Four Horsemen (How to be Dead Book 4) by Dave Turner

In Dave Turner’s novel Four Horsemen (How to be Dead Book 4), it is 1874, and War, Famine, Conquest, and Death are summoned to locate a young boy from a wealthy family. The youngster and his father, who has been deceased for three years, are seen leaving the boy’s home.

Death is currently going about his daily business when he comes across a young child named Elizabeth who can see him as he picks up and brings home her aunt. Is it possible for the Horseman to learn what happened to the boy and the other kids who vanished, and what they intend to do about Elizabeth?

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Holistic Detective Agency is a fitting title for this book. Conquest and Famine are asked to help identify the son of a dear, deceased friend whose family Disraeli promised to look after on his deathbed (Death has a day job, and War has been sent home after an unpleasant incident with the PM’s cat Mrs. Fluffykins).

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Because we witness this evil creature employ less-than-skillful means to seduce the kids by taking on a guise that it believes will make them feel at ease, the reader has a general idea of what is going on (hence the dead father). Elizabeth is living a very Dickensian kind of existence begging on the streets in the seedier part of London. She won’t hesitate to pick a few pockets if begging doesn’t yield the funds she needs to support herself and her aunt.

She may be young, but she’s a realist who knows that everyone passes away (after all, she lost both of her parents and her younger brother, and she lives in a part of London where surviving is a skill), and that she must make herself useful to her new friends in order to give them a reason to keep her. The only long-term strategy Elizabeth has is to stay alive.

The villain of the story is brilliant in a Doctor-Who kind of way. Turner teases the reader with information. Similar to The Testimony in Twice Upon a Time, but with considerably more evil purpose, the opponent can assume any form you wish. When we encounter a man who has been deceived by the evil force, we quickly discover that the ability can be both a blessing and a curse.

The opponent is aware of the Four Horsemen and would wish to conceal any intel from them, that much is certain. Seriously, this character’s writing is so very excellent and tantalising. From the start, there’s a sense that it will be the best of baddies because though it could force, it prefers to cajole, but that doesn’t always work out.

It’s delightful that Turner would develop these people in the setting he does. They are entertaining and delightfully human—but not quite human. They are shown in the story performing authentically as their characters during a dinner party. War is being coy, Famine, who never stops eating, combines pineapple and cheese for the first time, and Conquest gets called out by a husband who is envious.

Death, of course, is the lone freak who prefers to carry out his duties without being observed. If the first book in the series might be referred to as its unifying element. Death is still very much a character who does his own thing in How to Be Dead, which is such a change from Four Horsemen. He is job-oriented with a heart and a difficulty coping with the unexpected. We get a definite view of how the world sees them but walking with them gives us depth to make them wholly unique, wonderfully original and just a treat to read.

Turner is an excellent writer with a high level of polish. Transitions go smoothly, and comedy is used to balance emotion. Download the sample and read about Mr. Warfield (War) and Elizabeth’s expedition to get a Christmas tree if you read nothing else. Before the trip, he had never been a fan of small people, but his buddy completely won him over, and you will too. The reader is further immersed in Turner’s reality thanks to the informational snippets that he uses to creatively develop his environment.

Pick up Four Horsemen right away if you enjoy humour and quality writing, especially if you enjoy authors like Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and Jasper Fforde. You haven’t read anything like this, I can guarantee you, albeit it is written in the distinct style and humour of the aforementioned authors. If you like a good mystery but aren’t into all that supernatural stuff, pick it up. You will thank me.

About The Book

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are looking forward to a traditional Christmas with plenty of food, alcohol and the odd duel. But then Death meets Elizabeth, a young girl with unusual gifts, who needs their protection.

When other children start going missing throughout London and the Prime Minister himself asks for their help, they have to put down the brandy and mince pies to solve the mystery while – as usual – saving the world from an unspeakable horror.

Four Horsemen is the fourth part in a series of best-selling funny urban fantasy novellas that tells the story of Death and his friends protecting humanity from ghosts, zombies, vampires and medium-sized apocalypses.