Unperfect Souls

Connor's police detective friend, Leonard Murdock, calls him in to assist on a murder case. It seems that a dead Dead guy (that is NOT a typo) has been found headless in the sewers. Now as odd as this may seem, this is the neighborhood of The Weird we're talking about, so naturally things end up getting progressively worse. Loved it. I couldnt put it down and am anxious to see what next adventure of Connor Gray is all about.

Mark Del Franco has quickly become one of my must-read authors. His Boston is so interesting and frankly dangerous. Previous installments in this series have always delighted me and so I was happy to pick up Unperfect Souls. It’s actually been sitting on my shelf for a little while now, as my TBR pile has grown to epic proportion. (This is definitely not a complaint, by the way, more a statement of fact. However, as this is the summer of poverty, as I forgo work to finish my dissertation, I’m forced to delve into the mountain to find things to read, though I am still ordering books by my favourite authors since there’s no way I can resist (and I have budgeted for them). It’s actually for the best that I get to whittle down the show more pile, though, since all the books I’ve been holding off on are books I really do want to try.)

In Unperfect Souls, there’s even more going on than in Connor Grey’s last adventure, if you can believe that. In the aftermath of Unfallen Dead, and the closing of the pathways between our world and Tir Na Nog, the Dead who crossed over are trapped in Boston, in the mortal world. They continue to operate under their Tir Na Nog rules, which causes problems with the locals and makes the Weird an even stranger and more tension-filled part of town than usual. What I like about this is that Mark Del Franco uses events from previous novels, continuing the storyline and showing us the ramifications of Connor’s actions. Even though he saved the world, he caused some problems, and something’s got to be done, particularly when there’s a war brewing between the solitary fae and the Dead.

I was also really pleased with the exploration of the dark mass in Connor’s head and what powers and dangers it holds. His encounters with the leanansidhe are some of the best parts of the book because he’s forced to consider what using the dark mass means. As a reader, I was excited to find out more about Connor’s problem and what it might mean for him, both personally and politically. The information revealed in Unperfect Souls is so unexpected but it makes a lot of sense.

We also get to see more developments with Connor’s friends and allies. In fact, in some ways the secondary plots were almost more interesting to me, particularly the Keeva subplot, even though I was pretty sure what was going on there before it was actually explained. But that was the only plot point in Unperfect Souls that I came close to figuring out. Everything else, particularly in the final chapters, was such a wonderful, game-changing surprise that I’m going to have to run out and get Uncertain Allies just as soon as I finish writing this post, so that I can find out what’s going to happen next.

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I started Unperfect Souls with that happy, satisfied feeling of a reader who knows she won't be disappointed. Every book in the Connor Grey series has been better than the last, and Unperfect Souls is no exception. It is less cataclysmic than books #2 and #3 - and it's a good thing, too, because the city of Boston was falling apart at the end of book 3. Don't get me wrong - Unperfect Souls is packed with a lot of very, very interesting revelations and some pretty major political shake-ups. And some big explosions. And battles in the streets. And attempted murder at the Guildmaster's Yule Ball, leading to the ruination of several costly fairy gowns. Hmm. I guess it's pretty cataclysmic.

So what's in store for us in Unperfect Souls? We show more learn a lot about the dark mass inside Connor's head. He finally meets someone who knows what it is, who takes the time to explain how it works. Connor doesn't get all the answers, but it's a lot more progress than we've seen in any earlier book. We get a confrontation with Bergen Vize. And we find out why Murdock's father, the police commissioner, hates Connor so much.

But while the last couple of books in this series have been about watching things fall apart - the appearance of the Taint, the destruction of TirNaNog - this one is about putting things back together again. The problems that have plagued earlier books - like Guild mismanagement and broken human-fey relations - reach a crisis point. Lines are drawn in the sand. And it's about Connor feeling comfortable with the person he's becoming, accepting that his central role in recent earth-shattering events is no fluke. He thinks to himself, at one point, how funny it is that it wasn't until he lost all his powers that the fey elite started paying attention to him - and boy, have they. Queen Maeve and King Donor both have spies watching his every move. Security doubles every time he makes a visit to the Guildhouse.

The only bad thing about reading a new book from a series I really love is knowing how long it will be until I can get my hands on the next one. The Connor Grey series is one of those for me - I clap my hands when the release date comes, and then I'm grumpy when I tear through the book and realize how long it will be till I get another fix. show less

I enjoyed the first two books of this series, but it was the third that made it a must read for me. It had action, adventure, intrigue and some interesting and surprising revelations. Unfortunately, this book dropped the ball and gave up most of the momentum built in the last book. Politics. That pretty much sums up the plotline in a nutshell.

