The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold follows Fetch Phillips, a "man for hire" in post-Coda Sunder City. The Coda was the result of an ongoing war between the Humans and the Opus, which resulted in the destruction of all magic. As a result, Elven individuals have grown exceedingly old or crumbled to dust, Vampires have lost their fangs and ability to be satiated by blood or be susceptible to sunlight, and creatures like Wyverns and Angels have lost their wings. No magical creature has been left unaltered, only the Humans remain the same.

Edmund Rye is a fading Vampire, grown old and weak as a result of the Coda. He has been a highly respected teacher working to help the species intermingle, but now he cannot be found. Fetch is hired by the principal of the species-inclusive school where Rye has been employed in order to find the missing teacher.

This was something completely different for me. I've never read a genre mix like this and I found it quite enjoyable. A lot of readers have compared it to Jim Butcher's work, so I may need to check that out. For me it felt like a mashup of fable fantasy, John Grisham detective/mystery, and some kind of western adventure. It was an odd combo, but it totally worked for me.

The whole story is gritty and dark, a bit of an underdog style story without being overly in the "hero" category. Fetch is a morally gray character with definite faults and vices. He's like a private eye verson of House, but without the ragtag support team. His supporting characters were also a lot of fun.

The world building was fun and intriguing. I loved the character descriptions and the different magical beings included in the population. I really appreciated the specifics and minor details that were peppered in along the way. I wanted to know more about these characters, which seems to be possible as this book is the first in a series. That makes me excited to see what else Arnold can add to his world.

The plot was good, but there were places where it wandered a little and/or felt a bit slow. A couple of sections felt extraneous and there probably could have been some tightening in the prose. The writing was direct and descriptive without being flowery. It fit the character of Fetch and the gray of Sunder City. The flashbacks were well done and woven into the story in a way that acted a little bit like an info dump without being boring or overwhelming. They added a lot to the understanding of Fetch's character and his personal conflicts.

Overall, the story was intriguing and I liked reading and watching how the pieces slowly came together. I will definitely be looking to pick up the sequel.

3 stars. (Note: this review is only for The Last Smile in Sunder City, not for the other excerpts attached to the book). It’s action-packed, full of vivid description, and I find myself (almost) attached to the character despite his many moral failings. There’s a solid theme of seeking redemption. And yet…
My biggest issue is that it is simply too Gritty, Grim, and Gruesome. We dive into the underbelly of society (and, let’s face it, of our protagonist), which is rife with immorality that’s pretty vividly on display. I dislike being dragged down into the muck as much as our protagonist is (oh, and I really, really dislike demons being portrayed as a neutral species). 
From a technical perspective, I don’t find most of the characters well-characterized. Everything is about Fetch Phillips. And I find the frequent flashbacks a bit jarring. The use of “they/them” for a single character is also very distracting.
This one is not my cup of tea, piece of the pie, etc. Although “burnt milkweed” sounds delightful, whatever it is.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

The Last Smile in Sunder City has an extensive and well-defined world that encapsulates a desolate cityscape and creates an immersive experience for the reader. Interestingly, the story integrates the mundane aspects of our world fantastically with the supernatural of fantasy – we see vampires defanged as professors – offsetting, perhaps for only a moment, the darker and tragic themes of the book.
Apropos of the landscape, we have a protagonist, Fetch Phillips, who is a hard-to-love character with a trying past for which he is ever attempting to atone. Yet, while he should be off-putting, Fetch is instead a loveable, albeit damned, character. This functions as so because the author bares the character’s soul, which implores the reader to become enmeshed with Fetch and eventually view him as an ally.
Overall, this is a solid introduction. Instead of relying on fast-paced action, the author tediously creates thoughtful narratives and robust characters who drive the story in a wholly engrossing manner. The characters’ interaction with the city’s and their darkness is particularly compelling, and I thought it beautifully challenged the god/evil dichotomy.

This quirky homage to hard-boiled detective fiction works well as dark urban fantasy. Reminiscent of the Dresden Files but set in a world in which magic has been destroyed, the Fetch Phillips Archives promises to be a riveting series.

Universally reviled, Phillips provides a cautionary tale of a young man whose idealism has been corrupted to foul ends. Like many individuals in the real world, he was used and discarded by both sides in a war not of his own making.

