Book Review: Corpses and Cognac by Dorian Graves
I have been looking forward to the release of this book since I turned to the last page of the first book, Bones and Bourbon. This is an excellent and spellbinding example of weird, dark fantasy.
Title: Corpses and Cognac
Series: Deadly Drinks #2
Author: Dorian Graves
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 05, 2021
Heat Level: N/A
Pairing: N/A
Length: 255 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Tags: Dark, Horror, Transgender, Old Gods, Fae, Fantasy, Creatures
Synopsis:
An ancient leviathan lies buried under the town of Arcata, California—which isn’t a problem until its head goes missing and its ghost threatens to destroy the entire town. Sounds like a typical case for possessed hairdresser Retz and cursed bounty hunter Jarrod, the half-huldra Gallows brothers. But the case soon turns complicated with a string of disappearances, a madcap carnival promising eternal bliss, and a motorcycle gang of minotaurs plotting against mysterious strangers that are neither human nor monster.
Lucky for the Gallows brothers, they have staunch allies...or at least they have Nalem, the necromancer ghost who "borrows" Retz's body, and Farris, Jarrod's daredevil boyfriend coming to grips with his new un-life as a Faerie. Everyone else they thought of as friends show a different face in the funhouse mirrors, and old foes beg to be saved from "The Happiest Place Out of This World".
This case will shake Retz and Jarrod to their cores, forcing them to question everything they know about themselves and their loved ones. It'll be a struggle to save the day with their bodies and minds intact...which means it's the perfect time for a drink. Sit back and raise a glass—the Gallows brothers ride again!
My Review:
Graves has done it again!
Full disclosure, this is not a stand-alone novel. So, if you haven't read Bones and Bourbon, you really need to before you wade into the Sea Mother deep of Corpses and Cognac.
If you choose this adventure, you will be rewarded. Graves takes the threads of common tropes in Urban Fantasy and turns them on its ear. The main characters are siblings, Jarrod and Retz, who are both half-huldra, but each sibling has inherited unique characteristics from their huldra mother. They are also supernatural investigators. Jarrod has been afflicted by a rather unique curse, where Retz is host to an ancient, powerful, god-like entity, called Nalem.
I can only describe the boys' journey as a walk through fairyland, on a hit of acid. Often we drum up tales of the fae that are cute and whimsical, occasionally they are grim with stern warnings for those who stray from the wooded path. Graves's Arcadia (fairyland) is a realm of nightmares overlaid in cotton candy, circus tents and ringmasters. All would seem to promise a good time, however the carnival is a dead end for those humans and supernatural beings who dream of living different lives - and let's face it - which of us has not at some point wanted more from our lives, or a simpler life, or the love of our lives. In this installment of the Deadly Drinks series, you can have everything you've ever dreamed of, at a cost.
Graves has a unique way of worldbuilding that is both humorous, and utterly frightening. I mean - Retz and Nalem's supernatural ability is to sense, control, and manipulate bones. Bones from either the dead, or the living. Think of the ramifications of rearranging, fusing, or reshaping the skeletal structure of someone who is currently alive! Once you've wrapped your head around this and get used to the idea, the thought of using your finger bones as darts seems relatively straightforward, until you also come to realization that Nalem is ripping these out of living flesh. This is only a mild taste of the horrific things the necromancer does.
Apart from the memorable world the Gallows brothers dwell in, I have to bring up a point I made in my first review of Bones and Bourbon. In most of the Urban Fantasy books we have come to know and love, we are treated to tales with witches, shapeshifters, vampires, and such. Graves goes the extra mile in this series by having main characters who are hulderkind, gives us a new way to think about the world of the fae, introduces motorcycle riding herds of minitours, and resurrected second-chance giving lamias. In other words, Graves uses less familiar creatures and gives them memorable characters. It's as refreshing as it is informative.
If you're in the mood for something completely different, and want to delve deep into the world of the weird, I highly suggest the Deadly Drinks series. I know there's at least one more installment coming. Brace yourself for eerie darkness, bizarre creatures, and a twisted garden vine of plot trails.
I promise you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
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