Monday, April 8, 2019

Reader's Review: "Red Hot Steele" by Alex P. Berg


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 Jill Andersen Series--J. D. Cunegan
       -Bounty 
       -Blood Ties 
       -Behind the Badge 
The Therian Way--Kimberly Rogers
       -Leopard's Heart 
       -Wolf's Path 
       -Tiger's Shadow 
The Firebird Fairy Tales--Amy Kuivalainen
       -The Cry of the Firebird 
       -Ashes of the Firebird
The Books of Winter--R. R. Virdi
       -Dangerous Ways 
The Runespells Series--Sarah Buhrman
       -Too Wyrd
The Grave Reports--R. R. Virdi
        -Grave Beginnings 
        -Grave Measures 
        -Grave Dealings 
Alexi Sokolsky: Hound of Eden--James Osiris Baldwin
        -Burn Artist 
        -Blood Hound 
The LouisiAngel Series--C. L. Coffey
        -Angel in Training 
        -Angel Eclipsed 


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