BOOK REVIEW | BONES & BETRAYALS: SILENCE OF THE DEAD | ERICA MARKS & ANDI EWINGTON

ABOUT THE BOOK

Murder has come to the city of Tronte...

 Holtar didn’t become a necromancer for the prestige—he did it because talking to the dead is marginally easier than dealing with the living. Unfortunately, his latest case has given him a fresh the corpses aren’t talking.

 No last words. No cryptic riddles. Just silence. And silence, as it turns out, is very bad when your job depends on listening to the dead speak of their final moments.

 With only a snarky, possessed skull called Seymour as his companion, Holtar must unravel a conspiracy that threatens both the living and the dead—one that grows more tangled, absurd, and dangerously personal with every once-bitten pastry.

 Silence of the Dead is a fantasy mystery with the wit of a detective comedy—where necromancy is just another thankless job, the dead refuse to talk, and the killer has an unsettling passion for pastry-based clues.

 Bones & Silence of the Dead is written by Erica Marks & Andi Ewington
 Cover art by Calum Alexander Watt

REVIEW

Silent Witness meets Guards Guards in Erica Marks’ and Andi Ewington’s new adventure set in the world of The Hero Interviews.

Holtar (the necromancer from The Hero Interviews) has moved to Tronte, a little backwater of a town, after a little incident at his previous place of residence. In order to earn a crust, he soon finds a job (well not so much as finds, but has it thrust upon him) working for the local constabulary talking to the dead and finding out their unfortunate demise (and also keeping Captain Moorhouse’s figures for crime rate detection up)

We meet Holtar as he is dragged into a case where the victim has been poisoned by a pie. As the bodies pile up, Holtar along with his trusty sidekick, Seymour, the pie snaffling talking skull,  sets about trying to solve the mystery. Oh and find the murderer, save the city and his own bacon. In three days! Coz Captain Moorland says so.

Marks and Ewington successfully mix wry humour and mystery together to weave together an enjoyable tale of fantasy intrigue.

The main thing that makes this book so entertaining is the chemistry between Holtar and Seymour who bounce off each other like a set of billiard balls. The plot trundles along quite quickly as Holtar and Seymour move from one bad situation to the next with the undynamic duo attempting to find the connection between the evergrowing pile of bodies. Whilst the mystery aspect is light and not laden with overly complex twists and turns, it is the getting from point  A to point B that is the most engaging aspect of the book.

If you like fantasy mystery with a good deal of silliness thrown in for good measure, then Bones & Betrayals: Silence of the Dead is a book where you can have your pie and eat it.