Review: Murder in the Boughs by Jamie Sedgewick

Title: Murder in the Boughs Book 1 An Ogre Story
Author: Jamie Sedgewick
Publisher: Timber Hill Press(Nov. 2011)
Available Formats: paperback and ebook


Description from Amazon:
Mike Hammer meets Grimm's Fairy Tales in a world where nymphs walk darkened streets, imps are slave traders, and gnomes are elite hackers. In Jamie Sedgwick's new mystery, 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’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 Kaiser gang. 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.






My Feelings:

I liked Murder in the Boughs by Jamie Sedgewick.  I loved the fact that our protagonist(Hank) is an Ogre.  An Ogre?!  How cool is that?  Hank is funny, brooding, and smart.  He doesn't trust magic even though it is all around him.  To make things even more interesting and a little sad, Hank is the last of his kind.  He is the law of the supernatural world called the Steward.  One touch from Hank and he zaps all the magical energy from the paranormal being and it's nap time.  

There is a few different themes running through the story: comedy, mystery, and of course fantasy.  It definitely takes a typical fantasy story and twists it to an urban setting, which is actually  funny.  We have gangster elves, goblin drug dealers, and a very cool deputy dwarf who really can hold his liquor.

I think if you like to laugh with a little bit of a mystery then go ahead and grab this story for a light read.  It's like the Grimm Fairy Tales meets CSI and makes for a interesting twist.  I gave the story 3 hearts.

*I received this book from bookplex