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Cold Iron
Detective Morgan Everson has gotten pretty acquainted with death. She sees it all the time, especially working the Special Homicide division in Philadelphia. But this case is new. In this case, the victim of the murder is also a potential eye-witness. His name is Seth, and he was dead for thirty-five years before they found him wandering around a cemetery.
A detective himself in the 1980s, Seth sets about putting together the pieces of the former life he can barely remember. In his wake, however, people who knew him start dying, and in particularly violent ways that put them squarely in Morgan's lap. She must discover the connection between Seth and the murders, even as Seth works to understand the whys and wherefores of his resurrection. The connection between the two may be the bullet found among Seth's belongings. It is not jacketed in steel or made with silver, but instead has a core of cold iron. What it means, and the intent behind its creation, will change the lives of both detectives forever.
A detective himself in the 1980s, Seth sets about putting together the pieces of the former life he can barely remember. In his wake, however, people who knew him start dying, and in particularly violent ways that put them squarely in Morgan's lap. She must discover the connection between Seth and the murders, even as Seth works to understand the whys and wherefores of his resurrection. The connection between the two may be the bullet found among Seth's belongings. It is not jacketed in steel or made with silver, but instead has a core of cold iron. What it means, and the intent behind its creation, will change the lives of both detectives forever.
179 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 19, 2012
About the author
Josh Loomis
1 book3 followersJosh Loomis works by day as technical designer. By night he writes genre fiction, blogs, plays video games, and consumes media. He currently lives in Seattle.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 9, 2024
My dad was the cover model for this book so I have rate it 5 stars 🫶
September 1, 2012
Cold Iron is a fusion of many genres/sub-genres -- mystery, thriller, supernatural, urban fantasy, noir fiction. There's a bit of something for everyone and it's a rather enjoyable read.
Morgan Everson is a seasoned detective in the Philadelphia Special Homicide Division -- police-speak for the squad investigating killings involving vampires or attended by other peculiar circumstances. While no stranger to unusual cases, her new assignment fazes her. It's 2020 but it isn't everyday a homicide victim and former detective turned private investigator - Seth ibn Fasil - is found wandering in a cemetery thirty-five years after he was killed and buried. Even stranger, people who knew Seth are being systematically and violently killed one by one. Coincidence?
Seth and Morgan scramble to unravel the mystery of his revival and its relation, if any, to the murders of his friends and acquaintances. It's tough going but they do have one clue -- a handcrafted bullet loaded with cold iron. Oh, did I mention there are vampires?
This novella is a satisfying, contained tale. The pacing is deliberate and effective and reminds me of hardboiled whodunnit fiction of old. I felt right alongside Seth and Morgan during their investigation. You won't find much info dumping. The various characters were used to relay necessary and desirable information.
A certain mystic attaches to characters with a patent sense of duty and uncompromising conviction. The double dose of no-nonsense detectives here are great examples and the best parts of this tale. Synergy attends their relationship even though they just met, an understanding on a visceral level. I'm eager to plumb the depths of their characters as I sense more revelations in store about what makes them tick. Perhaps it'll answer an old question: when everyone else is running away from danger, why do a select few run towards it? The forces that oppose them are also no slackers and provide more than adequate counterpoint to Seth and Morgan, although I do wish they had more page-time.
Just in case anyone missed my not-at-all subtle hint-- I'm looking forward to the sequel.
Morgan Everson is a seasoned detective in the Philadelphia Special Homicide Division -- police-speak for the squad investigating killings involving vampires or attended by other peculiar circumstances. While no stranger to unusual cases, her new assignment fazes her. It's 2020 but it isn't everyday a homicide victim and former detective turned private investigator - Seth ibn Fasil - is found wandering in a cemetery thirty-five years after he was killed and buried. Even stranger, people who knew Seth are being systematically and violently killed one by one. Coincidence?
Seth and Morgan scramble to unravel the mystery of his revival and its relation, if any, to the murders of his friends and acquaintances. It's tough going but they do have one clue -- a handcrafted bullet loaded with cold iron. Oh, did I mention there are vampires?
This novella is a satisfying, contained tale. The pacing is deliberate and effective and reminds me of hardboiled whodunnit fiction of old. I felt right alongside Seth and Morgan during their investigation. You won't find much info dumping. The various characters were used to relay necessary and desirable information.
A certain mystic attaches to characters with a patent sense of duty and uncompromising conviction. The double dose of no-nonsense detectives here are great examples and the best parts of this tale. Synergy attends their relationship even though they just met, an understanding on a visceral level. I'm eager to plumb the depths of their characters as I sense more revelations in store about what makes them tick. Perhaps it'll answer an old question: when everyone else is running away from danger, why do a select few run towards it? The forces that oppose them are also no slackers and provide more than adequate counterpoint to Seth and Morgan, although I do wish they had more page-time.
Just in case anyone missed my not-at-all subtle hint-- I'm looking forward to the sequel.
July 15, 2015
This novella was an interesting introduction to a potential urban fantasy world - and one that I would be intrigued to see more of. My only criticisms would be as follows:
- despite starting with the premise of being about a cop who suddenly woke up from being 35-years dead, it took a long time to acknowledge any supernatural elements, constantly flirting around them until late in the story.
- The chapter-by-chapter perspective jumping took a little getting used to.
- I can't decide how I felt about the timelog "chapter" headings - I know that I did a poor job at remembering the prior heading to know the relative scene change, but that is likely more my attention span than a fault in the mechanism.
On story and character, it was solid. I could relate to both Seth and Morgan as the key characters, and the progression of the story felt natural and compelling. All in all it was an great opening to a potential series.
- despite starting with the premise of being about a cop who suddenly woke up from being 35-years dead, it took a long time to acknowledge any supernatural elements, constantly flirting around them until late in the story.
- The chapter-by-chapter perspective jumping took a little getting used to.
- I can't decide how I felt about the timelog "chapter" headings - I know that I did a poor job at remembering the prior heading to know the relative scene change, but that is likely more my attention span than a fault in the mechanism.
On story and character, it was solid. I could relate to both Seth and Morgan as the key characters, and the progression of the story felt natural and compelling. All in all it was an great opening to a potential series.
September 5, 2012
Interesting novella debut that mixes noir, mystery and urban fantasy. I'm a bit perplexed as this could have been a longer story and there are elements and backstory that could have been properly explored. Suffice to say the present story is both exciting and fast, springing multiple surprises on the reader to bring it to a closure of sorts but with the hint that there's more mayhem to come. Count me intrigued and wanting to know what happens next. More to come in review next week...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews