"This book is a steampunk mystery AND male/male romance. If any of that turns you off, no need to read further. However, if that sounds fun or intriguing, and you enjoy genre fiction, this will be an utterly delightful, TOTALLY-worth-it cup o' tea and cookies for you.
Here's a plot lead-up: several hundred years, ago all the devils were redeemed by the church and came topside to live in harmony with humans. At least that was the idea. That, er, didn't work out so well, and now Prodigals (demonic descendents) are persecuted, and live in a heavily policed ghetto called Hells Below. The corrupt Houses of Inquisition hold absolute power over Prodigals and all other citizens.
A woman disappears from a locked carriage, and Captain William Harper, a son of privilege and Inquisition officer with a heart of gold, looks for help from the bitter and charming Belimai Sykes, a Prodigal who is a drug addict and detective. They form an unlikely partnership (ahem). Cop meets demon => they fight crime!
Ginn Hale's descriptive prose is unusually beautiful (check out a lovely descriptive passage on p. 39), and I love Hale's world-building and the characters."
Publisher Blind Eye Books
Publication Date 2007-10-01
Section Fiction / Paperback Favorites / All Staff Suggestions / Fiction Suggestions / Jen C.
Format Paperback
ISBN 9780978986117
Belimai Sykes is many things: a Prodigal, the descendant of ancient demons, a creature of dark temptations and rare powers. He is also a man with a brutal past and a dangerous addiction.
And Belimai Sykes is the only man Captain William Harper can turn to when faced with a series of grisly murders.
But Mr. Sykes does not work for free and the price of Belimai’s company will cost Captain Harper far more than his reputation.
From the ornate mansions of noblemen, where vivisection and sorcery are hidden beneath a veneer of gold, to the steaming slums of Hells Below, Captain Harper must fight for justice and for his life.
His enemies are many and his only ally is a devil he knows too well. Such are the dangers of dealing with the wicked.
