Synopsis from Amazon:
Detective Jake Daggers likes his murder investigations the way he likes his women--straightforward, easy, and with a killer body.
So when his older-than-dust partner throws his back out on a goblin raid, his captain assigns him a new running mate--a sexy young half-elf by the name of Shay Steele.
It seems like a match made in Daggers' imagination, but Steele's no pushover. She's a powerful forensic psychic, and she's got sass oozing out of her boots.
In a debut case teeming with fire mages, foundries, and a dead guy who's crispier than bacon, it's pretty clear Daggers isn't the only one getting a heaping helping of RED HOT STEELE.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My Review:
This was a book that I picked up during
an event--I figured "Gruff, noir detective meets urban fantasy?
Sign me up!" I had already read so many wonderful contemporary
urban fantasies along that vein: from the paranormal investigator whointeracts with Fae and other mythological cryptids living among us,
to elves and shapeshifters living in a modern setting, to even a
dark, gritty hitman treading the seedy underbelly of your average
metropolis. All were excellent callbacks to the lore and traditions
of the genre, and peppered throughout with likable, engaging
characters.
I dove in eagerly, expecting to see a
new side of what is fast becoming my favorite genre. The story began
as a campy stream of stereotypes and generic fantasy isms--and stayed
squarely in that vein clear to the end. Detective Daggers is grumpy,
sarcastic, and subscribes to ALL the masculine tropes--low view of
intelligence and competence in women, while continuously willing to
objectify them and zone in on the exaggeratedly attractive features
of their physical appearance; tacit acceptance of all the cliched
personality traits of those around him (the fairy who works in the
morgue, or the glasses-wearing, stuttering "nerd" who works
in accounting, for example) and a willingness to exploit said
personality traits to suit his purposes. Not even his treatment of
Detective Steele--the foil to his "rock hard"
exterior--could elicit sympathy for her, because her own personality
checked all the cliche boxes: Girl With Something To Prove; Girl Who
Insists Heeled Boots Are Comfortable; Girl Who Wears Tight Pants And
Blouses Just So She Can Roll Her Eyes At The Males Who Ogle Her; New
Girl Who Observes More Than Seasoned Officer; Girl Who Has To Fight
For Compliments, Then Questions Them Immediately Afterward; Girl Who
Finds Emotions In People That The Grumpy Partner Misses.... and so
the list goes on.
Don't get me wrong. It's a "beach
read" for sure--something light, quick, and just barely
predictable. The mystery was
built up plenty, with all the clues laid out in a strategic
fashion--if a bit contrived in places. My only problem was the whole
"Dauntless Damsel Versus Rakish Rogue" that kept getting in
the way! The characters I did end
up enjoying the most? The secondary ones--namely, Rodgers and Quinto,
the two cops that Daggers most often foisted his work on, or bribed
into doing a lot of the heavy lifting and the legwork. Their
characters felt the most relatable and distinct, among the tropes and
cliches. They weren't dependent on affirmation from anyone else, and
they were definitely portrayed as far more competent at their jobs
than Daggers. (hence the reason he relied on them so much!) Their
good natures made them an invaluable addition to the investigation,
and I would continue the series just to continue encountering them
more along the way! And also because I have every belief that the two
titular characters cannot possibly continue
for an entire series without growing and expanding, themselves, as
the author got to know them better!
When
all is said and done, Red Hot Steele works
well as a "first impressions" book. We are introduced to
enough of the characters to know which ones we like, and which ones
we aren't so much a fan of, in spite of what the narrative might lead
us to believe.
I give the book a decent ****4 STARS**** for the great
world-building, the inventive mystery, and for the really interesting
characters, who work together to make the annoying characters a
little more palatable! If you're looking for a binge-able series to
stave off boredom, and you'd like a little change of pace from the
average "fluffy office romance", you don't mind a peppering of "casual" sexism, but you're not quite down
for the real hardcore,
twisted, diabolical stuff--Give Daggers and Steele a try!
Further Reading: (Paranormal Investigation/Urban Fantasy/Strong Characters/Thrilling)
The Books of Winter--R. R. Virdi
-Dangerous Ways
-Dangerous Ways
The Runespells Series--Sarah Buhrman
-Too Wyrd
-Too Wyrd
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