John Zakour, The Frost-Haired Vixen

The Frost Haired Vixen

John Zakour

Daw, December 2006, $7.99, 484 pp

ISBN 0756403979

The only private detective in existence in the year 2061 is Zachary Nixon Johnson, and whenever he is on a case, which are few and far between, mayhem and destruction follow. His latest client is the mutant Santana Clausa who works in the North Pole with a few thousand cloned elves, who make three presents for each person for the winter holiday, an event that removes all religious connotations from what used to be Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza.

Her problem is that someone killed two of her elves, which everyone thought was impossible, because the North Pole is the happiest place in the world. Zach accepts the assignment, but before he goes to the North Pole he is attacked by killer bots. When he arrives at the North Pole, a bot tries to smother him with a pillow, and other attempts are made on his life. With the help of his AI supercomputer HARV, he narrows the suspects down to the people who are visiting the North Pole, but doesn't rule out an insider reprogramming the bots to kill.

John Zakour has written a serio-comic tale, with the emphasis on comic futuristic thriller. There is so much humor in the tale that readers will find themselves instantly laughing out loud. Although the tone of THE FROST-HAIRED VIXEN is light, there is a serious undertone to the story. The protagonist is a man out of time, better suited to the twentieth century, where he could be a Phillip Marlow rather than an almost extinct operative, who relies on easily getting information and mid twenty first century technology.