Dark Jenny

Starred review from February 21, 2011
Bledsoe whips up a perfect blend of Arthurian legend and hard-boiled detecting in the third novel featuring "private sword jockey" Eddie LaCrosse (after 2009's Burn Me Deadly). While tracking a client's wayward husband on the island kingdom of Grand Bruan, which is ruled by King Marcus Drake and his Knights of the Double Tarn, LaCrosse falls under suspicion when a knight dies of a poisoned apple he snatched from a tray prepared specially by Queen Jennifer. Fortunately, the detective manages to convince the king's seneschal that he may not be guilty, and is asked to help identify the real criminal. The mystery and its ramifications for the Grand Bruan royals will seem familiar to readers of Thomas Malory, but Bledsoe skillfully combines humor, action, deduction, and emotion to make the material fresh and engaging for fans of both fantasy and noir.

March 15, 2011

The delivery of a coffin for Eddie LaCrosse to a tavern one winter's night prompts the investigator and sword-jockey (or mercenary) to recall a past case involving King Marcus Drake, Queen Jennifer, and the Knights of the Double Tarn. The story begins with the death of a young knight from a poisoned apple meant for someone else and expands to include more murders, conspiracies, and forbidden love. The third Eddie LaCrosse adventure (The Sword-Edged Blonde; Burn Me Deadly) delivers a skewed version of the King Arthur legend that is at once both tongue-in-cheek and strangely powerful. VERDICT Combining hard-boiled detective fiction with a fantasy universe, this well-crafted novel should appeal to fans of Glen Cook's "Garrett, P.I." novels.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.