. Actually, this part is never explained. What about being a null makes you the janitor? The spells, vampires, and werewolves go back to normal when she leaves. Wouldn’t an ordinary human serve this purpose just as well?The novel starts with Scarlett getting called out to help some witches whose spell went wrong. This is the last time you will see the witches until almost the end of the novel. At one point midway through I’d forgotten the witches exist, which makes the ending even more bizarre. But I’ll get to that later.Anyway, while at that job she gets another call – this one is bad. A murder. She is really far away, and so arrives barely ahead of the cops. A cop, Jesse Cruz, spots her and a werewolf at the scene, and even though she runs he manages to track her down. He hides her involvement because he is… um, freaked out by seeing a werewolf, I guess. I get why he hid the werewolf guy but why did a good cop hide some regular human woman? Plot hole #2The book then skips over from first person Scarlett POV to third person Jesse’s POV. The rest of the book swaps back and forth between the two POVs. The transitions are awkward, and I never got used to them. It would have been better to stick to one or the other - all first person or all third person.Jesse and Scarlett team up, and Scarlett gives Jesse a crash course the Old World. There are huge sections of inf-dump dialogue between Scarlett and Jesse.After a bit of detective work, Jesse and Scarlett figure out that the murder victims were actually vampires and that another Null was involved with the killing. The head vampire decides to blame Scarlett, even though he knows she couldn’t have been involved. He is about ready to just kill her right then, but then decides to give her two days to find the real killer.So, Nulls are valuable, and useful, and Scarlett is one of 7. In the WORLD. WHY does the head vampire want to kill her so badly? Its not like she could be replaced… Couldn’t he find someone else to frame? I really honestly turned this around in my head for a while and just couldn’t figure out why he was so willing to sacrifice Scarlett. Plot Hole #3.For being a novel about Vampires, Werewolves, and witches, you see surprisingly little of any thing supernatural.The plot jumps around in the middle, and I had a hard time following the thread of their various investigations, or why they had to spend hours in the car driving from one point to another. After spinning in circles for a day and a half, they finally get a real lead.. and Scarlett just… forgets to tell Jesse about it.At the end, Scarlett gets kidnapped by the badguy. Eli, her one-night-stand turned apprentice, shows up. He brought backup. Remember those witches, that have basically been absent through the whole book? They can do magic!They found her with a tracking spell cast by the head witch. But… Scarlett is a magical Null, right, and werewolves and vampires can’t smell or track her. So how did a tracking spell find her? Wouldn’t she be a magical deadzone, unable to be picked up or tracked with any kind of magic? Plot Hole #4Overall, this gets 3 stars. I loved the premise, and most of the characters (although Scarlett’s angsty emo teenager act gets annoying fast. I honestly kept forgetting that she is supposed to be over 30). But the confusing plot and plot holes, combined with the jarring narrative shifts, took off two stars.

[soireadthisbooktoday · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ms. Olson has written another for my "must read as soon as they come out" shelf. I am a huge one for exceptional world building, and i cannot fault her work on this point at all. You learn things as you go along, and they fit within what is happening seamlessly in a manner that not many writers can accomplish.

Scarlett herself, the main character, is interesting. She is in no way perfect, but she isn't irritating at all. As a null, she suffers from the 'let's use her for what we need and who cares what happens to her' mentality of those around her, but she handles it well. The writing style of the author is smooth and doesn't rely on tricks to get her point across, nor does she beat you over the head with static, worn out characterizations. You come to feel like you know and like the characters in the book.

There are some twists that will be carried on to the next book, which I really like. The ending itself was enough of a cliffhanger to put me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book, which is a huge pleasure!

Highly recommended for those of you who like paranormal without a huge amount of paranormal romance.

[dearheart_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Scarlett Bernard is a null, which means if a vampire, werewolf or witch comes within 10 feet of her, they lose their magic and are just plain humans until more distance is put between them. That makes her both useful to them as well as someone to fear. It’s also something that’s pretty rare.Her job is to clean up “problems” by the supernaturals that would let the humans know that they exist. That often means disposing of bodies. But when she isn’t able to clean up a murder scene in a park before a detective arrives responding to a call, the head vampire gives her a short window of time to find the person responsible or she’ll be killed as it’s apparent a null is involved in the killings. Interesting story and we’re given in depth world building when it comes to the origins of vampires, werewolves and witches. But through much of the book I had to wonder just why the supernaturals couldn’t clean up their own problems. Why are they paying her to do it? Well clean-up in this world is a great deal more complete than in other series. And by the end of the story Vicky becomes even more useful to the vampires.I felt this was an okay story, but when it got to the end we’re left with a situation that has me wanting to read more.

[skyegirl77 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed this book. I'm not normally into the whole love triangle thing (am so not a twilight fan!) but this book was really enjoyble and I just fell in love with the characters, especially the herione, she's far from perfect and you love her flaws and all! I also loved the idea of a "null" and the impact she has on a the supernatural. Obviously I just "loved" this book.....ok I'll stop saying loved so much now!

[paideiamom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent.

Good world building, consistent, "believable."

Nicely laid out.

Listened to the Audible version. Had my doubts about the narrator, but ended up really enjoying it. The narrator seemed a little too disaffected at first, but she evened out and I enjoyed it immensely.


