Quick Take
- Narration: Greg Boudreaux brings warmth and comic timing to Matt Steinitz’s first-person voice – self-deprecating and likable without tipping into schtick.
- Themes: Humans navigating supernatural worlds, romantic tension versus professional obligation, found-family dynamics
- Mood: Playful and light, cozy-adjacent with a mystery skeleton underneath
- Verdict: A genuinely fun listen for fans of the Mythmatched universe, though newcomers may find the spinoff references disorienting at first.
I picked this one up on a Friday afternoon when I wanted something that would not demand too much of me but would still be clever enough to keep my attention. Five Dead Herrings delivered exactly that. It is the kind of audiobook that feels like a long lunch with a funny friend who happens to be living a much more chaotic life than you – paranormal investigators, selkies, a human protagonist who has absolutely no business working at a supernatural detective agency, and a mystery involving dead fish delivered to a client’s boat.
This is the first installment of the Quest Investigations series, a spinoff set within E.J. Russell’s Mythmatched universe. That context matters, and I will get to it honestly. But first: the premise. Matt Steinitz, self-described as the only human on the Quest Investigations roster, is handed what his bosses clearly believe is a foolproof solo assignment. A selkie named Lachlan has been receiving unwanted deliveries of deceased sea life from what appears to be a troublesome almost-ex-husband. Matt needs to document, cease-and-desist, collect damages. Simple. Except, of course, nothing is.
Our Take on Five Dead Herrings
What works here is tone. Russell has a very specific register – warm, a little absurd, fundamentally good-natured – and this book maintains it consistently across its five-and-a-half hours. The humor is not the frantic, look-how-quirky-this-is variety that can make paranormal comedies exhausting. It is quieter than that. Matt is funny because he is self-aware, not because the narrative is constantly lobbing jokes at his expense. His attraction to Lachlan is handled well – present and real, but not the engine of the plot. The synopsis is honest that this is not a romance, even though there is a romantic subplot, and that transparency is refreshing. You know what kind of story you are walking into.
The mystery itself is appropriately twisty without becoming genuinely complicated. This is cozy-adjacent territory – no graphic violence, no on-page sex – which suits the premise. The resolution is satisfying in a way that does not require you to have tracked every clue carefully, which, frankly, is what I want from audiobook mysteries. I am not taking notes. I want to feel clever at the end, not confused.
Why Listen to Five Dead Herrings
Greg Boudreaux is well cast. He finds Matt’s voice with ease – the slightly exasperated self-awareness of a person who is underestimated professionally and knows it – and differentiates the supernatural characters without leaning into caricature. This is the kind of multi-character narration that stays controlled: everyone sounds distinct enough to track without the performance feeling like it is auditioning for an animated series. For a light mystery with a clear central relationship, that consistency of tone through the narrator is the difference between an audiobook you finish and one you abandon at chapter four.
What to Watch For in Five Dead Herrings
The spinoff problem is real. Multiple reviewers have flagged it, and they are right to. If you have not read anything else in the Mythmatched universe, you will encounter a lot of names and references to prior events that will feel like arriving mid-conversation. The book can be followed as a standalone – the mystery case itself is self-contained – but the texture of the world is built on accumulated context that first-time readers simply do not have. One reviewer described feeling “lost with all the references to people and happenings that were unfamiliar,” and that is a fair warning. The spinoff structure may reward fans of the earlier series more than it serves newcomers.
Who Should Listen to Five Dead Herrings
Listeners who have already spent time in the Mythmatched universe will find this a genuine treat – the opportunity to follow Matt Steinitz into his own story is handled with care, and the callbacks to familiar characters land warmly. Readers new to E.J. Russell’s work can still enjoy it, but should calibrate expectations: you are walking into an established world through a side door, and some of the furniture will be unfamiliar. If you like cozy paranormal mysteries with M/M romantic subplots, a competent and funny human protagonist, and a narrator who sounds like he is actually enjoying himself, this works well. If you need a complete standalone that explains its own world fully, this is not quite that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to have read the Mythmatched series before starting Five Dead Herrings?
Not strictly required, but it helps significantly. The mystery case is self-contained, but the world and its recurring characters will feel more lived-in and satisfying if you have read the Fae Out of Water, Supernatural Selection, or Mythmatched series first. Multiple reviewers recommend that reading order.
Is there a strong romantic storyline, or is this primarily a mystery?
Primarily a mystery, with a romantic subplot rather than a romance. The attraction between Matt and Lachlan is present and developed, but there is no on-page sex and the mystery case drives the plot. The series description suggests the romantic elements deepen across later installments.
How does Greg Boudreaux handle the supernatural characters in the narration?
Well. He differentiates the characters clearly without pushing into exaggerated voices, and keeps Matt’s first-person narration consistently warm and lightly self-deprecating throughout. It is a controlled, reliable performance suited to the cozy-adjacent tone of the material.
Is this appropriate for listeners who prefer audiobooks without explicit content?
Yes. The book explicitly contains no on-page sex or violence, which the synopsis notes directly. It sits comfortably in cozy mystery territory – adult situations and themes are present, but handled off the page.
