Earlier this year I reviewed the promising debut of Luke Arnold, The Last Smile in Sunder City. I liked it a lot – a world of Goblins, Elves and Fairies, but one where the Magic had gone away. Fetch Phillips was the reason that happened, and he was now living life as a rather seedy “Man for Hire” in a rather grubby city.
In this second novel of the series, things change up a gear. As the title suggests, Fetch finds himself a few months on from the events of The Last Smile still trying to make his way in life. Whilst working for Warren the Gnome in poorly-paid hustles, the police then ask for his cooperation in closing a murder case in the Bluebird Lounge. Why Fetch? Because it looks like Magic has been used to kill the victim. And Fetch, as the only Human member of the elite Opus, and the man who caused the Magic to go away, is an expert on such matters. There is no Magic left to use.
At the same time, in true Maltese Falcon style, Carissa Steeme, a High Race Elf, turns up at Fetch’s offices with a job, as it seems that her husband Harold, after being married for a hundred years or so, has disappeared. This coincides with a visit to Ms. Streem’s house by a gangster, after Harold and the repayment of gambling debts – though the wife claims he wasn’t a gambler. She wants Harold found – whatever has happened to him.
So, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to find that what starts as seemingly dissimilar cases end up connected, and the revelations along the way mean that Fetch finds himself both involved and even blamed for some of the events that follow. There are events that change Fetch and his world forever in this book.
This is a story that expands on the world of Sunder City. We see more of the dark taverns, the grim streets and the gambling dens, the locations where the consequences of being without Magic have a debilitating effect. Fetch introduces us to new characters and he meets some old ones. The fractious relationship between Fetch and the Sunder City Police Department may not be quite as testy as it seems, although Detective Simms even out-grumps Fetch.
As a genre we often love an underdog, especially when we know that there’s more to them than at first meets the eye. On the winning side here is the level of snark that Luke manages to give Fetch. But at the same time, we are aware that Fetch is also suffering, a victim of what has gone before. Whilst there are some much-needed reunions, other meetings are less pleasant. And Fetch realises that his past may not be all that he remembers it to be. Luke manages to fill in more of the background in this book, the telling of which helps us work out who Fetch is and why he is in this state. The tone is never especially happy, but the reasons for things being this way help the reader understand why. The clever thing is that the characterisation is not too deep, yet more than the usual basic outline.
By the end there is even a glimmer of hope that things might just be changing for the better, although Sunder City being the place it is, it may not last for long. It is possible that at least some of the events of the past may not be as irreparable as we once thought, whilst some are changed forever.
When I reviewed The Last Smile in Sunder City, I said that it was “clearly a debut novel, but one with an intriguing set-up, and once it got going became an engrossing and entertaining read that kept my attention happily whilst reading. There’s scope for more novels here… Now that the premise has been set up, I suspect things will now get very interesting.”
I’m very pleased to type that that is true. I enjoyed Dead Man more than the first novel, as the characters deepen, the situations become more varied and the author settles into the telling of the tale rather than having to do too much world-building. I would still read Last Smile first (although this book does stand-alone pretty well) but this one is good, and I read it through in a couple of sessions. I look forward to more in the future.
Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold
Book 2 of The Fetch Phillips Archives
Published by Orbit, September 2020
448 pages
ISBN: 978-0356512921
Review by Mark Yon