Quick listen.


The only down side is there is another "love" triangle a la Stephanie Plum, but with vampires, werewolves, and witches. That is not a favorite trope of mine, but so far it is not too bad.

[katyas_26 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Book Info: Genre: Urban FantasyReading Level: AdultRecommended for: Fans of urban fantasy, especially with damaged heroines.Trigger Warnings: Murder, graphic description of disemboweled and hacked-up corpses, (implied) child molestation, violence against women and childrenMy Thoughts: From the three blonde, sorority-girl-type witches, I knew this book had promise. I loved how Jesse Cruz reacted to everything; I think I would probably react in a similar fashion. I was also very amused by his story about how he was so scared of vampires when he was a kid, and he hid garlic cloves in his pockets, and put empty wine bottles all around his room, because he figured since Dracula didn't drink wine, he wouldn't like to see the wine bottles all over the place! That really made me laugh!There were a few weird inconsistencies I noticed, though. For instance, at one point Jesse goes and has a big breakfast with his mother, but then in the next scenes, described as “an hour later,” he's described as having an empty stomach. When Olivia is first described, the first sentence in the paragraph calls her “a pretty woman” and the last sentence in the same paragraph describes her as “neither pretty nor ugly.” Then there is a place where Scarlett texts Will to ask exactly when Ronnie had texted him, but when I looked back, it was only mentioned that Will had received “a weird text,” and not that it was from Ronnie. There is also a lot of mixup and confusion over when the deadline is that Dashiell gives to Scarlett. Initially he tells her Friday at 6 a.m., but then the next day Jesse's boss says it's Sunday. The next day is the showdown, and three days later it is Wednesday. So that's a mess. And there are a couple other little things like this where the timeframe is mixed up. However, I read this book as an ARC, so there is a possibility that these things were noticed and fixed for the final copy, so it has not affected my rating.While not a fan of love triangles, I think the developing triangle in this book is very realistic. I know I've been in a similar position many times. I also really liked Scarlett herself generally. She's in a tough situation, but she keeps trying to do the better thing. I think fans of urban fantasies will enjoy this story—the first book in a series—very much, and I'll definitely be watching for future books in this series to see what happens next. The ending has a huge twist that has left me wanting to know what happens next.Disclosure: I received an ARC paperback from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: A woman with the ability to counteract magic is in a race against time—and the supernatural underworld—to catch a killer before another body drops. Scarlett Bernard knows about personal space: step within ten feet of her, and any supernatural spells or demonic forces are instantly defused—vampires and werewolves become human again, and witches can't get out so much as a "hocus pocus." This special skill makes her a null and very valuable to Los Angeles's three most powerful magical communities, who utilize her ability to scrub crime scenes clean of all traces of the paranormal to keep humanity, and the LAPD, in the dark. But one night Scarlett's late arrival to a grisly murder scene reveals her agenda and ends with LAPD's Jesse Cruz tracking her down to strike a deal: he'll keep quiet about the undead underworld if she helps solve the case. Their pact doesn't sit well with Dash, the city's chief bloodsucker, who fears his whole vampire empire is at stake. And when clues start to point to Scarlett, it'll take more than her unique powers to catch the real killer and clear her name.

[booklovre6 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a fantastic book. I really loved it. Can't wait for book two. One thing I did NOT like is 1st person in one viewpoint, and 3rd person in the other. I feel they should have both been in 3rd person (or first). No mix n match!

[pacey1927 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn't know what to expect when I started reading "Dead Spots". It sounded like a new urban fantasy and those are some of my favorite reads. The author has a nice new plot featuring a world where magic and the supernatural world are mostly hidden from humans. Scarlett is a null though which is a very unusual type of human. Scarlett actually nullifies magic within a certain radius to her. That means werewolves turn back to human and vampires begin to age. Witches have trouble casting spells. Scarlett also runs a supernatural cleaning business...kind of. She comes in when magic has gone bad and cleans up everything in hopes that the police and the rest of the human world doesn't find clues about the supernatural community.But when the vampire head Dash calls and orders Scarlett to a crime scene she doesn't get there on time. Unfortunately a human cop sees the grisly deaths and he also sees...or thinks he sees...a werewolf. Scarlett has to do damage control...she also has to find the killer or Dash will see her head on a plate, as well as the innocent cop's!There was a love triangle of sorts as Scarlett has a fling going with werewolf Eli and there is definitely tension between Scarlett and Jesse, the cop. I am not a fan of the love triangle, but oddly enough I liked both Jesse and Eli. Jesse is just a really nice guy and so is Eli. Eli has a nice vulnerability about him that I found refreshing for a werewolf and I loved scenes with both guys together.The world was well created; its an evolved world but as least the reader is bogged down by so much information and backstory that it becomes overwhelming. In fact this story was presented practically perfectly. The writing was clear, vivid and engaging. The whodunit was also well written and I didn't guess the killer before he/she was outed. The story had a good, strong conclusion but still had a twist cliffhanger at the end. It is mostly just a teaser for the next installment. My curiosity was peaked and I most certainly want to read more about Scarlett and her world.This is the real deal in Urban Fantasy. I recommend it for fans of Seanan McGuire's Toby Daye series and Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville series.