The Demon and the City

The Demon and the City (2006) Liz Williams

I really do love this series.

Chen and Inari are on vacation, so Zhu Irzh is–in theory–handling the supernatural cases in Singapore Three. In reality, the captain is giving him very small-time crimes, fearing (perhaps justifiably) that Zhu Irzh could cause more problems than he solved. So he goes after unlicensed feng shui practitioners but can’t help but be interested in a brutal slaying that turns out to be a rather wealthy and well-connected young woman.

We also meet Jhai Tserai, who runs the biggest corporation in Singapore Three, and is hiding lots and lots of things from everyone. and Robin Yang, who works for Jhai and whose girlfriend was brutally murdered.

Let me be clear, Chen doesn’t show up in till a third of the way through the book. But it really doesn’t matter, because there is so much else happening we hardly have time to miss him.

Plus, I quite like Zhu Irzh.

“There’s a substantial spring down there.” He pointed.
Paravang said loftily, “I doubt that very much. It’s entirely the wrong sort of terrain.”

Zhu Irzh made a universal both-hands-in-the-air gesture. “I can’t help that. I can see it! There it is. Go and get your little stick and take a look.”

“It is not a little stick! It is a dowsing wand!”

“My apologies.”

And of course there’s Zhu Irzh’s first meeting with Jhai.

Any notions he might have had of dominating this particular interview were well past their sell-by date.

Plus, I remain fascinated by the connections between the supernatural and technology.

His mother, the shrill, quarrelsome Mrs Roche, had long since passed into one of the more pleasant neighborhoods of Hell, if that wasn’t a contradiction in terms. She sometimes telephoned, a tinny, distant voice in her son’s ear, demanding to know why he was still unwed.

I both love and am somewhat horrified by the idea of phone calls from the dead. Precisely for the reasons shown in that paragraph.

The other thing I love about this story is that although Jhai does some truly reprehensible things, she somehow remains sympathetic. It doesn’t seem as if it should be possible, yet it is.

One last thing, I again want to show you the original cover.

As I said before, the covers are what initially drew me to the series, and although there’s nothing wrong with the re-release cover pre se, it’s got nothing on the original cover, which, in my opinion, gives you a perfect feel for the story contained within.

Another delightful re-read.
Rating 8.5/10

Published by Open Road Media



 
 

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