That deeper meaning is enlivened through Arnold’s authorial voice, which offers startling imagery and fascinating characters on every page. The tortured hero can never undo the horror he has wrought on the Satyrs and Gnomes, Elves and Centaurs, Vampires and Werewolves and other supernaturals who continue to linger in abject misery in Sunder City, but he can try to do good as his penance. The plot takes some surprising turns as Phillips learns who he can and cannot trust.

I hope this book will be followed by several more in the Fetch Phillips Archives.

The Last Smile in Sunder City is the first book in a new series by Luke Arnold. Released 25th Feb 2020 by Orbit Books, it's 368 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a gritty fantasy noir PI tale in a debut series by a debut author and I can't recall the last time I was this impressed by a new series. Within a few pages I was well and truly intrigued and within a few chapters it had secured a place in my 'auto-buy' TBR pile. In my mind, it goes to roughly the same subcategory as Glen Cook, Ben Aaronovitch (but much grittier, less humorous, and more Chandler-esque than either), John D. MacDonald (with the same melancholy tarnished knight feel), and an authentic George Sims vibe (whom I heartily recommend and for anyone unfamiliar with this great unsung British noir writer go find his work). The book is not derivative, however, and the author has a clear and unique voice of his own.

The plotting does drag in a few places, and as a first book in the series, the author spends a fair bit of page content on laying down the admittedly intriguing backstory and world structure. The characterization is spot on and for whatever reason, the author has a commanding feel for dialogue (possibly because of his acting skills?). It might be partially right-book-at-the-right-time syndrome, but I really loved this book and recommend it highly to SF/F and urban noir fans.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This has the makings of a great series. It's not there yet, but the signs are telling.

Fletch Phillips is an unfortunately named P.I. in Sunder City, a once-booming town that suffers when the magic dries up. The world of <i>Last Smile in Sunder City</i> is vivid, elaborate, and well-formed. Luke Arnold, apparently an actor by day, already has a knack for world building and scene setting. And it won't take many pages before you realize he can really turn a phrase, tossing in descriptors like a less self-effacing Swartzwelder. As a main character, picture him as a more competent Frank Burly mixed with a less-capable Angel. 

The problem is that <i>Last Smile in Sunder City</i> works so hard at setting up the world that while it succeeds, it sometimes wavers on the story. It's not that the novel doesn't tell a captivating one, filled with the requisite twists and turns you'd expect from a neo-noir, but that Arnold's near-mastery in building the universe causes the story to jump around a bit more than I'd like. When I was reading the book, the world was easy to get lost in, and the story had enough momentum to keep me going. But when I stopped, either to sleep, get off the bus, or get back to work, the narrative didn't feel like it was waiting for me. It wasn't easy to put down, but I rarely felt desperate to get back to it. Only in the latter half, once much of the lore has been established, did the momentum really start to carry for me. Because there's so much to set-up, it sometimes feels like the book is telling too many stories at once. 
But these are small criticisms. The book isn't perfect. But the story is on its way. This is an urban fantasy that strikes me as what Max Landis would have made in <i>Bright</i> had he enough (or any) actual talent to pull it off. It's fun without being silly or ironic; it leaves you wanting more. The social allegories are deft and, despite the fantasy setting, organic and authentic.

Don't let 3 stars out of 5 discount that this is a solid read. Sometimes that's enough. Expect bigger and better things moving forward from Arnold. I do.

I came to this book by being a fan of Luke Arnold's. I'm hesitant to read any book written by a celebrity (for example, actor or singer), but this wasn't the case. I don't know why but I wasn't too worried when I first heard about this book.

<i>The Last Smile in Sunder City</i> follows Human Fetch Phillips, a private detective with some set of morals (though he denies it) who emulates Humphrey Bogart with old wounds and a scarred psyche. His world is filled with formerly magical creatures and he's partly responsible for the extinction of magic.

Arnold is able to blend fantasy and hard-boiled detective novel really well. At part is does lead to more fantasy but I attributed this to setting up the world.

