Mr. del Franko has created a nice place and lead hero with this book. To visit the Weird is to truly walk in a pleasure trove. I enjoyed his mixture of truth and fiction. It was slightly reminiscent of Kim Harrison's wonderful world with the Rachel Morgan series. Although, I enjoyed Harrison's mixture of passion and heat woven in. Mr. del Franko has a wonderful murder mystery here that had me purchasing the second book in the installment half way through this one. Although, I was let down with the lack of attraction/heat between characters, it fared well. I'll give it another book to see how Connor begins, hopefully to live again without his past powers. In other words, I hope he gets on with his life and stops dwelling on what he lost. It will be interesting to see where the author takes this character.

Mark Del Franco's Unshapely Things is another addition to the Urban Fantasy universe. I bought it to try and take a break from all the female authors and their super powerful sassy female characters. That's not criticism of those authors or their characters, just my desire to read something different.

Del Franco's main character, Connor Grey, is a formerly powerful Investigator for the Guild, a sort of FBI for Fey. Elves, Fey, and many other permutations of non-humans have become part of the world we live in due to a magic cataclysm. There are many different factions and Del Franco is adept at creating a feeling of normality. The normal populace simply adds the Fey as another special interest group.

Grey is no longer a member of the Guild due to an attack by a Fey terrorist that has left his magical powers severely impaired. He is caught in between the normal world and the Fey world. His previous skills as a criminal investigator set him up for work between the regular police force and the Guild.

Del Franco's plot revolves around a complicated serial murder investigation. Grey is caught in between his desire to solve the case and the problems of being firmly a member of either the Fey society or the normal society. It is pretty well conceived, but it takes three quarters of the book before things really get moving.

Unshapely Things is a nice break from the Harrison/Briggs/Andrews triumvirate of powerhouse Urban Fantasy authors. Del Marco is a good writer, but I am not going to race to the bookstore for the sequel.

I picked up the first two books of this series because another author I really liked did a blurb for them, Rob Thurman. I love the Cal Leandros series and was looking for another urban fantasy with a male lead. This book has a familiar premise in urban fantasies, a hero (or heroine) with magical links/abilities works to solve cases involving supernaturals. I'm completely on board. The hero's a druid - cool. However, this book didn't grab me the way "Nightlife" did. It was a lot slower than I expected, and had two big flaws that I really hope are ironed out in the next book.

One thing bothered me right off, mainly because it is becoming fairly common and I don't like the trend. The hero (heroine) is dirt poor and/or disgraced in the supernatural community. Harry Dresden can barely pay his rent, and wizards look down on him. Rachel Morgan was fired and would be on the street if not for Ivy. Even Cal can't afford a new jacket - he spends what little money they get on weapons because they're on the run. Connor Grey lost everything, his status, his high-rise condo, his job and his power when he lost most of his magical abilities. We learn that he was an arrogant prick, and near-celebrity, before he was injured. Even worse, he has no real ally. Yes, Connor works with a human detective and they mutually respect each other. But it's not a partnership yet. That coupled with his crappy life - magically disabled, forced to live in the seedy side of town in a rundown apartment, unable to order take-out because he has no cash to tip, rivals from his former job - makes the book damn depressing. I need something to root for!


The second problem I had was that this felt like a traditional detective story with supernatural elements thrown on top of it. The novel is slowed down dramatically by detailed descriptions of fey politics. Now, I have raved in other series about how interesting vampire politics are. I had to think on why it didn't quite work for me here - they are just like human politics today. In one passage, Del Franco describes how the dwarves and elves in Germany had formed a consortium and when the Berlin wall went down they had to create a "fey demilitarized zone." The different fey are prejudiced against each other (like current race relations) and then we have the Guild duking it out with the Boston PD over jurisdiction, like the FBI and local police. And the murder victims are male prostitutes. Oh - but they are fairies! It was just too close to reality, and I get enough of that on the news and Law and Order. I want escapism.

However, the series has potential to be more. First, I like that it isn't predicated on the same old vampires and werewolves. The fey consist of fairies, elves, dwarves, druids, etc. The first two thirds of the book was a solid 3 stars mystery. The ending, though, was fantastic and earned another star. Lots of twists came together, there was a good battle and the little guys came out on top. I will read book 2. Connor Grey is the typical, honorable hero and I like that. He resents that the Guild won't investigate the murders because it's "just" prostitutes, and feels compelled to keep investigating. Connor being a druid (and not a wizard, or half-breed supernatural) is fresh and original, and the crimes do have a ritualistic nature. Connor's a well-fleshed out character. The idea of someone powerful being humbled and seeing how the other half must live, often without justice, has merit. But, wouldn't it be nice for them to have a powerful champion instead of someone barely surviving himself? The secondary characters are also well developed. Joe the Flit reminds me a lot of Jenx in the Rachel series - funny, loyal and invaluable. The human cop Murdock is a good by-the-book cop who compliments Connor very well. Even minor characters stand out, like Briallen the Druidess. Overall, the cast is engaging, and now that the stage is set, perhaps I can escape into the supernatural. I just hope the politicing doesn't consume the series.

I am a fan of Jim Butcher's Dresden and though this sounded like it was along the same lines. This story is about Connor Grey, damaged druid. He was in a conflict that left him with a black mass in his brain that prevents him from accessing his full power. Broken, he was fired from his job at the Guild, fey police, but makes a living with disability checks and helping out the Boston PD on weird cases.

The story starts with fairy prostitutes being killed. Connor is called in to help the PD since the only time the Guild steps up to bat is if it is an important fey on fey murder. But the more Connor learns, the more things get out of whack, including a mugging and kidnapping that leaves him trapped in the basement of the Guild Headquarters.

I really liked how the story started out with a bang and just kept going. The variety of characters and their abilities really makes it believable. The only thing that gets old is the constant whining about how "I wish I had my power back." If you are a fan of Dresdend, definitely must read this book.

I keep seeing people comparing this book to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels. Well, yeah, it's similar - but only as far as the basic story wherein a crippled druid helps the local police solve magic-related murders. Other than that, it's like comparing apples to pears - both are fruit but they taste way different. I like Del Franco's characters/plot better than Butcher's. Don't know why. Connor is kinda more likeable than Harry Dresden. And I love the supporting characters: the whole Murdock family, Briallen, Stinkwort but especially Meryl (she kind of reminds me of NCIS' Abby Sciuto).

The only reason why I didn't give it five stars was that the whole plot could have moved forward a bit faster.