His Father's Eyes (Case Files of Justis Fearsson)

An excellent second book in the series (the first being [b:Spell Blind|21412009|Spell Blind (Justis Fearsson, #1)|David B. Coe|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403390622s/21412009.jpg|40713054]).

The events of Spell Blind have resulted in Fearsson's business taking off somewhat. However, life is never that simple when you're the main character in an urban fantasy series, so the action kicks off pretty quickly with Fearsson unexpectedly not getting killed.

Shortly, we have one mysteriously dead terrorist, and an equally mysteriously broken plane. Fearsson gets some new allies, but plenty of new enemies to balance things out, and discovers that things are much more complicated than he thought they were.

We get to know a bit more about show more Fearsson's past, and also his likely future - which has the potential to be short. And we see a bit more of Billie Castle - I like her; in fact, Coe does write good female characters in general. He manages to avoid stereotypes, and writes women as actual people.

We also find out a bit more about the runemystes, and get introduced to the in-universe version of were-animals. The magical community is expanding; makes me wonder whether we've now seen the lot, or whether Coe will introduce something new in the next book.

The action moves fast; Fearsson is learning more about how to use his magic effectively, and the cast of characters is widening. This series definitely has legs - I shall be looking out for the next one. show less

I am beginning to enjoy the darker, grittier side of urban fantasy, and this is one of the authors who is a reason why. It is the second in the series, but it is not imperative to read the first. It takes place in modern day Phoenix and is a combination of detective fiction mixed with were-creatures.

The novel picks up with Justis Fearsson remaining a private investigator and tracking down a suspect who, without the help of magic, would have shot him dead. But the magic comes from another source, and the full explanation of that source and why it has an interest in him weaves into the latter part of the book.

There is an almost-too-detailed explanation of magic at the beginning, but once Coe realizes that his audience "gets" it, he dials show more down the how and concentrates on the mystery portion. And the mystery is not just why people have been killed, but also killed is a supposedly immortal runemyste in a bizarre, ritualized manner. Even going between the real world and the magical one becomes part of the pace of the book. Fearsson has to navigate his former police partner, his new girlfriend, his declining father, and a powerful drug lord, who are all brought together in pursuit of who really dunnit. show less

And the stakes get higher -- the battle between good and evil, good mystes and blood sorcerers. With his loved ones in the middle. He needs to learn how to really listen to his father......