Madhouse

Madhouse (2008) Rob Thurman

I have a huge To Be Read pile, yet I can’t stop rereading this series.

This book starts off with Cal and Niko working on a kidnapping case. Cal–who is still pretty high strung (justifiably)–hates kidnapping cases, so there probably isn’t much chance things are going to go well.

So of course they don’t go well.

And before they’ve even recovered from that, they have a new case–a break in at the museum, with only a single, strange item missing.

One of the things we get in this story is the tiniest sliver of Robin’s history. It’s quite interesting to see the events that may well have kept Robin from turning out like Hob (see Moonshine)

But, as always, the writing and dialog are my favorite parts.

“And once again, the folklore monkeys got it wrong. Caps stained with blood.” Robin gave a foamy snort into his drink. “Yes, how frightening. A capering evil wearing a hat. Maybe he wears suspenders and short pants as well. Will the terror never end?”

Robin clarifies this lack of capering and short pants. And it is perry gruesome.

…I stopped counting. When it came to mathematics, there were three numerical concepts I was intersted in: barely worth the time, doable, and strategic fucking retreat. I didn’t need a calculator to know we were looking at the later.

That’s Cal and his mathematics of survival.

“What now boss?” I said with a groan. “I haven’t impaled a customer in days.”

“No,” he agreed with a bunched jaw. “You did, however, serve a vodyanoi a margarita on ice.”

“So?” I shrugged, not seeing the problem.

“With salt,” he added.

“And?” I twirled my fingers in an impatient come-on-already gesture.

“And half his face melted onto the bar.” He bent slightly and put his head even with mine. “Salt tends to do that to them.”

Once again, she’s worked in other creatures from folklore, making them both more horrible but yet more realistic than what you find in folklore.

The only bad note about this story is that it ends on a cliffhanger of sorts–with something bad appearing on the very last paragraph. I hate endings like that, and would have been perfectly content to leave the story the way it was before that last paragraph. Luckily, this is the only book (so far) in which she has done that.

Thank goodness.
Rating: 8/10

Published by ROC

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