ARC Review: Tom Fool (The Unhappy Medium #2) by T. J. Brown

Dr Newton Barlow and the Purgatorians are back.
Now that the fight between good and evil has become routine, one-time sceptical physicist and unhappy medium, Dr Newton Barlow, is badly in need of a challenge. It arrives in the shape of a crime so cunning in its planning, so dastardly in its execution, that even the hyper-logical Dr Barlow will struggle to prevent it.
But with Barlow and his team navigating a flood of mind-curdling distractions, and an adversary that seems to know their every weakness, things are destined to get a little messy for the Purgatorians. Plus, with his girlfriend demanding a slice of the paranormal action, his old employer getting a bit too close to his personal life and his current employer using his home as a hotel, Newton’s challenges are hardly the kind he was seeking.
Missing links, an enigmatic jester and the unexpected nature of portraiture, Tom Fool is a fast and furious comedy about the perils of notoriety.

I received this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review. This doesn't affect my opinion of the book or influence the content of my review.

Tom Fool is a paranormal novel that features ghosts and other strange creations with a definite satirical point of view.

The world created for The Unhappy Medium books is set in our modern-day world. It features evil dead people, evil living people and those tasked with the thankless job of thwarting their evil plans all the while keeping the secrets of the afterlife obscured from human knowledge.

Although the evildoers and adventures change with each book, our heroes – the Purgatorians – remain the same.

• Disgraced physicist, Dr Newton Barlow
• Newton’s resourceful girlfriend, Viv
• Gabby, Newton’s ‘Goth’ daughter, Gabby,
• The enthusiastic C of E warrior vicar, the Reverend J M Bennet
• My personal favourite Neolithic kickass hero ever, the Bonetaker
• Newton’s line manager and supervisor, Mr Jameson
• And from the other side of the curtain; Dr Alex Sixsmith, Newton’s dearly departed friend,
• Deceased and ever lamenting prison warden in Purgatory, Eric the Greek
• And the officious but frustratingly anonymous Purgatorial Council.

What did I like about Tom Fool?

Goodness me, practically everything! Where do I begin…

I only discovered Tim Brown this year but I’m becoming quite the fan.

I find his writing style very easy to read. His descriptions, characters and plot development engage me from the very first page and keep me reading. I love the way that he weaves facts, stories and theories from history and science throughout his tales. Plus, I really relate to his sense of humour. Think Horrible Histories for adults or Pratchett’s Discworld irreverence. 😉

There are a lot of great characters in this book.

Some we met in the last book and some are new to this one. However, all of them have their own back-story, complexities and foibles that make them feel real (even the supernatural ones). I loved how both Viv and Gabby developed in this book and enjoyed witnessing their intelligence and strength thrown into the fray. Some of my favourite scenes featured The Bonetaker. I love his softer side and enjoy seeing him kick some well needed evil butt.

Being a ‘supernatural comedy’ I found myself smiling, chuckling and outright laughing at the cleverly penned wit.

However, the emotions didn’t stop there. The main mystery kept me intrigued, the action and fighting had my adrenaline pumped and the growth of the friendships and relationships made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. In other words, this story kept me guessing and kept me turning the pages – I was gripped.

Was there anything I disliked about Tom Fool?

Nope – hence the 5 stars!

Basically, what I’m saying is…

This is a great supernatural tale, I really enjoyed it; it was such a fun read! The characters were entertaining, the plot was interesting and I enjoyed the twists & turns. Mr Brown has created a great new world that I hope we’ll see further instalments from.

I’d recommend Tom Fool to readers who like tongue-in-cheek tales. Those who enjoy adventure stories featuring ghosts, gun-toting clergy, irritated physicists, kickass girlfriends and quick-minded, but sullen teenagers. Especially readers those love paranormal, urban fantasy or science fiction genres.

Has my review of TOM FOOL (THE UNHAPPY MEDIUM #2) sparked your interest? Click on my links to check out the book yourself. Keep reading to find out more about the Unhappy Medium world and its author.

The Unhappy Medium

These Supernatural Comedy books are set in our modern world. They feature evil dead people, evil living people and those tasked with the thankless job of thwarting their evil plans. I think these paranormal novels would happily sit in the urban fantasy, horror or science fiction genres due to the content and plotlines.

Books in the Series

Click on the titles to read my thoughts or buy a copy for yourself.

• The Unhappy Medium (2014)
• Tom Fool (The Unhappy Medium #2) (2017)

Buy THE UNHAPPY MEDIUM stories in print, ebook and audio formats from:

Amazon UK ¦ Amazon US ¦ Audible ¦ Book Depository

Or use your Kindle Unlimited UK subscription or US subscription to read for free!

About T. J. Brown

T J Brown was born in Dorset during the 1960s but was too young to realise how good the decade was meant to be. Instead, he had to make do with the 1970s, which only became interesting towards the end when many, Brown included, started wearing charity-shop clothes and swearing. Conscription into arts school was at this time mandatory and as a result Brown found himself reading German literature, creating miserable paintings and performing music that in retrospect, and at the time, was dreadful.

After three lost years at art school Brown moved to London to begin five lost years on the margins of the capital’s fashionable underbelly. After all that, a career in publishing almost came as a relief. And so, after many years producing illustrated books on astronomy and aviation, Brown returned to his love of comic writing.

He lives in Kent, dangerously close to two pubs.

Website | Blog

Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts about Tom Fool. Now go buy this uniquely, funny horror story. 😉

After reading this book, I added Tim Brown to my growing list of favourite authors. Feel free to check out which other amazing authors are on my list.

Bye for now,

Flora x