The Last Smile in Sunder City

Series: The Fetch Phillips Novels, Book 1

Written and Narrated By: Luke Arnold

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

A shameless noir mashup that delights in how NON-seriously it takes itself

Oh good cow, author Luke Arnold had me cheering for PI Fetch Phillips from the moment he takes a dead client’s decrepit dog in and cries when the danged mutt dies on him. Hardboiled, often drunk, hooked on painkillers, Fetch ain’t doing so hot.

A new case, however, falls in his lap. He has to solve the mysterious disappearance of an elder vampire, a beloved staff member for an all-inclusive (Of every race exCEPt humans) school. That a young girl, daughter of a Siren has disappeared as well?

Hmm, things just get curiouser and curiouser.

The Last Smile in Sunder City shaaaaamelessly fashions itself all noir-ish but with a tale of an apocalypse for magical creatures meshed in also. Throw in double-dealing, murders of vampires stumbled upon, and a One True Love that totally ends badly, and I was all in. Top all THAT off with Arnold doing the narration so very well, and I really really liked this.

I s’pose the story’s main weakness is how we’re immediately thrust into a case with fantastical world-building as the story goes along, and then we hit the halfway mark and flashbacks are used, rather relentlessly, to show Fetch’s history. We understand that the world once had magic in it, at least until something called Coda destroyed all powers, all properties, that magical entities had. Elves, long-lived creatures, suddenly had the years etched upon immediately aging faces until they became dust. Siren songs? Gone. Vampires? Oh good cow, no—they’ve had to create their own (rather) secret society.

The closer Fetch gets to any truth in this book, the more we can come to expect that our dear Hero winds up getting himself thrashed soundly. Indeed, one wonders what special skills the man has as he’s ALWAYS treading too close and earning himself a drubbing; his face gets rearranged quite often. But after each threat/beating, I s’pose his tenacity is his strength.

I appreciated the world-building as I enjoyed the descriptive imagery Arnold crafted, especially of Sunder City, once a prosperous place but now seedy and with inhabitants who are jaded and depressed, very much lacking in hope and just trying to create new lives based on this new reality post-Coda. Every now and then Arnold writes a character who’s adjusting, who’s settling in with just the faintest glimmer of hope and self-respect, and NATurally they’re ground down into the earth with sorrows that befall them. Oh Mr. Arnold—How unutterably cruel you are to your characters!

The storylines jump around a lot, and at first I found myself QUITE annoyed as it was easy to get confused. I mean, where was I in space and time with these characters where humans are of COURSE the bad guys, and Fetch is human? Hanging around with, choosing to live amongst, the magical and ex-magical had me wondering where along the timeline I was. We’re introduced to many characters who serve as friends, confidantes, sidekicks (Who at SOME point become ex-sidekicks… whazaa…?), and even one who becomes a romantic interest (Who at SOME point becomes an ex-romantic interest… whazaa…?). Seriously, lots o’ characters here.

Soon, however, I simply sat back in my chair, propped a pillow in place, and settled into this dystopian fantasy that wants to be The Maltese Falcon …with vampires…

Nope, Arnold ain’t no Dashiell Hammett, and he’s not even Terry Pratchett (Tho’ he might be attempting to emulate both those authors), but he succeeds at bringing a different spin on the hardboiled private investigator trope. One reviewer decried the lack of levity, the utter embracing of the hopeless case, but I found plenty to chuckle at. I mean, just the style of writing was worth smiling about.

Whatever. This was definitely worth pondering a purchase of the next in the series. After all, the ending has a deal with the devil, and that has GOT to have consequences and a backlash that’ll most likely cause yet another fine thrashing of our Hero.

See? How can Fetch Phillips having his nose broken yet AGAIN not be worth a head shake, a sigh, and a chortle?!

I’m twisted, of course. So obviously I AM The Intended Target Audience. Huzzah for that!