The story started out good, with a mystery and a dead body (like usual). One of the Dead from TirNaNog is found decapitated. He's literally a dead Dead guy. Though it has a certain macabre humor, this premise quickly devolved into a political struggle acted out through a conflict between Solitaries (fey who are too unusual/ugly to be accepted) and the Dead. That conflict - that mystery - is show more completely secondary to the political machinations going on. Connor can't talk to anyone who doesn't have a hidden agenda!

As for Connor's black mass that blocks his abilities? We get closer to an answer there. But, after four books, I tired of moving "closer." I'm beginning to feel like a horse chasing a carrot hung in front of me that I can never catch. I can understand a thread running through all the books to interconnect them and make them more than stand alone mysteries. But when that thread prevents any resolution from occurring, it becomes frustrating. Every book has Connor recalling all he lost when he lost his abilities (wealth, status, power) and yet now he sees how wrong the Guild is and how he can no longer support its agenda. Methinks he doth protest too much. Would he still be a changed man if he got those abilities back? I'd love to find out.

There was some good things that kept me reading through to the end. Readers learn more about Murdock, his new essence shield and his family. The mystery surrounding just who "The Hound" is was a surprise. Eorla Kruge as a powerful fey NOT out to step on the little people was a breath of fresh air. If they hadn't been so dominant, the politics were also interesting. However, at the end I didn't feel like the story progressed. The only difference between the beginning and the end are some casualties - and a lot more questions. It makes me reluctant to try the author's other series set in the same world. I will read the next book, but if there is no resolution - I won't be back for more. show less

Del Franco gets better with each Connor Grey novel. The underlying mysteries centers around increasing fae versus Dead fae, who were recently locked out of their realm due to actions in the previous novel. Questions surround the politics of such acts, and if they are related to the taint, human-fae politics, and the darkness in Connor's own head.

I find I have to read Del Franco's Grey novels closely if I want to understand the events and the complexity of the world he has imagined; no skimming allowed. I also can't imagine picking up this book randomly, without having read the first three books in the series. Many of the issues and character developments were the subject of prior novels, and the backstory is limited. I frequently get show more the feeling I'm missing some significance to events in book #2 (Unquiet Dreams) or #3 (Unfallen Dead) and wish I had had re-read them. show less

This is book 4 in the Connor Grey series. it is urban fantasy set in Boston. I loved it, and each book seems to get better.

The POV is Connor Grey a disabled Druid. In this universe part of fantasy ended up merging with our modern world. No one knows why or how. The 2 major groups are the German Fae and the Celtic Fae. They fight and politic against each other, often with humans caught in the middle.

Connor was attacked by a German fae terrorist who used a black mass to strangle his magic. No one could remove or defuse the mass. With the loss of his ability to use his magic, he became disabled. The Guild downgraded him from big shot investigator to a medical disability.

Gone are his power, perks, wealth, importance, social entre and show more job. Connor now lives in the Weird - a magical slum in Boston and scrounges jobs to get by. He helps the Boston PD with magical crimes that are too small for the the Guild.

This story takes up the Taint, which is left over from the explosion of a spell in Book 3. The Taint hangs over Boston and occludes the magic of others. The Dead who crossed over in the last book are also being murdered. Once they are decapitated they can no longer return as they do from most other types of murder. The Dead are disliked by both the humans and the other magical beings.

Connor is trying to solve the problem of his disability, the murders of the Dead, and keep from being swallowed by both the German and Celt power structures.

He discovered that he was a snooty jackass before his disability. Now as a little person he realizes how he treated those in his shoes when he had power. Its an interesting personal journey he makes over the 4 books, and he is still evolving.

Connor still has magical friends and has made some human friends. In this book everything collides as the mystery leads to the halls of power, and changes the life of a human friend forever.

Great writing, world building, characters and stories. Complex stories. There is also a dollop of humor.

Can't wait for the next book. show less

The author is getting better with each book in this series. With this book, he solves the problem of the Taint, but not at no little cost to some of the characters. Connor is losing some of his allies and friends, but gaining others along the way. The twisting and turnings of normal and Fey plots are coming to light, and he seems to be everyone's favorite scapegoat. Good thing he's slippery, or lucky. And some of the questions about his darkness are finally being answered. I wonder what he'll do in the next book, with Eolora declaring herself a leader of the solitary Fey, and the Weird as her "court" so to say and that being beholden to neither Maeve, or Donor. And with both Meryl and his mentor Magnus in comas, and with himself being show more the instrument of his best friend's fathers death. There's a lot of questions still left to be dealt with. show less