Los Lagos Heat
A DragonEye, PI Story
Laser Cow Press
ASIN B0F5THHJJ4
This is the 42 book or story I have read by Karina Fabian. I love her style, her sense of humour, and the variety of stories she writes. This is a standalone piece set in the DragonEye PI series, a short story. I picked this up and devoured it the day I found out about it. I read it over a mug of tea. I have encountered Vern previously in anthologies and in other novels, I believe I have read all that has been published and look forward to some second editions of the first few stories later this year. This new story was a fairly sombre, but well worth the read.
For those who are not familiar with the DragonEye PI series, Vern is a Faerie dragon currently stuck on our side of the barrier. He is a Private Investigator he fights crimes both human and Fairy. And he is working off a debt and works for the Faerie Catholic Church. He is nowhere near the dragon he was, in size or power because of a run in with Saint George. The description of this volume is:
“Vern is hired to find a missing dryad, Lea—a thrill seeker who’d rather experience slow death exploring the mysteries of the Mundane world than endure a long and secure life with a demigod. Vern’s investigation reveals a web of prostitution, fraud, betrayal—and murder. But was Lea victim or instigator, and what does it have to do with an injured wood nymph and a politician’s son?”
The story begins with a quote from our very own Vern:
“Some kisses, like some adventures, come at too high a price.”
This story just felt different. And from the acknowledgements we know why. Very is not even pushing to torment Vialpando as hard as he normally would. The Pi case is nagging at Vern and it truly appears to be one he wishes to solve. But not all cases solve with a good ending. But Vern does try to make help right a different wrong after solving this case.
The acknowledgements state:
“Every now and then, Vern doesn’t want to do funny. He just wants to go full-on noir. This was one of those times, and I’m so grateful to the Vern fans (or Vernnerds as some call themselves) for being willing to enjoy his dark side as well as his funny one. Thanks to the CWG SFF Crit group for giving this a polish, especially Suzanna Linton who caught a logical flaw in Vern’s investigative technique.
Special thanks goes to Lyndon Perry, who published this story in Residential Aliens in November 2023. Lynn and I have been writing friends for a long time. I’m so glad he reached out to ask if I had a story for him.”
It is another great story in the Vern Verse and excellent offering from the Fabian Space. As mentioned very different than many of the others. A great little read. It is excellent for fans of the series, or someone wanting a sampling. A great short story I can easily recommend.
Books by Karina Fabian:
Dex Hollister Series:
The Old Man and the Void
Dex's Way
...
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator Series :
Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
I Left My Brains in San Francisco
Shambling in a Winter Wonderland
…
DragonEye PI Series:
DragonEye PI Novels:
6.0 Siren Spell
7.0 Good Intentions
9.0 Gapman
10.0 Magic, Mensa and Mayhem (Revised edition forthcoming)
11.0 Live and Let Fly (Revised edition forthcoming)
...
DragonEye PI Short Stories:
DragonEye PI Original First Editions:
...
Space Traipse Series:
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 1
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 2
Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 3
Edited by: Karina Fabian:
Infinite Space, Infinite God I
Leaps of Faith
Infinite Space, Infinite God II
...
Contributed to:
Firestorm of Dragons
The Zombie Cookbook
The Book of Tentacles
Twisted Fayrie Tales
FRIGHTLINER: And Other Tales of the Undead
Mother Goose is Dead
Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary
Image and Likeness Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body
Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction
Weird Noir
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels
Manifesto UF
Avenir Eclectia
Planetary Anthology: Jupiter
Planetary Anthology: Pluto
Planetary Anthology: Luna
Planetary Anthology: Uranus
FlagShip Science Fiction and Fantasy v2i5
My Little Book of Headdesks
To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity
Space Traipse Stories
…
Madness of Kanaan Series:
(formerly The Mind Over Series)
Edited by: Karina Fabian:
Infinite Space, Infinite God I
Leaps of Faith
Infinite Space, Infinite God II
...
Nonfiction with Deacon Steven Lumbert:
Contributed to:
Firestorm of Dragons
The Zombie Cookbook
The Book of Tentacles
Twisted Fayrie Tales
FRIGHTLINER: And Other Tales of the Undead
Mother Goose is Dead
Word by Word: Slowing Down with the Hail Mary
Image and Likeness Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body
Corrupts Absolutely? Dark Metahuman Fiction
Weird Noir
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Novels
Manifesto UF
Avenir Eclectia
Planetary Anthology: Jupiter
Planetary Anthology: Pluto
Planetary Anthology: Luna
Planetary Anthology: Uranus
FlagShip Science Fiction and Fantasy v2i5
My Little Book of Headdesks
To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity
...
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