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The Dwarves of Whiskey Island | Rating | |
| A | |||
| S. Andrew Swann | |||
| Series | Related Books | ||
| The Cleveland Portal | The Dragons of the Cuyahoga, The Dwarves of Whiskey Island | ||
Two full years after Kline Maxwell's last "fuzzy gnome" story, he still can't stand them. Not only does he consider them degrading, but that one got a little hairy for him near the end. But when a dwarf offers to let him know why a politician committed suicide, and then was killed before they could meet, he's drawn into yet another big case involving the supernatural creatures that have crossed through the portal in Browns Stadium. But this one is different in two big ways. First, it has consequences beyond Cleveland, and two, it's starting to get very, very personal.
Like the last book, the plot in this one is a little slow to evolve. Unlike that book, it evolves much more understandably. There were no portions that were confusing, no theory after theory changing facts around on me.
Also a plus was the narrator's motivation. While things are moving slowly, he's just following up on an intereesting story. And it's pretty much only that: a story. But it is a worthwhile one to follow. When he was investigating a dragon's death I couldn't quite figure why he had to push so hard and dig so deep when so far as anyone knew there was no reason for it. It just seemed something more in line for a private eye or a police officer than a reporter, there. Here, it's perfectly plausible.
Then, when things started heating up, his driving force was very personal. It cranked up both the pace and the tension level perfectly, and gave Swann the excuse to make Kline much more involved than he'd otherwise be willing to be. When your daughter is at risk, your impulse is not to sit back and let others figure things out. And in these types of stories, the main character will follow those kind of impulses.
That the threat was also greater in scope helped, also. This is no local affair, this time, and with high stakes comes high drama. It was honestly difficult to set this book aside for long.
Simply put, this is an excellent mystery that builds plausibly until it uncovers a massive and very nasty threat. Meanwhile, the main character is a nice, logical, human person that is very easy to sympathize with. And it has a kick-ass cover. Who could ask for more?
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