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A.C. Merkel

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Her Name Is Murder (Lady Dreamscapes Book 1) Kindle Edition

by A.C. Merkel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 103 ratings

Book 1 of 4: Lady Dreamscapes

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“We can’t waltz forever, Grant.”

“We can damn well try.”

Magical musician Murder LaVoe is tired of running. She’s been running for almost 500 years. When you don’t age, people take it personally.
She has returned 40 years later to her favorite borough in New York City.
Her hope?
To finally settle down and hide her secret by taking the identities of falsified heirs.
A public attempt on the life of her Rock-N-Roll alter ego, Lady Dreamscapes.
A chance meeting of subservient immortals in need.
Both threaten to take away the life she holds so dear.
Can NYPD detective Grant Noble III solve her mysteries in time to save her?

Or is it him that needs saving?

The clock is ticking, and secrets are unraveling.

Levi Esmund

The Clay-crafted Protector of the Ageless craves enthralling reads and a sizzling book boyfriend.
Friends to lovers, enemies... -you get the point. He's ready for more.
He is bound by fate to his charge, the inimitable Murder LaVoe. Despite their literal Best Friends Forever connection, he yearns to break free from his molded existence.

Tress
Is a trans woman and also a Protector of the Ageless.
With her Gothic Victorian style, she rocks glamours and wards like no other.
She’s devoted her life to helping trans-girls in need.
There is only one problem. She has yet to figure out how to save herself.

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Thank you for a great first year as an author!

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B082ZBD86V
Publisher ‏ : ‎ QuIP; 3rd edition (February 14, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 14, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 941 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 191 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #19,677 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #44 in Alternative History
- #76 in Metaphysical Fantasy eBooks
- #86 in LGBTQ+ Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 103 ratings

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A.C. Merkel

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Embark on an epic journey with A.C. (Adria Calais) Merkel, the mastermind behind the Lady Dreamscapes series and Witch VS. Witch. Discover love, magic, music, and diversity in captivating tales! Adventure Awaits!

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

103 global ratings

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Aaron Wang

Quick, fun reading!

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2020

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This is a fun world and character driven novel. It follows one immortal being named "Murder" (great name BTW) and her protector/sidekick Levi over the course of the long history of their lives.

The construction of the story runs as a series of vignettes, which cover the different slices of an immortal being's life. The author has a lively imagination and the world encompasses a bit of everything - plots, action, humor, history, amid an overarching reach of romance between Murder and Grant.

Although immortal, the characters are grounded with their motivations. I particularly liked the concert scenes and Murder's relationships with all her rivals.

The tone throughout is light and the pages speed past.

There's going to be something for everyone in this quirky tale, including a happy and satisfying ending.

Looking for more from this author.

2 people found this helpful

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Nico Genes

3.5 stars - Interesting Urban/Historical Fantasy

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2020

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The title may make us think there’s a murder in the story, and well, it certainly is. The main character is named Murder. Her longer name is Murder LaVoe and she’s introduced to the reader as “Lady Dreamscapes”. <i>“My adopted name is Marie Lavot with an o-t. I was born in the late 1530s in France or England. I’m uncertain which; we were right on the English Channel. I can only die if the wound is violent and instantaneous. Levi is my Protector. Modeled from clay from the shores of the North Sea, and given life. He is impervious as long as we live under this curse of the Ageless.”</i>

Murder and her brother Levi are both immortal, somehow their immortality is lasting as long as the two of them stick together and stay out of trouble. Both characters are quite eccentric and all in all, well described. While they live their long life with lots of happening, this time around something is different. For the first time in 500 years, Murder may fall in love. And not only that, but he may be her soul mate. How cool is that? Will they live happily ever after or reach the end in this lifetime? This is not completely a fairy tale because the antagonist is there and things may change. However, some things seemed to be too rushed up, which translated into more of telling than showing.

There are some things that didn’t fully sit right with me but this is nevertheless a nice story with some well-developed elements. It seems to be the first part of the series, hopefully the next installment will solve some of the issues.

2 people found this helpful

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K. Thomas

Great time jumping story!

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2024

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I love modern stories that run through historical events. The book gives character background through flashbacks in time (my favorite story device). The period chapters are not overly heavy with tone (think Bridgerton — period accurate dialogue but modern view so easy to digest). The author uses 3rd person limited with alternating character POV to share plot details. There are a lot of characters but they’re introduced slow enough it’s not hard to keep up. Definitely a fun and quick read, with a unique storyline! I wish I knew more about music and pop culture. I think I missed out on a lot of brilliant Easter Eggs as a result, but enjoyed it all the same!

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AH2113

A fine book that needed an editor

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2020

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The story, revolving around an immortal named Murder, was quite intriguing! Her characterization was highly believable in this somewhat-new twist on how immortality works. Also intriguing was her sidekick and "brother," Levi, and I fully appreciate that Levi is a queer character with a great deal of charm. He and Murder balance one another out in extremely positive ways.

That being said, there were many times where the dialogue was stilted because it seemed as though the book hadn't been professionally edited. Similarly, there was missing punctuation that made it difficult to tell who was speaking at some points. Further, some of the character's (Murder's high-society friend, for instance) were incredibly one-dimensional - and for such a fantastic story, Grant seemed like a boring, safe choice for someone like Murder, and there was a bit of "instant love" there that missed the mark. His characterization may have worked well in a traditional detective story, but for something with magic and immortality? He didn't fit the bill.

