John Meaney, Bone Song

Bone Song

John Meaney

Bantam, Mar 2008, $24.00

ISBN: 9780553385144

Four famous performers have been recently murdered in different countries. At least of the actor Sir Alyn Conolly made it to the morgue in Lorgonne, where an autopsy revealed toxic slivers that resolved left behind micro holes.

In Tristopolis the multiple incinerations of the dead serve the undead living by providing the "necroflux". The Police Commissioner is concerned with the upcoming appearance of opera singer Maria daLivnova at the Theatre du Loup Mort. He orders Police Lieutenant Donal Riordan to insure the diva is kept safe from an apparent deadly cult. However the dedicated courageous cop soon concludes that the cult's necromantic success is fostered by those at the untouchable top of the government. He must find a way to stop those who kill the dead with impunity.

This is a fascinating police procedural urban fantasy in which "There are eight million stories in the Naked City of Tristopolis; John Meaney introduced many of them but left them open. The Noir investigation is fun to follow and the paranormal species 'living' above and under ground seem genuine, but it is the colorful dark description of the city that steals the show in this first of what looks to be a long running series.

Harriet Klausner.