Cold Iron

Cold Iron is the name of an Elfrock band in Michaels's first fantasy -- and first novel in a number of years. Rose Lavine is the name of a private investigator who, because of her great dislike for Christmas, gets involved with that band -- even though she hates Elfrock, having passed the adolescent years at which she believes it's best appreciated. The fantasy elements are present -- in the elves themselves, who cross the boundaries from a faerie that is otherwise remarkable for its absence into the human world, craving the passionate indulgence of a human audience -- and muted; this is one of a handful of books in the genre that qualifies as a crossover murder mystery, without any of the pyrotechnics that might otherwise be expected in a fantasy. Parts of the structure of the mystery could have been foreshadowed a bit more clearly, but there's more here that's serious than meets the eye, especially if you judge a book by its cover, and Rose Lavine is a gem of a character, one I'd like to see get more play in the future.
-Michelle West


Genre: Fantasy