Silence of the Sands - ebook

Silence of the Sands by R.J. Hore Review

Randy knew something was up when his half-banshee secretary, Bertha, whirled into the office – over an hour late – grabbed some spare cash then left without any explanation. Randy knows Bertha is usually completely calm and collected, but he’s not initially worried. When Bertha contacts him and beg for help he’s drawn into his most bizarre case yet.

While this is part of a series I haven’t read any of the previous installments and can happily say this book truly stands well alone. I adored catching all the puns and various mangled references (a cat called Schrodinger, for example) and this coupled with the hard-boiled edge of Randy’s voice mingled really well so the story didn’t feel too noir or edgy, but also not just a light and fluffy comedy story either. I thought the author did an amazing job balancing these two and I found myself both deeply embroiled in the mystery aspect to the plot while laughing at the references I caught and enjoying the lighter tone equally well.

Readers looking for a humorous mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still has a solid plot, a wealth of interesting and varied magical characters and an astonishingly well-detailed world should find this story a delight. The pace moves quickly at times and I found myself needing to go back and read more carefully in a few places as the author manages to put a number of clever references and witty ripostes in a very short space of words. It’s easy to overlook small details like this and I’m certain this book will only grow deeper and more complicated in a wonderful way upon further re-reads. This is exactly the sort of book where even on the third or fourth re-read you can catch extra hints, tips and clues and be delighted all over again at the cleverness of the author and characters.

Review from Long and Short Reviews here
http://www.longandshortreviews.com/book-reviews/silence-of-the-sands-by-r-j-hore/