I came to this book having only previously read the Newsflesh trilogy, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Turns out it's a faerie murder mystery! Faerie in the old sense, the Terry Pratchett [b:Lords and Ladies|34529|Lords and Ladies (Discworld, #14)|Terry Pratchett|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320490640s/34529.jpg|1185086] sense, where they are charming, graceful, beautiful assholes who will kill you just for the fun of it. Good times.The main character is a half-faerie changeling private detective, living in both worlds (human and faerie) but belonging to neither. She must solve the murder of a prominent pureblood--must, quite literally, because she's cursed so that she will die if she doesn't solve it fast, so the book is a race against time with both the curse and the murderer trying to kill her in various ways.
I think if I didn't know this was the first book in the series, I would have been disappointed with it, because there are so many plot threads that weren't wrapped up. Why is the Queen going mad? What happened to Lily and Rayseline during their imprisonment? Will Toby ever see Cliff and Gillian again? But since I know there are at least five more books after this one (and more in the works), I'm not too worried. I like the world McGuire has created here, perhaps not quite as much as the Newsflesh world, but it's growing on me.
Rose-goblins are adorable.
