Title: The Fox, the Dog, and the King
Series: The Cassie Tam Files #2
Author: Matt Doyle
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: July 23, 2018
Heat Level: 1- No sex
Pairing: No Romance
Length: 58000
Genre: Science Fiction, Futuristic, Lesbian, Private Detective, Sci-Fi
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40719106-the-fox-the-dog-and-the-king
Synopsis:
New Hopeland City may have been built to be the centerpiece of the technological age, but some remnants of the old world still linger. The tools of the trade have changed, but the corruption remains the same, even in the criminal underworld …
When PI Cassie Tam and her girlfriend Lori try to make up for their recent busy schedules with a night out at the theatre to watch the Tech Shift performer Kitsune, the last thing they expected was for Cassie to get a job offer. But some people are never off the clock, and by the end of the evening, Cassie has been drawn into a mundane but highly paid missing pet case. Unfortunately, in New Hopeland City, even something as simple as a little lost dog can lead you down some dark paths.
Until now, Cassie wasn’t aware that there even was a rabbit hole, let alone how far down it goes.
My Review:
Cassie Tam is a perpetually grumpy, stubborn, slightly ornery PI, and her gruff nature has once again shone through in the second Cassie Tam book, The Fox, the Dog, and the King. She reminds me of the loveable curmudgeon from Pixar's movie "Up" - you know the type - cane-wielding, arm shaking, "You kids get off my lawn," yelling senior citizen - this to me sums up Cassie perfectly. But in this sequel to Addict, we get to see a bit of a softer side as Cassie's relationship with Lori - the Tech Shifter from the first book starts to develop.
Now having said that, the relationship is not the point of the novel, more of a side arc. The mystery is the tracking down of a Japanese Anime inspired Performance Artist named Kitsune, who is convinced that their dog has been abducted.
As Cassie traces down her leads, she soon realizes that the large number of dog-nappings that have occurred lately throughout New Hopeland is only the proverbial 'tip of the iceberg'. After uncovering a dog-fighting ring, Cassie discovers a much deeper revelation.
Now that you're sitting on the edge of your seat, I couldn't possibly reveal that - you'll have to read the book yourself!
What I will say is this: The plot is clever. Although mysteries are not my usual fare, there was some careful story weaving in order to convey this tale. And what's the one thing I always say? "Give me a clever story." So, to that end, I say, well done Mr. Doyle! The intricacies and detail, and once again the attention to the tech detail were incredible. The back of the book even contains an "Owner's Manual" for the Tech Shifting suits. Fantastic!
Pet Owners and Animal Lovers beware! I have to say, I'm fairly dark and twisted, and I can subject myself to a rather wide range of topics and not have it linger within my soul. This story did though...one scene, in particular, took me out of reality and placed me right in the ring...the dogfighting ring. That bothered me, a lot. As a dog owner, this scene rattled my bones and disturbed me because I was able to easily place my little chihuahuas in place of Fish - the abducted dog. I know my sweet little pups wouldn't have lasted 30 seconds in that environment, and that violent imagery left me haunted. Now, some of you may be thinking how terrible that was, and you'd be right, it wasn't pleasant. BUT, and this is a monumental BUT - the author was able to create several pages of detail that made me remove myself from reality - step into their world - and live it so deeply that it made me have emotions outside of their world.
And that, my reading friends, is called true storytelling, and I wish every book I picked up would transport me like this moment did.
Well done. Very well done. Bring on Cassie Tam #3 - which I understand has been completed...and so we wait. What trouble will the PI who can straddle both worlds of Light and Dark get herself into next?
Rating:
Available At:
NineStar Press | Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Meet The Author:
Matt Doyle lives in the South East of
England and shares his home with a wide variety of people and animals, as well
as a fine selection of teas. He has spent his life chasing dreams, a habit
which has seen him gain success in a great number of fields. To date, this has
included spending ten years as a professional wrestler, completing a range of
cosplay projects, and publishing multiple works of fiction.
These days, Matt can be found working on
far too many novels at once, blogging about anime, comics, and games, and
plotting and planning what other things he’ll be doing to take up what little
free time he has.
