C.E. Murphy
Heart of Stone (2007)
I inadvertently picked up the second book in this series, so being me, I had to go back and find the first book in the series, and by then I’d gotten sucked into the Repairman Jack series and the Commissario Guido Brunetti mysteries, and pretty much forgot about this series. But after taking a break from those two series I found this and decided it was time to check it out.
Margrit Knight is a lawyer for Legal Aid, her on-again off-again boyfriend is a cop, and when she speaks to a man wanted for murder, her life gets very complicated, very quickly.
I liked Margrit a lot. She does stupid things, but her heart is in the right place, which is how a rich girl ends up working at Legal Aid I suppose. I also like he she recognizes that she can’t necessarily reconcile the contradictions in her life–especially how race affects her job and her personal life.
I also really liked how the supernatural element was done in these books. I won’t say more, because I really don’t want to give away any part of the series. I’ll simply say things didn’t go the way I expected, and that was a nice change. (Don’t read the back! It gives too much away! I didn’t read the back until after I read the book and I’m glad!)
Although there is kissing and there are threats of boinking, no boinking actually occurs, which was another nice change of pace for a supernatural fantasy. Though there is a fair amount of yearning.
The mystery surrounding the murders and the character she meets through the course of the book was also good, although there wasn’t much of a chance of being able to guess “whodunnit”. But that’s fine with me.
So Heart of Stone is an interesting supernatural fantasy. I enjoyed the main character, although I think she could have had one or two more weaknesses, and been less enamored of Alban, but all in all I enjoyed the book, and recommend it without reservations.
Rating: 7/10
House of Cards (2008)
Book two in the Negotiator series, House of Cards, continues the story of Margrit Knight, who has stumbled upon the existence of the Old Races: gargoyles, djinn, dragons, selkie, and vampires remain hidden in the world, although their numbers are diminished.
I enjoyed this book as much as I did Heart of Stone. It had it strengths and weaknesses, but for the most part was a fun read.
The strengths continued to be the variety of characters, and their complex histories and backgrounds. The major weakness was that Margrit was the only major female character in the story, and at one point all the male characters seemed to be swooning over her. Although they weren’t precisely swooning, I was a little annoyed by her being to only female surrounded by males.
Also? This bugged me:
“I thought you said the gargoyles were the only Old Races to have ever been enslaved.” Her voice came from a far distance, as if disbelief or weariness had made an unbreachable wall around her.
“I didn’t know. Alban slipped his arms around her, offering strength and support. Margrit groaned and urned against him, feeling distance melt away into comfort. “Perhaps it’s somewhere in the memories, buried in mountain roots. I’ve never studied the djinn that closely.”
Oh please! Folklore is full of stories of djinn–and even selkie–being enslaved or taken captive by humans. Especially djinn. Those two paragraphs struck me as so unbelievably false I was thrown completely out of the story and had to fume for several minutes.
But otherwise the story was solid and a nice fast read. There was boinking, which I wasn’t thrilled about. But at least things were clear with Margrit and who she was interested in and why. And I have to admit that although she is surrounded by men, it is clear who she is interested it, and although Janx flirts with her, he clearly isn’t interested in her. So it’s not like everyone is swooning over her. It just would have been nice to have other women to play off Margrit. (Yes, she did spent some time with her roomates and her mother. But it wasn’t the same.)
So, fun. Nothing great, but I’ll be reading the next book.
Rating: 7/10
Hands of Flame (2008)
The third and (for now) final story in the Negotiator story arc finds Margrit dealing with a conflict between the Old Races that is turning into an out-and-out war.
A war that Margrit inadvertently started.
Although I was quickly sucked into the story, and tore through the book to find out what happened, my opinion about the book is conflicted.
On the positive side, the pace is fast and I was drawn right into the story, reading it in two days, despite the need to go to work. I also liked the resolution of the story arc. Sure there are more stories that could be written, but there is a nice sense of resolution here.
On the down side, I still don’t get what Margrit sees in Alban. I know she thinks he’s wonderful, but I found Janx far more interesting. And twice in the story I know precisely where things were going, which made getting there a lot less interesting. It’s hard to build up suspense if it’s pretty obvious what is going to happen, and that was probably the books biggest failing.
SPOILER
(rot13)
Vs lbh jnag zr gb oryvrir gung n punenpgre vf qrnq, svefg naq sberzbfg, qba’g gryy gur qrngu sebz svefg crefba cbvag bs ivrj. Gung’f n qrnq tvirnjnl (cneqba gur cha). Frpbaqyl, V’z abg tbvat gb oryvrir gur znva punenpgre va n fgbel vf qrnq vs V fgvyy unir n dhnegre bs gur obbx yrsg gb ernq.
Fb abg bayl qvq V xabj fur jnfa’g qrnq orpnhfr bs gur svefg crefba aneengvir, gurer jnfa’g nabgure punenpgre fgebat rabhtu gb pneel gur erznvaqre bs gur obbx. Fb V zbfgyl whfg jnagrq ure gb trg ba jvgu ure qenzngvp qrngu naq trg uheel hc naq pbzr onpx gb yvsr fb jr pbhyq TRG BA jvgu gur erfg bs gur fgbel.
END SPOILER
So I was pleased with the resolution of the story arc, and I enjoyed spending time with most of the characters, but some parts of the story drug on a little. And I still just don’t get what she sees in Alban. If you haven’t read the first book, don’t pick up this one. Start in the first book in the series and read through in order. Although in theory the books could stand alone, I don’t think they’d do so very well.
Rating: 7/10
Negotiator: Heart of Stone (2007), House of Cards (2008), Hands of Flame (2008)
Anthologies: Running with the Pack (2010) edited by Ekaterina Sedia