The story focuses on the AFTER of the BIG EVENT. Because of this, world building is doused into every page which becomes overwhelming at times, but once more this is the first novel. The flashbacks are well-done with the focus being on Fetch and the story of each of his tattoos. It's quite a lovely technique whenever the flashbacks use the focus of one thing to expand the world.

3.5/5 stars — fantasy noir with imaginative worldbuilding and a world-weary protagonist

I view The Last Smile in Sunder City as two stories: that of the eponymous city and that of the main character. The former interested me much more than the latter, which left me slogging through parts of the book that dove too deeply into main character Fetch’s Phillips' history and personal life. The fundamental tragedy and awkwardness of a society whose component individuals no longer understand who they are or how they’re meant to fit together was fascinating; Fetch himself was an unsympathetic protagonist I often couldn’t get behind.

That bit in the blurb that recommends this book to fans of Jim Butcher? I did myself a bit of a disservice by ignoring it (or interpreting it optimistically, maybe), because The Last Smile in Sunder City parallels The Dresden Files in atmosphere, characterization, and theme. As in The Dresden Files, I enjoyed this book’s dark humor, its melange of urban fantasy and suspense-driven mystery, and the depth of its world. And as when reading The Dresden Files, I tired quickly of the main character’s self-flagellation without significant change in behavior and his attitude toward women. If you like Butcher’s writing, you’ll like this. If not…well.

The pacing had issues. Novels that rely on flashbacks/dual timelines often lag unless the jumps between past and present are timed well in the structure of the over narrative. In this case, most of the scenes from the past timeline came in the late second act and early third act—just when the present-day story was trying to build suspense around a disappearance and murder investigation. A number of long passages explaining the world and its mechanics weighed the pace down further.

Now for the positives! I know I came in heavy with the critique, but I did enjoy this book. I’m a sucker for punchy dialogue (internal or external) and quotable lines, and while Luke Arnold seems to live on the line between creative description and purple prose, I found even the riskier linguistic gambits memorable and mostly successful. For example, I loved this zeugma: “Mrs. Gladesmith came to the door dressed in a nightgown and despair.” Later, there was this simile, which is one of many I thought were clever: “His smile closed like a handbag with a broken zipper.”

On the content level, I appreciated that the story interrogated the idea of a traumatic childhood driving a character’s negative actions in the present. I also liked how part of Fetch’s backstory involved members of a fictional hate group grooming him to believe he a) deserved more privilege than in-world minorities, and b) was threatened by those minorities’ mere existence. That kind of rhetoric is common in recruiting by real-world hate groups and it’s valuable to see how insidious that strategy can be.

I also found the theme of loneliness compelling. We’ve got lines like, “Friends serve a purpose but every man needs a few good enemies to remind him who he is,” and “A good man is made through a lifetime of work. Great men are made by their monsters,” but for all his contemplation of friends and enemies, Fetch is isolated. He hates his fellow humans (with good reason, since they’re species supremacists in many cases) and is ostracized by those magical folk who survived the loss of magic. This struggle is one of the reasons I’m interested in continuing the series as sequels are published—I want to find out if Fetch ever becomes less misanthropic.

Anyway, that’s a long-winded way of saying my experience of The Last Smile in Sunder City was a mixed bag. I recommend it with reservations—unless you like Jim Butcher a whole lot, in which case you’ll love this book too! Even though this specific story and main character aren’t super appealing to me, I really enjoyed Arnold’s prose and worldbuilding, and will likely pick up his future books.

Content warnings: alcoholism, painkiller abuse/dependence, death, violence/gore

** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **

I enjoyed this quite a bit.

I have a love-hate relationship with urban fantasies. What could be cooler than vampires and other magical creatures running around a city, maybe the very one I'm standing in? The downside is that most urban fantasies, eager to establish how their world is different than ours, rain unnecessary and tedious exposition on readers. The Last Smile in Sunder City manages to avoid some of the biggest traps and tropes of urban fantasy by:

being an urban fantasy set in another world altogether. As we as readers get our bearings for this strange and fantastical city (with some strong vibes of a darker Ankh-Morpork) that's recently survived the apocalypse, magical beings are just part of the environs we explore. Interestingly, because of this earth-shattering cataclysm, all of these magical creatures are different than what we might expect.

turning a down-on-his-luck detective with a rough past (so typical of the genre) into a more complex character by making him a key player in this apocalypse, which we gradually learn more about in flashback chapters. There's a lot of genuine pathos here, which is totally my jam.

The climax and the denouement felt too quick and out of left field for me, but it was still an absorbing read. If you like urban fantasies, I suspect you'll like this a lot.

Just a few years ago, there was magic in the world. Magical creatures could tap into the river of it. Humans, though, were unable to touch it, so feared it and cut it off from the magical creatures. Now the creatures are suffering, having lost their magic, and are dying or trying to survive. In Sunder City, former soldier turned PI Fetch Phillips is Human, the human responsible for the magic loss. Living with the guilt of what he did, especially since he had loved a being of magic, he only takes cases from non-humans, and his current one has him searching for a missing Vampire teacher, who may be hot on the trail of bringing magic back.

Honestly, the actual book description is a lot more interesting than mine, so, if you want to see it for yourself, hop down to the bottom and click on the Get your copy link. I could have used it here, but, as much as it intrigued me and was one of the reasons why I wanted to read this book, it also meant I wasn’t really sure of what kind of story I was getting myself into. Of course, it didn’t really matter because this book is really just that good. But I still like to know what the book I’m reading is about.

The Characters: Truly Flawed
The main character, the narrator, is Fetch Phillips. He’s a Human living in a city that was once full of magical creatures. He lived and worked alongside him, but as more of a second-class citizen since he’s Human. He earned the trust of high officials, but no one could look past his Human skin. He’s a fascinating creature with a fascinating backstory, and I loved that parts of the book flashed back on his life so the reader can see where he’s coming from. It paints him as a very complex character who had to make certain choices, whether they were entirely his own or not. I loved that he was so extremely flawed, often cocky and willing to put up a fight, but still had some morals. Honestly, I sometimes found it difficult to like him. I loved how flawed he was as it really made him feel human, but sometimes it felt like it went a little too far, right into the realm of unlikable. What bothered me the most was how self-centered he felt, putting his own desires ahead of his case. But he really was a rather interesting protagonist, caught between being noble and despicable.

There were a few interesting characters, but I felt only Fetch was noteworthy. Instead, what I found most interesting was the divide between magical creatures and Humans and how they were portrayed. There’s an obvious dislike between them, so reading about their role reversal was fascinating. The magical creatures went from being on top of the world, from being the leaders, to beings just trying to stay alive and scrape by in a world now run by smug Humans. The Humans fear the magical creatures, so now treat them like second-class citizens. I thought it was interesting to read about how the magical creatures tried to retain what had made them special and different while trying to adapt to the new world all while holding out hope for the return of magic.

The Setting: A Microcosm of a City
Largely set in Sunder City, the reader is offered brief glimpses of the greater world through Fetch’s backstory. As much as I would have liked to see more of the world, Sunder City itself is completely fascinating. It was something of a microcosm. I loved the feeling that Sunder had once been a beautiful city, full of magic and interesting things, but now is absolutely run down and beat up. Still, it’s functional, though far from pretty. It’s not the kind of place I would want to visit, but I did love how gritty it felt.

My favorite part of this book is probably the setting. As much as I love fantasy cities that are amazingly beautiful and breathtaking, I found Sunder City to be something of a breath of fresh air. It was different and, since the story is focused in the city, it really came alive. As rough as it was, it felt scarily real, reminding me very much of a large metropolitan city that could be found just about anywhere in the world. Though perhaps a bit more rundown and ominous.

The Plot: A Fantastic Noir Mystery
This is a fantasy and a mystery with noir elements. Some of it was done better than other pieces, but I have high hopes for future books now that the world has been sufficiently built. That’s right, this book focuses more on the world building and development of Fetch. It felt more like a vehicle to introduce a character and a particular world. It was high on fantasy and low on mystery.

The mystery itself involved a missing Vampire teacher. I have to admit it wasn’t very exciting, except for the character Fetch referred to as Flyboy who worked for the Vampires and would, um, pop in to see Fetch unexpectedly. There were times when I just completely lost track of the development of the case because Fetch just seemed to abandon it now and then in favor of pursuing his own interests. It was a little bit of a shock towards the end when the mystery really heated up and got flowing. The entire middle portion, though, was so light on mystery that I kind of forgot what it was.

My favorite element was the noir. I have a fondness for that noir feel and was delighted to find it in this book. It helped make the city, Fetch, and the story feel gritty and rough. It took out all the pretty I usually look forward to in a fantasy book. But it wasn’t consistently done. There were many places where I wasn’t getting that noir feel and was quite disappointed with it. I think this would have been amazing if it had been consistent.

Overall, this book was slim on the plot, but it did flow well. It focused on developing the world and the characters, so it did flow. I just wish there had been more to the mystery, or had maybe introduced a more complex mystery. Still, the solution of it creates more possibilities for future books and I can see how the world can evolve. My favorite part, though, was just how well it flowed. I read aloud to my daughter every day and this was just a dream to read aloud. It was beautiful and flowing, which was a delightful contrast to the content!

Overall: Focus on World and Character Development
With a focus on character development and world building, this is not the kind of book that would satisfy someone who loves a good story. The plot wasn’t exactly exciting, but I have high hopes that the storytelling will get better with each book now that the place and characters have been established. It’s an interesting start to a series with some nice elements, and I really hope the noir carries through to the rest of the books. Overall, a very nice book that did fall short, but really excelled in other areas.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for an advance e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
Link to post: https://thelilycafe.com/book-review-the-last-smile-in-sunder-city-by-luke-arnold

I have already hand sold this title and wrote a shelf talker. 

I love the characters and even the back story provided doesn't drag down the first book in this series. Instead it serves as a foundational beginning of a promising series that is multi-layered. 

The characters are thoughtful, the world building nuiance, allowing it to become another character in the book. 

Fetch Phillips is flawed, complex and utterly impossible to not love. He is the perfect character upon which to anchor this new new series that serves up a combination of old school mysteries, wit/sarcasm and true heart.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold from NetGalley and Orbit Books in order to read and give an honest review.

In his debut novel, author Luke Arnold does a masterful job with The Last Smile in Sunder City combining urban fantasy with the noir detective stories of old.

When magic disappears from Sunder city it leaves behind its magical creatures, powerless and living life like an average human. When a former vampire, now beloved old and frail teacher goes missing our protagonist Fetch Phillips is hired to find out what happened to him.  Some say he turned to dust or ran away some say his dedication to his students wouldn’t let him just leave.  Fetch a self-destructive, alcoholic living in his detective agency office, spending his days trying to assuage himself of his guilt-ridden past put himself in peril trying to get to the bottom of it. When a student goes missing too, he feels even more pressure to solve the case.  Sunder City feels like a bit of a character in itself, a typical noir city fraught with seedy back street bars, brothels and greasy spoons with disgusting food but excellent coffee.

I wasn’t sure about this book when I started but I have to say I was carried away, the characters, the pacing, the writer’s voice, his twisty plot turns, completely engaged me. With an intriguing mystery and interesting backstory, this is a fantastic book I highly recommend! I will definitely look forward to Mr Arnold’s future books.

This book is just what it was advertised as. An urban fantasy about a PI trying to solve a murder. The world building is extensive and impressive, as this is a debut novel. Because the story focused on world building so much, I found the characters themselves forgettable. 
The story is told in a series of flashback where we learn about the main characters past as he is trying to solve a murder in present day. I thought this method of story telling didn't work well for this story. It made the timeline confusing and the flashbacks took me out of the story. The mystery really dragged because the story focuses on flashbacks over the current story. 
Overall, this book is a decent debut. I would recommend it to anyone who loves urban fantasy and extensive world building.

The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in mid-December.

A really sardonic voice in Fetch, a detective for hire, is summoned find a missing immortal school instructor amid a recent global massacre in the far, far future called the Coda where populations were struck dead by dragons and others were tapped to have (basically) the equivalent of My Hero Academia ‘quirks.’ The story doesn’t really have a steady leg to stand on, even with a backbone like the Coda, and the characters kinda wallow it, unrealized, especially Fetch, who seems to lose his initial swagger and confidence as he remembers his past cases and the story trudges & weaves toward a jumbled, violent, ‘to be continued’ end.

The Last Smile in Sunder City is a noir fantasy book following Fetch Phillips, a struggling PI detective, or a ‘Man for Hire’, as he prefers to be called.

Years prior to when this story begins, this world experienced an event called the “Coda” where the human army was envious of the power of magic and decided to change…everything. In their lust to capture magic for themselves they fundamentally changed magic for everyone. The world was now drained of magic. Some creatures were immediately no more, while some live a half-existence.

Three-years prior to the beginning of the story a local school hired Edmund Rye, a vampire, as a teacher. Before the Coda this wouldn’t have been possible, but now their race is so diminished it is acceptable. In the present, Edmund hasn’t shown up to school in a week leading the principal to reach out to Fetch to locate him.

As is common to noir novels, the story is twisting and non-linear to a degree. But every turn the story takes gives us a chance to learn how devastating the Coda was on all the different magical creatures. However, unlike other noir books this story didn’t make me quite as dizzy as others have in the past, which I appreciated. I found myself able to keep up, which helped me truly appreciate the unique, rich world-building.

Noir isn’t always my cup of tea, but in this case I was intrigued by Fetch and his history as well as the Coda. Even at the beginning I was curious to know if this magic draining was permanent or if it could be reversed in some way.

Overall, a book that fans of noir, urban fantasy, or dark fantasy may want to take a look at.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

I gave up after 4 chapters. The synopsis made it sound like it would be a lot more fast paced, witty, and edgy. I'm sure this story would end up being interesting enough, but the writing style simply wasn't for me and I wasn't interested in reading any further. I like to hop right into my fantasy adventures, and having more than 15% of this story be build-up was just too much. 

I have no problem with learning details from backstory and being presented with small side characters and details to add to the world building, but I had zero clue for the first 4 chapters what would be important to remember for the rest of the story. Everything in moderation... 

The initial problem for Fetch was presented very early, so there shouldn't have been such a problem with getting the plot rolling. Details could have then been filled in later in a more natural way. The flashback is what really lost my interest, as I had made no attachment to Fetch in this short amount of time and therefore really didn't care.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! All my thoughts on this book are included in the link!

I’m not a big fan of noir fiction, but this novel caught my attention and wouldn’t let me stop reading.

Fetch Phillips is a struggling PI working in Sunder City, a city where the magic is gone, both figuratively and literally. Fetch lives in a world inhabited by creatures—elves, werewolves, sirens, goblins, and more—who lost their power when humans interfered with the wellspring of all magic. Now those creatures and the world around them are in decay, and it seems that little beauty or wonder is left. Fetch played a key role in the destruction of magic, and the only thing keeping him from giving into the demons of his guilty conscience is the request from someone he loved to live and “do some good.”

A world-weary detective with flexible morality, a gritty and corrupt city, and a case that demonstrates that hope can be a dangerous thing—the story here is very, very noir indeed. And, as mentioned, I’m not really fond of the dark cynicism of this type of book.

So, why did I keep reading? It comes down to a few things, I think. Fetch as a character interested me, and I wanted to find out what made him the man he is, which the author accomplishes by weaving the origin stories of his four tattoos throughout the narrative. Also, I’m curious as to whether magic is really gone for good, and what it would mean for Fetch and his city if it wasn’t. And finally, although the mystery fades to the background at times while the reader gets to know Fetch and his world, I wanted to know how Fetch’s investigation would turn out.

Fantasy fans who like their fiction on the darker side should enjoy this book. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series, coming in October 2020.

A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

"A former soldier turned PI tries to help the fantasy creatures whose lives he ruined in a world that's lost its magic in a compelling debut fantasy by Black Sails actor Luke Arnold.

Welcome to Sunder City. The magic is gone but the monsters remain.

I'm Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are a few things you should know before you hire me:

1. Sobriety costs extra.
2. My services are confidential.
3. I don't work for humans.

It's nothing personal - I'm human myself. But after what happened, to the magic, it's not the humans who need my help.

Walk the streets of Sunder City and meet Fetch, his magical clients, and a darkly imagined world perfect for readers of Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher."

Even if the blurb didn't name check two authors I love I'd SO be checking this book out because of my favorite Long John Silver, Luke Arnold!