Krishna
A fun comedy fantasy from this author. (New author to me). It has its moments, and is worth spending some fun time if you are interested in this genre.
Taylor, a down-on-his luck detective running a detective agency called, what else?, Taylor Investigations, is visited by Joanna Barrett. She is rich all over.
She is a famous businesswoman and Taylor wonders why she did not have someone else hire a lawyer for her. And to come to this seedy place? He wonders what is eating her.
She tells him. Her daughter is missing and she wants Taylor to find her. Her daughter is Catherine or Cathy. Taylor takes it as a rebellious teenager running away (multiple times, as he gathers) until she mentions that her contact suspects that she will be found in the Nightside. It sends chills up his spine.
She offers him so much money that he agrees to take her case but did not expect her to insist that she will come with him! He cannot change her mind and so reluctantly agrees to take her along as well.
What starts as fun turns juvenile, a bit. They go in a train that drives itself, and strange creatures attack it. Singing bees (?) try to get into their brain. The train, bashed in, heals itself.
What we know is that Taylor is well known and feared on the Nightside. He now focuses his special powers to find the daughter of Joanna by opening his mind wide, which also increases the risk that unwanted enemies will be able to notice him as well.
He first goes to Strangefellows where he meets the pub owner Alex who says ‘Eddie, whenever he appears, brings trouble with him’. He is waylaid by a thug with his cronies. He is Ffinch-Thomas. He is the son of a big shot and has a previous enmity with Taylor. Locking his eyes with Taylor, he becomes paralyzed. His sidekicks are thrown out by Alex’s bouncers.
They go and meet Razor Eddie, a filthy man who Alex recommended. Razor Eddie says that they need to go the Castle to meet Suzie Shooter – and old acquaintance of Taylor, who is in The Castle.
When they leave, they are waylaid by the Harrowing and Taylor is trapped. He could have escaped by blasting a hole on the wall but Joanna froze and he stayed to not leave a client. When he is almost certain that it is the end of both of them, Eddie comes and saves them.
They then reach the castle and meet Suzie Shooter in the midst of a firefight.
She agrees to come and find him if his client Joanna will pay her and Taylor agrees on behalf of Joanna.
The two of them go forward and they get caught in a future timewarp where the world (or London?) is utterly destroyed and the only things surviving are giant insects. Taylor senses that someone is there. He finds a giant cocoon and when he opens it, they find Eddie inside. His old enemy, the Collector appears – he is able to travel at will across time. Then they find to what purpose Eddie has been kept alive. It is really disgusting. Then Taylor liberates his old friend.
They almost don’t make it out of the Time Warp. When they come out, they are in Blaison Street, in front of a house that is weird. They go inside with Suzie, who just arrives on time.
Then there is a good twist. Also, they find Cathy very happy in the house and unwilling to be rescued. (That is not the twist). Ultimately Taylor struggles and frees himself.
The story is a romp that does not take it seriously. But it is not intricate or complex with layers or anything hard to understand so requires you to just ride along.
Still, an enjoyable read
5/10
— Krishna