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  • A Plain-Dealing Villain

  • Daniel Faust Volume 4
  • By: Craig Schaefer
  • Narrated by: Adam Verner
  • Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (27 ratings)

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A Plain-Dealing Villain

By: Craig Schaefer
Narrated by: Adam Verner
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Summary

It's hard to make a dishonest buck in Sin City, especially when a rogue FBI agent is gunning for your head. Flat broke and one step ahead of the law, Daniel Faust flees Vegas and lands in Chicago, where a risky heist promises to fill his pockets with cash.

There are the risks you can account for, and then there are the risks you never see coming, the ones that leave you blindsided and fighting to survive. Daniel is a stranger in a strange land, out of his element and surrounded by corrupt sorcerers, demons, and worse. Still, with a friend's soul hanging in the balance - not to mention a pile of stolen cash - giving up isn't an option.

Before he's done, Daniel will descend into the depths of Chicago's occult netherworld, competing in an underground poker tournament where the winner takes all...and with the infernal Court of Night-Blooming Flowers running the show, "winner takes all" has an entirely new meaning. The Flowers haven't forgotten Daniel's past insults, and if they get their way, he'll never leave the Windy City alive.

©2015 Demimonde Books (P)2015 Demimonde Books

What listeners say about A Plain-Dealing Villain

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I love this series!

The Daniel Faust series has fast become my favourite UF series of the lot. This fourth book was just as much fun as the previous three instalments of the series. I love the mix of humor and dark happenings.

With Harmony Black in Vegas and breathing down Daniel's neck it is proving impossible for him to pull any of his usual cons and tricks. As a result he jumps at the chance to take an out of town heist. The job sounds simple, steal a knife from a collector. Of course, the theft proves far more complicated as the current owner of the knife turns out to be a powerful necromancer. It also does not help that Chicago is the territory of the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers, and they are not Daniels biggest fans!

The story was a ton of fun. Daniel had to use his wits to outfox both the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers agents in a high stakes poker game and Damien Echo, the necromancer who was in possession of the knife. Lucky for us Daniel is smart enough to realize he needed plenty of help so despite the change of setting we still got to enjoy the banter between Daniel and all of our favourite secondary characters.

A few interesting subplots that ran through the main story, as well as the shock ending, have me bursting with eagerness to get to the next book in the series!

Adam Verner has a few flaws, but is mostly a perfect fit for Daniel and this series. He just gets the tone and the humor.

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  • Midwestbonsai
  • 04-01-16

Could. Not. Put. Down.!

I started this and then had to put it aside. Not by choice! Once I got back into it, it maybe took a day to finish. Could. Not. Put. Down.!

Interestingly, this feels more like a book that was divided in two. Unlike his previous three, Craig Schaefer ends this on a major cliff hanger. His others mostly come to an end with everything answered. Although Faust has been in trouble since day one and it tends to follow him around, this one was very different. The ending had me immediately picking up the fifth in the series. Thank goodness I am not reading these when they were published because I had a moment of anger, frustration, and denial, and then I started reading book five.

This did have all of the other aspects of Daniel Faust. All the old characters are in this and causing just as much havoc as before. The problem is, and maybe my lines are blurring a little here, I don't think of Faust as a bad guy. People tell him that they could not just murder the way he does, but he doesn't. He does if someone is an (insert expletives here) but only if they deserve it. This part of Faust's identity has really given me a lot to think about. I always come out with the same conclusion, though, I just love him!

Like the others this has a bit of a twisty plot. It starts out linear and then next thing you know there are fifteen different ways the plot can go. And once again Adam Verner is up to the task of narrating through the different ways of that plot. He has the perfect voice for Faust but I am always amazed at his accents. Caitlyn's is still my favorite but by book four I can easily discern every single character. As for the other books in the series as well, the audio is amazing. Never does it skip a beat. I was able to fully feel brought into the story and forget that I actually have a life outside of Faust's crazy world!

Be ready, at the end of this, to have book five immediately accessible. You will not regret it!

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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10 people found this helpful

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  • A. Lund
  • 25-07-15

Best book in the series so far.

This is a great addition to the series. A whole new story line is introduced at the very end, I can't wait for more books.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 10-09-17

Disappointing.

Why Daniel Faust remains a interesting character, the struggling anti hero, some of this plot has me questioning the continuation of this story. Many of the situations in this books that cause Faust anguish, have simple solutions that the author even writes out yet Faust (the same man that supposedly is the best thief in Las Vegas) seems to pick the one of course leads him into disaster. The formula has also become a bit blatant and repetitive, Faust needs money, weird thing happens, Faust struggles, conquers the issue through the help of friendship, and then all is well but wait theres more! And we return to step 1. Which made me skip through chapters, since it is so blatant what is going to happen.

That combined with the fact that this is the only audiobook that does not have whisperesync so you are forced to pay full or use a credit on it makes this a audiobook I would not recommend.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Sailfish
  • 22-12-16

Entertaining, if a bit repetitive

While the story played out similarly to the previous novels, it was still written well and very entertaining to listen to, much credit given to both the author and the narrator.

1 person found this helpful

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  • HaloLove
  • 07-10-15

He just breaths trouble!

Any additional comments?

Daniel, Daniel Daniel! He knows d@mn well when he should walk away because every time he doesn't, someone he trusts is killed. He should have been named Daniel Be Trouble, honestly.

Loads of action, still gets his butt kicked but that car incident with the cards in Chicago was awesome! More magic like that with that type of outcome would be cool. I'm honestly sick of him getting his butt kicked all the time.

Pretty decent listened, great entertainment and the betrayals make the story more interesting!

By the way, Frankie is the chic any woman should want and strive to have as a best friend! I couldn't get enough of her. When she went off on that blonde succumbus chic, it was a classic Mean Girls moment. I loved it!

1 person found this helpful

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  • Phx17
  • 03-04-23

Excellent long-con standalone, even better UF arc

The series hit my Goldilocks zone with this book. Finally, all the elements of urban fantasy come together with the right ratio. Gritty urban fantasy, unique world building, action, intrigue, and snark. The first book was lighter on Faust’s magic, thief, and grifter skills, with each successive book slowly showcasing them to a greater degree; this book brings all his skills out to play. Prior books were a bit choppy with the baddie’s screen time, giving mere scraps and then plopping them down at the climax. But here, we get multiple baddies chewing the scenery throughout the book: Echo, Royce, Nadine … so many great villains to hate. Also, this is the first book where I felt the emotional punch of lost characters. That’s either because the writing is better or because I’ve reached saturation level and am now invested in the series.

The standalone heist gone wrong story was excellent, with each misstep upping the stakes and delivering a nail-biting thriller. But, I also loved how a new series arc is woven in, with a cliffhanger ending that ensures I’ll move onto the next book.

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  • Ms. January926
  • 28-08-20

Great series!!

Great series, on to the next book. Warlocks, Demons, and Black Magic, what more could you ask for!!

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  • Montzalee Wittmann
  • 23-03-19

Another great addition!

A Plain-Dealing Villain
Daniel Faust Volume 4
By: Craig Schaefer
Narrated by: Adam Verner
This has demon action, magic gone bad, worse deals, evil sorcery, and plenty of action! Danger and suspense is constant in this book! Very intense!
Narration perfection!

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  • Eli Stone
  • 08-06-17

JESUS GOD THAT ENDING!

I could go on and on about the rest of the book, but the other books so far didn't end on this massive of a cliffhanger. Shit...now I GOTTA know what happens next.

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  • Dillon Francis
  • 17-03-17

does it again

Craig Schafer just seems to know how to do this as easy as breathing. always fun, and a good thrill.