The Sword-Edged Blonde

Starred review from September 24, 2007
Equal parts sword-and-sorcery action/adventure and noir whodunit, Bledsoe's finely polished debut is evocative of fantasy legend Fritz Leiber's classic tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Bledsoe's narrative, while set in a comparable world, features only one protagonist: “sword jockey” Eddie LaCrosse, a private investigator who has spent most of his life trying to distance himself from a shadowy and tragic past. When his old childhood friend, King Philip of Arentia, enlists his help to unravel a scandalous mystery surrounding the brutal death of the young royal heir—a murder in which the king's beautiful wife, Rhiannon, is the prime suspect—LaCrosse accepts only to encounter a deity who forces him to come to grips with the horrific events of his youth. Incorporating elements from both hard-boiled mystery and heroic fantasy, Bledsoe's genre-blending first novel is both stylish and self-assured: Raymond Chandler meets Raymond E. Feist.

Those who like both fantasy and hard-boiled detective stories will love this genre-crossing novel. Eddie LaCrosse is a sword-wielding P.I. who avoids horses when possible but doesn't mind a good fight or a well-paying job. With his gravelly voice, Stefan Rudnicki becomes LaCrosse, who is hired by childhood friend King Philip of Arentia to solve the mystery of his infant son's murder. As LaCrosse follows the clues, Rudnicki's narration shapes the images and emotions that move the plot forward. Intertwined mysteries create a twisting tale of murder and supernatural forces that inhabit the lands of Arentia. Rudnicki carefully delivers every moment of love, faith, and revenge. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine