The Case of the Dragon-Bone Engine

steampunk, urban-fantasy, investigation, fairies, law-enforcement, England, magic, prejudice, mystery, Victorian pseudo London*****

Agents Beka Finley and Lester Donovan investigate a deadly train explosion/crash to determine if it was accident or sabotage, or even a lack of safety precautions? The characters are fascinating and their interactions are engaging and realistic. I'm amazed at how well the imaginative aspects got through to me as I don't usually have that kind of imaginative ability (Harry Dresden notwithstanding). Loved it!
Just suspend disbelief and enjoy!
I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley. Thank you!

With Thanks to Galadriel Coffeen and BooksGoSocial for an advanced readers copy of this book.

This one took me by surprise, a great quick mystery read in a very interesting world.

It lacks some of the depth I'd have expected from a fantasy, for example I would have really enjoyed more world building. Why is there human/fairy conflict? How did they come to be in the same world? I did notice this is the start of a series though so that is quite possibly still to come.

I really liked the characters, Donovan and Beka are well written, fleshed out and have easy to love personalities. I also really like the overall concept, I'm in a bit of a fantasy detective phase at the minute (just done with Rivers of London and Sunder City) and this definitely hit the spot.

Overall, a quick, easy and interesting read. I'll certainly be getting the second.

I've so often been disappointed by steampunk that I very nearly gave this five stars just for being competent.

It's really more magepunk, though there is some steam about; the dragon-bone engine of the title is an alternative to a steam engine, installed in a train (there are also some installed in early motor-cars). The female protagonist is competent and sensible, which is a nice contrast to the usual steampunk heroine, and the love interest for the low-key, slow-burn romance is a decent guy. They have realistic conflicts in their backstories and come across as real people living in a real city, not just cardboard cutouts in front of a painted backdrop.

The secondary-world setting has some intriguing features that are not part of the central mystery and are just how the world is for the characters. For instance, there are very few stars, which caught my interest and made me want to know more. It isn't all just out of the familiar box.

Deeply woven into the plot is the kind of entangled social and technological change that so often fails to be featured in steampunk (and, in my view, the genre is the poorer for the lack) - the kind of change that was such a feature of the real Victorian era. There's prejudice to combat; some of it is against the protagonist, who's the first female agent in a law-enforcement body, but that theme isn't beaten to death. Though she has to prove herself more because of her gender, her obvious competence means that it isn't a constant struggle. More prejudice exists against faeries, who are a small minority of the population, able to use magic, and seen as lazy and stupid and a threat by many of the human majority. This drives the plot in a satisfactory way. There are unscrupulous wealthy industrialists, wild-eyed revolutionaries, and decent people just trying to get on in the world. The police work is solid, the characters' personal stories mesh well into the plot, and overall it's a good piece of work. It's also (even in the pre-release version I had from Netgalley for review) better edited than most steampunk, or for that matter most SFF, that I've come across.

Though in the end I decided it wasn't quite all the way to the five-star level for me, I'm confident that the author will write five-star books in the future, and I very much want to read them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The setting is a fantasy world where the industrial revolution is taking off – there are steam-powered trains and cars, but they are being superseded by the new dragon-bone engines. However they require fairies to drive these vehicles as the inherent magic within the dragon bones needs to be controlled by someone with magical ability – and other than a handful of noble families, most humans don’t possess magic. So we have fairies working long hours for low pay, often being exploited and they are becoming increasingly resentful and angry, which is beginning to lead to inter-species conflict. For humans all too often regard fairy magic with suspicion and dismiss them as being stupid and sub-human.

Enter our plucky investigators, Agent Beka Finley, the only woman to date who has succeeded in becoming one of the elite Royal Investigators, and her partner Agent Lester Donovan. They are both interesting characters with fascinating backstories. One of Coffeen’s superpowers is that she keeps the story moving along, without resorting to info-dumps that silt up the narrative. This means we are immediately tipped into the story and learn about our protagonists and the world as the story moves along in Agent Finley’s first-person viewpoint. I very much like this mode of story-telling, but I’m aware it isn’t to everyone’s taste.

There is an interesting dynamic in this Victorian-type society, where manners and dress conventions are formal and social mobility is clearly not easy, while Agent Finley is from a much humbler background than Donovan. As the rebel son who walked away from his powerful and rich noble family, we get a ringside seat into some of the pressure points within the class system and the inter-species prejudice – not to mention the general lack of enthusiasm to towards women working in anything other than a domestic setting. This could have turned into a glib commentary on social inequality that is becoming an increasingly popular sub-plot within modern SFF. But what saves it from making the usual facile judgements is the strong characterisation. Yes, Agent Finley has to work twice as hard as her male colleagues – but I get the sense that she would do, anyway, given her driven nature. And I also like the fact that our protagonist isn’t all that sympathetic to the outbreaks of violence and demonstrations from an increasingly beleaguered fairy workforce. She’s a law enforcement officer – of course she thinks they should find another way to express their dissatisfaction. Though she starts to reconsider her opinion after having seen first-hand just what a raw deal a particular fairy family are undergoing.

The murder mystery is well handled, with plenty of potential suspects, a steady increase in the stakes involved and a dramatic climactic denouement. I was impressed with the overall quality of writing – and as a bonus, there are a series of beautiful pen and ink illustrations in a 19th century style drawn by the author. After this impressive debut, I’ll certainly be looking out for the next book in the series.
9/10

Set in a steam-punk world that very much resembles Victorian society with all the conflict between labor and the powerful business owners, of course some of that labor is fairy and business run on magic and with dragon bones. Throw in some sabotage and class conflict the waters are sufficiently muddied for two investigators to have quite a time trying to figure out who is responsible for trains blowing up.

Conflicts like this happened in the 19th century (without the magic of course, or fairies or dragons) which gives the story teeth and make it feel very realistic. There some nice world-building and the characters are well-rounded and interesting. Coffeen makes sure there are some twists so it does not go down the predictable path it seems at first. While it doesn’t end in a cliffhanger there are threads that are still hanging. I am definitely interested in seeing what happens in the next series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Apparently this is the author's debut novel and what a great read it is. The story held my attention throughout and I found myself not wanting the story to end. In Beka and Donovan (I have to say I would have loved at least a few chapters from his point of view) we have to finely crafted protagonists who I quickly found myself warming too. It took most of the book for us to witness real character growth, but since this seems to very possibly be the start of a series there needs to be something left in reserve for future books!


The setting has a wonderful Edwardian steampunk-with-magic feel to it and had subtle elements of oppression of both women and minorities, in this case fairies. The author carefully and cleverly included elements that reflected some issues of our modern world, adding depth and texture to the story but without unwelcome political overtones. The plot was very satisfying, the pieces of the mystery fit together well with the unwrapping of the mystery feeling unforced and believable. The author's world building was also excellent, balancing perfectly the need for providing information without overwhelming, losing pace or becoming repetitive.


I liked that neither Beka, who is the sole narrator of the story, nor Donovan were perfect or too good to be true. Beka is unusual in that she is a trailblazer in terms of female emancipation and whilst she does feel empathy for the much mistreated fairies, she condemns those who feel breaking the law is the only way to fight this oppression. Her empathy only stretches so far!


I am very much looking forward to seeing more of this eminently delightful pair, along with their colleagues, friends and family. I recommend this to all fans of steampunk/gaslight fantasy.

I must say, this has been an unusual and interesting mystery story, which draws you into its realm. I thought the author did an excellent job of mixing the fantasy world with that of the real. The storyline was great, with a plot that captivated you. I love how the similarities of present-day inequalities and racial prejudices in the workplace, and the daily lives of the citizens of the day, were brought to life in this story. Agents Donavan and Beka had a difficult time running around trying to solve a murder sabotage case. They were faced with a couple of hard choices which could destroy them. It was a surprisingly wonderful read.

This was a very interesting and "light" read. And by light I don't mean a dumbed down storyline, but the fact that this story was surprisingly devoid of angst and dark themes that seem to permeate most of modern books. Oh we have a few murders here and a rather gruesome accident, but despite that the story is refreshingly devoid of extra angst.

I must admit that I am intrigued by the world the author introduced. It's slightly steampunky/Victorian maybe? And what glimpses we get of the worldbuilding only raise more questions. What are these dragon hives? Why are they only found on this mysterious continent? Speaking of that continent, how far North is it located that the sun barely rises for half a year? And if it's that far North, why isn't the weather colder than described? I understand that this is the first book in a new series, so I think the author did a good job giving us a glimpse into the world without huge infodumps, but dang, I want more answers! Which is one reason why I will most certainly pick up the next book in the series when it comes out.

I also really liked our protagonist. Unlike some typical female heroines in urban fantasy, she is refreshingly mature and no-nonsense. She has a brain and she doesn't hesitate to use it. She is educated and she has manners. If anything, she seems way more mature than her age, but I am not complaining.

I also liked that we don't really have a romantic line woven into the story per se. Yes, she likes her partner, and he seems to like her, but we are spared the teenage hormones and angst that are so common to these types of books. Again, really refreshing. These two people are good partners who trust and respect each other first and foremost. The romance feels an organic development of the relationship they had built before then. I certainly am looking forward to see how it will evolve in future books.

The author also did a great job setting up the stage for the next books. While the main mystery of this book is resolved in the end, and the reader has the satisfaction of discovering who sabotaged the dragon-bone engine and why, bigger mysteries are just hinted at. Honestly, I really want to know who would have wanted to kill our protagonist's father and why.

PS: I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

this was a great book that had what I wanted from a scifi and mystery novel. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot of the book.

I very rarely take a chance of a bok like this. A fantasy from an author I have not heard of earlier. I do not know what the reason for my deciding to read this was, but I am glad I did. Not all such risks pan out, but I really enjoyed this book. It is an excellent start to a series with a working magical world with enough political strife to keep the narrative moving.
I did not look at the blurb when I started reading it, and the beginning made it sound like early 1900s England. It was only when our leading lady, one of the only women detectives, entered her workplace that I realised that I missed something important. The newspaper boy who delivered one to her was flying!
People and fairies coinhabit, but not in complete harmony. People of noble blood have some capacity for magic, but other folks do not. Magic, however, is well done; it is a concept of energy that I will let the author describe as you read the book. The bulk of the narrative is based around an accident with a train that has a new kind of engine. This seems to be connected to more convoluted plots, and the investigation unearths more than Beka, and her partner anticipate. The romance is low key but adds something to the story. I would definitely pick up the next in the series if and when I get the chance. I highly recommend it to people who like to try out more straightforward fantasies. This comes with an engineering-like explanation for a lot, making it hard to keep remembering the genre; the dragons' appearance probably helped.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.