Review:
I loved this book. It started out with a bang and I worried it was going to peter out, but it never did (that’s not to say it made me dizzy – I should point out that the pacing was excellent). I was wrapped the whole time through this book. Now, it hasn’t gotten perfect reviews on Goodreads, but this book was honestly perfect for me. A wonderful blend of urban fantasy, humour, action, mystery, and heart. The characters were well fleshed out and the setting was real and, at times, really surprising. The giant snake that controls the elevator was a favourite of mine 🙂
The two mysteries were interesting and multi-layered, and although I felt the murder wasn’t resolved as well as I would have liked, I can appreciate the unique direction the ending took, which leads Hank Mossberg into a precarious future where he can longer rely on certainties. The book did justice to the fairy-tale inspired setting, and I just loved the lore, I really did.
I shall definitely be reading the sequel. Recommended to anyone looking to be swept up into mystery, murder and mayhem.
Murder in the Boughs
By Jamie Sedgwick
Hank Mossberg, Private Ogre #1
Book Length: 264Â pages
Crime Urban Fantasy.
According to the Blurb:
Detective noir fiction and Grimm’s Fairy Tales collide in the “Hank Mossberg, Private Ogre” detective series. The series takes place in the gritty streets of San Francisco and in the undercity, the massive underground cavern where thousands of fae creatures secretly make their homes. Here, nymphs walk darkened streets, imps are slave traders, and gnomes are elite hackers.
In “Murder in the Boughs,” Hank Mossberg is a hard-boiled San Francisco detective who must race against time to rescue a kidnapped girl, expose a ring of “pixie dust” dealers, and find the killer of a high-elven San Francisco kingpin. Hank is also the last living ogre in the world.
Hank’s troubles begin when he stumbles onto a briefcase full of the illicit drug known as pixie dust. He finally has the evidence he needs to bring down the notorious Kaisers, an elven crime family, but then the gang’s leader is murdered and the pixie dust disappears. Hank is hot on the trail of the killer when he gets an urgent call from a desperate woman whose daughter has been abducted… only the kidnapper is no ordinary criminal, and even Hank’s unique skills might not be enough to bring the girl home. Hank juggles both cases while navigating the complexities of fae-world politics and real life relationships, none of which ever seem to come easy.
Versus Blurb 