Do you like books about elves, fairies, the living Dead, and mysterious murders? Then take a walk on the Weird side, and pick up the fourth and latest novel in the Connor Grey detective series, Unperfect Souls, by author Mark Del Franco! Someone is going around killing the Dead, and Conner Grey is investigating the murders with his friend on the Boston P.D., Lieutenant Murdock. The neighborhood of Boston that he lives in, known as the Weird (because of the strange denizens who have made it their home, and the peculiar and dangerous activities that occur there), is getting even weirder.
There are many political factions invested in the situation, and if the slayings aren’t stopped and the killer(s) caught, many more of the fey and the Dead will likely die. As he investigates and tracks down the murderer, Connor finds himself walking a fine line and trying not to stir up the brewing political storm between the Dead, the solitary fey, and Queen Maeve and King Donor. Then, there are the various underKings and underQueens, whose interests are often at odds with those of almost everyone else. And on top of all this, Grey is struggling to cope with the tentacled black mass in his brain that may be more control of his own body than he is, that certainly inhibits his druid powers, and could be turning him into an incubus-like creature similar to the leanansidhe he discovers in Boston’s sewer system….
Trying to keep track of who’s who can be a bit challenging at times, especially if you haven’t read the first three novels in the series before reading this one. A large cast of characters can be a drawback, in that it can interfere with getting into the plot. There were a few instances when I had to reread portions of certain chapters and go back to other chapters to make sure about different relationships among the characters; but, for the most part, I didn’t have many problems keeping the characters straight, and it wasn’t a major distraction to me.
I really liked a lot about this fourth book. Connor’s increasing insights into the black mass in his head added to the appeal the novel had for me, and Grey’s questioning about the extent to which the mass is affecting his decisions and his life builds up the tension in the novel. The murder mystery angle is fraught with danger and consequences, and the devious efforts of the Fey Guild to wrest greater political power for themselves is almost as interesting to read as the main plot.
Also, I liked the characters of the rampaging Dead berserker Jark (potentially “an eyewitness to his own murder”); a black hellhound (generally a harbinger of one’s death) who starts to follow Connor around; and the character Hunter, who leaps from rooftop to rooftop during a memorable chase scene. Besides these, I liked getting to learn more about the character of Moira Cashel/Amy Sullivan and Grey’s conflicting emotions for her. Is she, he wonders, really a love from his past–Amy Sullivan–or, is she just masquerading as Amy, working under the orders of Queen Maeve?
Is Unperfect Souls a worthwhile read? Will it hold your interest? Does it add to the series and build upon what’s gone before? Yes, yes, and yes–though I’d recommend that you read the first three books in this urban fantasy series before this one. Each novel in the series is suspenseful and action-packed, and are worth checking out in their own right. I can’t wait to see what happens next, and how Del Franco closes out this highly entertaining series.
