stacialithub's review against another edition
3.0
1930s detective noir, the Chicago Mob, & Fae, along with plenty of other supernatural creatures. Fast-paced thriller that marks a great new entry into the urban fantasy category. If you are looking for a Sam Spade/Philip Marlowe/Mike Hammer hard-boiled PI with the mystical powers of belonging to the Fae, this is a book not to miss.
mrsdarcylynn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.0
This book was a slow, moody noir filled with magic. I loved the authors commitment to 30s slang and Chicago gangster tropes. I felt like the magical world was a little bit of a let down, but found the use of luck in magic to be interesting. I enjoyed reading the book, but didn’t come back for more/love the book/think about it when I wasn’t reading it. I probably won’t continue with the series- once was enough of a taste to enjoy what the author was going for :)
jumbleread's review against another edition
3.0
Darn, as a Dresden Files fan, I wanted this book to be enjoyable. Somehow, I couldn’t get into the story and characters. Darn.
kkaste's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cj_jones's review against another edition
3.0
The first chapter nearly Mickey Spillane'd me into putting the book down with its excessive over the top genre narration, but things quieted down and it turned into an enjoyable urban fiction detective novel. (If you don't mind your protagonist telling you at every opportunity how much better he is than you.) Mama Gangster was an impressive character, and both our damsels in distress showed a lot of grit.
keary's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent urban fantasy book. Well worth a read. I am looking forward to the next one. Is there any higher praise?
kristenwestfall's review against another edition
DNF, but that might just be the mood I am in. May try again.
tarabyt3's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable read with a few twists. Sometimes it was a bit heavy-handed with the slang and over-explained things, but it kept me turning the pages.
jmeston's review against another edition
I'm going to stop trying to finish this one. I just don't like Mick Oberon much although the mashup is inspired and the title still makes me chuckle.
krisrid's review against another edition
2.0
I think it's time to just accept that the "noir" type of story is not my thing. I gave this a chance and hoped for the best but it just did not work for me and I didn't finish it.
There is nothing wrong with this book, or the 70 pages I got through, anyway, but the "feel" of it was just not connecting with me.
Part of the issue is the unique language and verbal structure of the time. As a person who writes for a living, I freely admit to being a grammar nerd, and it bugs me when people - yes, even fiction people - don't speak proper English. That isn't really a fair criticism, I realize, since the 1930s had its own verbal style, and the characters were appropriate to that time in how they talked. So yes, this was a case of "it's not you; it's me" but it still irked me and I wasn't enjoying the writing as a result.
Also, very little had happened by page 70 when I stopped, and I was just not engaged or drawn into the story.
Just not a fit. Moving on to the next book on my massive TBR.
There is nothing wrong with this book, or the 70 pages I got through, anyway, but the "feel" of it was just not connecting with me.
Part of the issue is the unique language and verbal structure of the time. As a person who writes for a living, I freely admit to being a grammar nerd, and it bugs me when people - yes, even fiction people - don't speak proper English. That isn't really a fair criticism, I realize, since the 1930s had its own verbal style, and the characters were appropriate to that time in how they talked. So yes, this was a case of "it's not you; it's me" but it still irked me and I wasn't enjoying the writing as a result.
Also, very little had happened by page 70 when I stopped, and I was just not engaged or drawn into the story.
Just not a fit. Moving on to the next book on my massive TBR.