Title: Garrett on the Case (Angry Lead Skies/Whispering Nickel Idols)
Author: Glen Cook
Year: 2002/2005
Publisher: Roc
Reviewer: Kat Allen

"Garrett on the Case" is actually two books---"Angry Lead Skies" and
"Whispering Nickel Idols".  I read them together because I like
hardcovers, even when the cover art is sort of confusing.  (There's a
picture I assume must be of the Dead Man, Garrett, a rat and a
dark-haired girl.  I assume the girl is Belinda, so the rat must be
Pular Singe, but it's much smaller than I assumed she was.  I'm pretty
sure she's supposed to be person-sized...)

Anyway, both of these are pretty typical Garrett books---Garret is
totally unappreciated as he stumbles through to startling success.


Angry Lead Skies

Highlights:
* Aliens in TunFaire
* Playmate
* Pular Singe looking cool
* Morley Dotes getting his clothes messy
* Lots and lots of headaches (concussions, mostly) for Garrett
* A whole book in which Garrett's partners spend money and he does not
  get paid
* A look at the rise of a more racist, bordering on fascist TunFaire

Low Points:
* Mostly no Dead Man (not the end of the world, but he's neat)

I really liked this one.  The mystery of the silver aliens, and the
hidden factions (all of which are pretty-much lying to Garrett and his
team) is fun to watch Garrett explore, and if you ever start to get
bored, you can enjoy another page or two of Garret losing another
fight.  As usual, he comes out ahead, and the ending feels more like
an Assassin's Guild game than ever.


Whispering Nickel Idols

Highlights:
* Foreign Gods
* Bad Guys in Green Plaid
* Mysterious Rocks
* Lots of Dead Man being cool
* Many, many mobsters who are not as smart as they think they are

Low Points:
* More and more suggestions that the series might be ending and
  Garrett getting out of detective-ing.


Ok, I liked this one too.  The idols are a neat plot, particularly
their resolution, and at least none of the people (except maybe the
Contagues) are plot devices.

There's Yet Even More police presence in this one, which is fine and
even neat, but Cook keeps hinting that it's making TunFaire not a
great place for a usually-but-not-always-legal type like Garrett.
Hints of a real resolution with Tinnie also seem to suggest an
end---though a little more character development for Pular Singe might
be enough to let the stories go on with her.