“Immediately, a burning sensation gathered and popped in his fingertips. It began in the hand and worked its way up to his arm. At the same time, Sisto could see his vision start to dim in and out and once he closed his eyes, a flicker on the back of his eyelids started to increase in frequency.” – Brian B. Ewing, Brimstone: A Story From The Reels
WHAT happens when gritty realism collides with the uncanny? When hard-boiled detective work intersects with glimpses of the future? In Brimstone: A Story From The Reels, the 3rd installment of The Reels series, Brian B. Ewing has once again seamlessly blended the grounded tension and character-driven plot of a police procedural with the eerie wonder of the contemporary urban fantasy trope of the psychic detective.
At the heart of Brimstone is Tom Sisto—a homicide detective unlike any other. He’s sharp, driven, and despite his psychic gift, deeply human. And being human means being flawed. He’s come a long way from the version of himself we met in Oracle, the first book in the series. Back then, he was still raw, uncertain, carrying the weight of grief and guilt like a second skin.
Now, in Brimstone, Sisto is more confident, more capable, and more in control of the prophetic visions known as “The Reels.” But confidence doesn’t mean clarity. He still wrestles with those quiet, crushing doubts: Am I good enough? Can I stop what’s coming? What if I fail, and someone dies?
And this time, failure could cost him everything.
Years ago, Sisto lost his brother, along with his brother’s family; this was a blow that left scars he still carries. That grief shaped him, pushed him toward isolation, and made him not want more out of life. But now? He’s built something new. He’s created his own family, carved from pain and persistence and maybe even hope: his girlfriend and soon-to-be baby mama. That makes the danger Sisto faces in Brimstone feel more intimate. More dangerous. Because this time, it’s not just about justice. It’s about protecting the people he loves from a future only he can see—and only he might be able to stop.
Again, you can’t talk about Tom Sisto without talking about his invisible partner: The Reels, a gift (or curse?) that allows him to see flashes of the future.
Ewing never writes these visions as vague hunches or metaphorical dreams. They’re raw, haunting
premonitions. They’re visceral, often violent glimpses into events that will unfold unless Sisto intervenes. It’s like Final Destination, only here, the future isn’t an unavoidable death sentence; it’s a puzzle to be solved. And with the right timing and cleverness, Tom can beat the clock. But in a crime thriller like Brimstone, absolutes rarely apply, and that’s precisely what makes the story so compelling. The “what ifs?”
Tom Sisto’s visions have become a tool for self-preservation, for both good and bad. There’s an almost subconscious belief Sisto holds that The Reels aren’t just prophetic, but protective. That buried somewhere within those fragmented visions is a self-preservation mechanism, like the body’s instinctual flinch before impact. It’s a seductive idea: that as long as the visions keep coming, as long as he listens, he’ll survive. Is it arrogance? Delusion? Or just survival logic twisted through trauma?
But the danger in that belief is clear: the more Sisto trusts The Reels to keep him alive, the more he gambles with risk, convinced that fate won’t let him fall. That faith might be his greatest strength or the blind spot that gets him killed. And with a baby on the way, this isn’t just about Sisto being a good man, a good cop anymore. It’s about him surviving to be a father.
Ewing nails this dynamic tension, delivering not only the pulse-pounding thrills of the genre but also the intimate drama of two people trying to build a life amidst trauma, dangerous work, and uncertainty. And not just our heroes and victims, but the villain(s) seeking revenge and doing so in violent, uncompromising ways. The action sequences are, as I expect from an Ewing novel, incredibly cinematic. The beginning of the story, with the shoot-out in the alley and the car chase, highlights the best of gore and exhilaration.
Where Ewing truly delivers is not just in the high-stakes action or the psychic intrigue, but in the rich, layered character development. His characters don’t just move the story, they carry it, full of contradictions, heart, and hard-won growth. Personalities feel real. Relationships are messy. The drama feels earned. It’s why The Reels series doesn’t just entertain: it sticks with you.
The result is that Brimstone hums with tension, not just from the crimes Sisto investigates or the danger he faces, but from the ever-ticking clock of fate. Each vision he receives pulls him deeper into a web of moral and emotional gray areas. Should he act on what he’s seen? What happens if he doesn’t? And how far is too far when you’re trying to rewrite the future before it happens?
The connection to Oracle and the events of Sisto’s long past are exciting, and I love a great revenge story, although I usually find myself on the side of the one seeking it. This time, the tables are turned on their head. This story is all about that constant push and pull of action and reaction, choice and consequence. Every decision, past and present, echoes forward, and in Brimstone, the weight of those choices is never abstract; it’s deeply personal, and sometimes heartbreakingly irreversible.
Ewing crafts a world where the metaphysical doesn’t overwhelm: it enriches. Saratoga City feels lived-in, raw with corruption, loss, and potential. And as Sisto walks the line between cop and conduit, hunter and prey, reader and character alike are pulled into a high-stakes dance with destiny, where every second counts, and every choice could be the one that rewrites the future or finally buries the past.
Sisto is probably at his most likeable in this installment so get ready to really root for him! Brilliant, gritty, and electrifying! It’s a must read!
