Once, while half-human Cal Leandros and his brother Niko were working on a case, an ancient gypsy queen gave them a good old-fashioned backstabbing. Now, just as their P.I. business hits a slow patch, the old crone shows up with a job.She wants them to find a stolen coffin that contains a blight that makes the Black Death seem like a fond memory. But the thief has already left town, so the Leandros brothers are going on the road. And if they're very, very lucky, there might even be a return trip...
I know that at this point this series can't really be qualified as a 'break out hit' of 2009, but in my opinion Rob Thurman has created one of the most unique and vibrant urban fantasy worlds that I've ever read. Her (yes, her) books are just incredibly well written. Cal and Niko are two men who are trying to cope with the hardest of circumstances, Cal with his Auphe heritage and Niko with his desire to protect his brother. Nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and even when Cal is having a good day, it turns out that those feelings herald a much darker problem. I don't want to go too much in the story of this specific book, I feel like that would do a disservice to the series as a whole, but I do want to say that that poignancy in this book is very touching. Thurman seems to have an amazing grasp of the unbreakable connection of families - what they'd do for each other and in spite of each other. Again the easy answer isn't here; instead Thurman shows the depths of what people are capable of in the face of evil that comes from within and without.
Overall Feeling - Thumbs up. It's another fantastic addition to an almost unparalleled series.
Series - 1) Nightlife 2) Moonshine 3) Madhouse 4) Deathwish 5) Roadkill
