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Title: Pound of Flesh
Series: Arcane Casebook #10
Author: Dan Willis
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 312
Words: 100K
I was looking, it’s been over a year and a half since I read the last Arcane Casebook, Hidden Voices. This is why I don’t usually read a series as it is being written. But in a few select cases, I let that rule slide. The Arcane Casebook is one of those series.
In this story, Alex is dealing with the fallout from the previous book. He had become addicted to a drug that enhanced his abilities but with the usual costs of a drug. This time, he had to be cutoff from using ANY magic or else his own system might kill him. Which means that by the books end, he was forced to rely on help from others and to begin thinking on his feet again. It was a return to form from the first book where Alex was a very weak runewright. I liked it.
The multiple mysteries were entertaining too. My only issue was at the 70% mark I suddenly realized how everything tied together. It didn’t ruin the book for me, but it definitely took the edge off of the thrill. I suspect mystery readers will piece things together much faster than me.
With this entry I am now content to read the next book whenever it becomes available. I’m in no rush nor do I feel a burning desire to HAVE to have the next book. That’s a good feeling to be content.
★★★✬☆
From the Publisher
Synopsis – Click to Open
One of the first things a private detective learns is that people have secrets, and people with important secrets attract trouble.
When a young woman is brutally murdered in a back alley, the police quickly turn to Alex Lockerby to help them. Hampered by the fallout from his own secrets, Alex goes to work, only to find that the victim in this case had secrets of her own, starting with her identity.
As Alex tries to trace the origins of the mysterious murder victim, a woman comes to his office, begging Alex’s help because she believes the new house she’s purchased is haunted. When Alex investigates the house, he finds that even it holds a secret, one that someone is willing to kill to keep.
With political pressure mounting to solve the murder of the nameless woman, and the tabloids blaming the police for the lack of progress, Alex finds himself caught in a web of secrets, lies, and murder that he might not be able to escape from. Can Alex bring a violent maniac to justice while, at the same time, stopping a methodical killer determined to bury the past forever?
