Dead Man in a Ditch

Detective Noir in an Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy-World setting where the magic has turned off.A character study of someone consumed in hero-worship faced when the hero might no longer be worthy of worship.Betrayal, hope, brightness, shadow, dragons, guns, city, cold, rebuilding, destroying, and a dead man in a ditch.Densely written, but not happy. But then good Noir should not be happy.And this is good Noir.

This is a sequel to The Last Smile in Sunder City, which I highly recommend!I can't get over this series.Luke Arnold is truly a gifted storyteller. He's an absolute master of Chekov's Gun, my favorite writing concept that not enough authors use often or well enough. All the strings of his stories are pulled together and tied up in a neat and coherent bow by the end and the journey there is entertaining and engaging. I even brought others in on my excitement, reading out passages and calling out my own theories for the little mysteries scattered about (All I'll say is...Deamar? Called it.). They all humored me.Once again, I find myself adoring the characters he's created to such an extreme that I've had to pause my reading to hug and/or pet the book.No, I'm not joking.Really, I can't recommend this series enough. It's so much fun while also managing to be very thought-provoking. I've not been bored a single moment while reading this book or its predecessor, and I find myself pretty damn distraught that the third isn't out already.I'll be waiting for it as patiently as I can manage. In the meantime, I'll be wondering why this series doesn't have a bigger spotlight on it...or why I don't have a t-shirt with "Fetch Phillips, Man-For-Hire" on it...As far as non-story related satisfaction goes, the book came completely immaculate and in a very short time. Amazon came through on product care and shipping.

A masterpiece, doubled down on everything I loved from the first installment--again impressive, engaging world building, darkly hilarious, a plot with lots of twists and turns but doesn't feel convoluted, and the emotional payoff is gutwrenching. No spoilers, but Last Smile and Dead Man complete a very specific arc that literally blew my head off.I also have the audio version and I need to give a shoutout to the just... top tier vocal performance. It's so much richer for listening to it, magnifies the experience and I recommend reading it both ways to EVERYONE.

Okay, I enjoyed Last Smile in Sunder City. It was a fun read. But the sequel? Had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't help but react out loud to the twists and reveals spread throughout the story. The climax is so intense I stopped breathing. Most excellent of all is the incredible yet completely believable character development of Fetch Phillips from where he started to where he ends (which I won't spoil).My one concern? Luke Arnold won't be able to top this with book three. But I anticipate February 2022 with great excitement, hoping for more great stuff from everyone's favorite (or least favorite, if you're one of the other characters) Man for Hire!

I really enjoyed the writer's style in this book. And I love a gritty private eye story.

Fetch is a gruff, irritable man for hire. In spite of all his efforts to the contrary a spark of hope still exists inside him that maybe there's a chance to fix the world he destroyed. Friends new, old and unwanted lure Fetch to their side, however he may be more trouble than he's worth. Just as spell-binding as the first book. A story of a world gone wrong, people trying to hold into the shattered remains of their life and one Man who can't quite decide to live, die or give a crap.

Luke Arnolds second showing turned out to be even better than the first. The Last Smile in Sunder City and now Dead Man in a Ditch have both turned out to be two of my favorite books read this year, maybe even of all time. The world is interesting and fresh, the characters, Fetch especially, are deep and human, and the twists and turns are more sudden and full of surprises than Sunder City itself.

A mixture of a noir detective novel and a magical fantasy ad our protagonist searches, or should I say fetches, his identity and purpose. Great characters, great plot, fascinating moral twists. Go Fetch.

After falling in love with Sunder City, I was looking forward to the continuation of the series. After just seven months, which feels like four weeks and two decades simultaneously, the second instalment in the Fetch Phillips Archives is just around the corner. When I was opening the ARC, kindly provided by Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley, my first thought was: "Please be good!"It's always a bit tricky to review the subsequent books without spoiling not only what's happening in the current chapter of Fetch's quest for redemption, but also the one before.Let's start with the blurb:"Fetch Philips has nothing left to believe in. Which is why he's surprised when the people of Sunder City start to believe in him...Rumour has it that Fetch is only one who can bring magic back into the world. So when a man is murdered in a way that can only be explained as magical, Fetch is brought in on the case. A case which just might unearth things best left buried..."Sunder City hasn't changed much since we left it - there is no magic, and still no heating. Fetch continues to be stubbornness incarnate, existing on alcohol and painkillers, odd jobs, and sapping any remnants of hope from anyone who asks him for help in finding any possible traces of magic still alive.Dead Man has significantly more action than the Last Smile - Fetch moves from one investigation to another. Along the way, he gets into a fair amount of troubles of varying nature and severity. There is, however, an underlying theme, which is deeply rooted in the changes in societal dynamics caused by world-impacting events and human nature.I could talk a lot about the worldbuilding, author's social observation acuity, or if the portrayal of Fetch as a guilt-ridden wreck of a man with chronic pain is believable. What I want to touch on, however, is how Luke Arnold plays with and on emotions.There wasn't much of hope during the events described in the Last Smile, but as time goes by, people are trying desperately to find a glimpse of hope to hold onto. In a way, Dead Man is a study of sorts about how dangerous hope can be and how far a man can go to seek for miracles. And this doesn't only apply to Fetch.There was a particular moment in the story when a ghost from Fetch's past reemerged, and you may start to question whether the protagonist's reaction was convincing.At a glance, it feels as if Fetch gave up the control way too easily. But how wearied Fetch must've been: every corner of the city feeding his remorse for years, every day him waking up and trying to do the right thing. Or do anything, at that.When you're at that stage of exhaustion, and someone shows up to take the burden of decisionmaking from you, the relief is indescribably irresistible. Trust me, I know.There was also a very subtle scene, playing on deeply hidden sentiments towards oneself, where, yet again, I realised how close I could relate to Fetch. To avoid any spoilers, I will only say "rabbit".I also need to mention the evolution of the narrative. Although both books from the series were written in close succession, it is very noticeable how Luke's writing has matured between them. The world has expanded, the connections between the characters deepened, and the juxtapositions are razor sharp and cut deep.The trolls still haven't moved, but there may be some miraculous sparks of hope in this unforgiving world for all of us.

Noir meets post apocalyptic fantasy in a world where magic has, mostly, died. It’s grim dark on steroids, but so quickly paced there’s no time to let the mood detract from the action.

I have enjoyed all three books in this trilogy. The second book was particularly good. All the books moved along at a good pace with engaging characters and clever plot twists. A great debut from Luke Arnold and I look forward to his next book.

The concepts behind these books are refreshingly original. It took me some time to warm to the characters, particularly the protagonist, but as we learn more about Fetch in book 2, the more I could appreciate where he was coming from and how he's been shaped by his past and the harsh world around him. It sounds silly, but I particularly enjoyed his fondness for his new hat!I'm looking forward to more from this series. The books are fun easy reads, and I truly want to know where the overall story will go. I have hope for the city of Sunder. Fingers crossed the characters will encounter some more joy by the end of it to counteract the misery they've had to live through.I'm honestly excited to jump back into this intriguing world in the next book.

Wonderful fantasy story that is relatable, intriguing, & beautifully written. Luke Elliott Arnold is a Master of storytelling. A must read.