Truly, with an editor and more focus on characters like Grant, this book would have been a 4-star read for me. But because it was hard to follow and lacked some depth, I must give it 3 stars. It is a great story with a great premise, but it is in need of a bit of cleaning up for clarity. I hope the second book shines just a bit brighter, because Murder is a character who stays with you.

2 people found this helpful

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HS

A brilliant gem of urban and historical fantasy

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2020

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I absolutely LOVED this book! HER NAME IS MURDER is a gem of urban and historical fantasy. A treasure chest of ingenuity, the story is filled to the brim with quick wit, endearing characters, a diverse cast, and inventive concepts. Merkel saturates his world with lavish details amidst his masterful storytelling with an excellent sense of humor that had me laughing out loud at many moments.

Equal parts, gripping, mesmerizing, and spellbinding, HER NAME IS MURDER is an engrossing, action-packed tale of love and intrigue balanced on clever prose with threads of music and aptly placed references to popular culture threaded throughout. Beautifully branded, so many little touches make this book feel like you’re stepping into another universe, wondrously realized, replete with its own literary mood and flavors and magical trademark.

More than anything, this book is enchanting. You’ll ache to join Murder, Grant, Levi, and Tress on their epic adventure and hope you never leave. You could read it a thousand times and still crave more.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

SV Filice

Fun, entertaining, and magical read!

Reviewed in Canada on June 15, 2020

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A book of pure magic! The perfect blend of history, mixed with the excitement of modern day celebrities, detectives, and the “damned”.

Murder is not only a performer, she’s a talented Ageless who wields magic and dazzles people with her mystical green eyes. She is both intimidating and the type of woman you can’t help but want to be friends with. And Merkel’s details when describing Murder’s talent for music makes me wish I could hold a better tune than Grant Noble. (Who by the way DOES say the most perfect of things).

Merkel conjures the sweetest love story in the midst of a magical threat. The protector’s fight for their freedom against more than a curse. Their choice of love and other societal pressures bond them just as tightly. Merkel hits many honest topics in conversation, making the magical world humbled and relatable. You can’t help but love the characters.

Every time I picked up this book, I was drawn into a flashback, a romantic rendezvous, or an adventure. The chapters are the perfect lengths to continue to tell yourself “okay, one more.”

Rory

Murder is great...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 15, 2020

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I don't think I've ever used the word 'romp' before, but here we are. Her Name Is Murder is an enjoyable romp through time with a cast of diverse and interesting hero's. There is an interesting mythology and a large cast of interesting characters to get behind, each with enough texture to satisfy your curiosity, but with much more for readers to get their teeth into in future books. Dialogue is fun and snappy, and the story unfolds at a good pace. Jumping back and forth in time always carries the risk of losing tension built in the story, but the scenes are brief and well done so the reader never feels disoriented. There are thrills, spills, reveals, and twists executed smoothly and leading up to a tense conclusion. The antagonist is fun, making me wish I got to spend more time around them and their diabolical plans, and the ending left me wanted more. A great story with characters I got invested in. I look forward to future books from this author.

Bozena F.

Amazing

Reviewed in Germany on June 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

Amazing, gripping and exciting story in the fantasy world.
This modern urban tale, takes you into a world of fantasy and people who live between us and are much more than just our friends or neighbors.
In the world of immortals and their protectors, there is a balanced atmosphere.
The urban life is calm and everyone follows the rules to remain undetected.
Or rather almost everyone. In every world, whether fantasy or normal, there are always troublemakers.
Magic, teleportation, shape changer and witchcraft.
All this in one story and of course middle in this craziness a love story, that is so unique like this book.
This debut novel is not what I expected. It's a modern fairytale mixed with historical events based on the memories of the immortals.
It took me a little bit to get into the story, because the locations, events and characters changed at rapid speed, but this page-turner wasn't difficult to love at all.
The characters are amazing and you just have to love them and enjoy their adventure.
I am curious about how the author's future books will develop.
There is a lot of secondary characters that I would like to read about.

Nashomega

Unique tale

Reviewed in Australia on January 31, 2023

Verified Purchase

First of all I really love the first name of the main character Murder.

Mystery love and murder is all I need to hook me to a book and this one had all of it. With fast paced plot this is the perfect read for a weekend.

BookWorm

A Charming Romance

Reviewed in Canada on February 26, 2021

Verified Purchase

A lovely book brimming with romance and magic, and some adventure thrown in to keep the reader turning the page. Grant meets Murder when there is an attempt on her life. Their connection is almost instantaneous, although Murder has secrets. Can she trust Grant with them?
The story was sweet. I enjoyed seeing their relationship blossom, and anything that includes magic is a win for me. There was a wide variety of characters from Levi (Murder’s ‘brother’) to Tress (a LGBT + character who’s story I would have loved to see more of), with their own side-stories that all intermingle in one significant way.
I did feel like some of the secondary characters could have used a bit more development to create a deeper connection with the reader, as some who died did not leave a big impact on me since I wasn’t as invested in them as I was with others. Some of their budding romances also felt a little rushed, or maybe just left me wanting more.
All in all, it was a charmingly magical read filled with love, loss, and a hopeful future.

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Her Name Is Murder (Lady Dreamscapes Book 1) Kindle Edition

“We can’t waltz forever, Grant.”

“We can damn well try.”