I enjoyed this entertaining first novel about a large troll and a small flying Eleniu who are partners in the City Guard of a trading city with six sentient races. There's nothing especially original in this fantasy world, but it makes a good backdrop to the murder investigation which is at the foreground of the story.

There were times the plot seemed to be spinning its wheels a bit, and the formidable antagonist is kept in the background too long in my opinion, leading to a rather rushed ending. However, with these reservations, I had a lot of fun reading this story, and have now hopped onto Amazon to buy the second novel featuring these characters. ( )

This was an author review copy, read on my Kindle.

Michael J. Parry definitely has it 'all going on' in this book. His characters are well fleshed out, the protagonists are likable, the mystery reads well, the magic is enjoyably done and it got to be hard to put down. I can easily see more of Gurt and Fursk coming in the future!

If you enjoy mythological races, magic or mystery, you should find this an enjoyable book. I look forward to future works from this author.

Rated 4-Stars, as a book I could definitely read again; maybe even 4.5. ( )