Published by Tor Books, New York, 2009
I bought this book because I love to read a fantasy crime novel from time to time. And it started all right, a teenage princess run away, and the murder of a king's infant son, and Eddy LaCrosse, a veteran soldier with a dark past who works as a private investigator, starts his search.
The world-building was solid, the characters interesting, the story fast-paced. About half the book passed very enjoyably, I was about to give praise to the author and his writing.
Then he introduced a goddess. Which spoiled everything, at least to me. A goddess involved in crime? How is a mere human to compete? Predictably the goddess influenced the crime as well as the investigation and was also able to see and influence parts of the future, which robbed the story of suspense. There was no other possible outcome, she had to win.
Had the author stuck to his first idea and this goddess never existed, I would have loved the book. So it's a so-so read. Makes just two stars out of five this time.