From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Proving that 2007's The Sword-Edged Blonde was no fluke, this sequel gives every evidence that Bledsoe's combination of sword and sorcery with hard-boiled detection will have a long and successful run. Eddie LaCrosse, a former noble who gave up his title and now works as a freelance sword-jockey, is flagged down by a damsel in distress, Laura Lesperitt. Before LaCrosse can get Lesperitt to safety, they are ambushed, an encounter that leaves her dead. When he recovers, LaCrosse's search for those responsible for the murder brings him into contact with powerful thug Gordon Marantz, the king's Special Office of Domestic Security and a dragon-worshipping cult. Bledsoe effortlessly draws readers into his created world and manages to stay true to both fantasy and mystery traditions. (Nov.)
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Review
ะฒะัHardboiled high fantasy--whatะฒะโขs not to like? Bledsoe keeps me reading from the first page, and Iะฒะโขm always eager for the next installment when the last page is turned.ะฒะั--Charles de Lint on *Burn Me Deadly
*ะฒะัAn entertaining, well-crafted melding of fantasy and hard-boiled detective fiction. . . . Aficionados of tough-guy mysteries will find much to enjoy, and fantasy fans will appreciate the swordplay and the fully realized medieval society Bledsoe has constructed. Best of all, itะฒะโขs not necessary to have read the first installment to enjoy this one.ะฒะั--*Kirkus Reviews on Burn Me Deadly
"This hardboiled high fantasy with its clever, twisty plot and smart-alecky protagonist is a worthy literary successor to both Fritz Leiber and Rex Stout.ะฒะั--Ekaterina Sedia, author of The Alchemy of Stone*