Hot Lead, Cold Iron is the first novel in a brand-new fantasy detective series that will appeal to fans of Rivers of London and The Dresden Files
Chicago, 1932. Mick Oberon may look like just another private detective, but beneath the fedora and the overcoat, he's got pointy ears and he's packing a wand.
Oberon's used to solving supernatural crimes, but the latest one's extra weird. A mobster's daughter was kidnapped sixteen years ago, replaced with a changeling, and Mick's been hired to find the real child. The trail's gone cold, but what there is leads Sideways, to the world of the Fae, where the Seelie Court rules. And Mick's not really welcome in the Seelie Court any more. He'll have to wade through Fae politics and mob power struggles to find the kidnapper – and of course it's the last person he expected.
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From BooklistStarred Review Mick Oberon, who made his debut in a 2011 short story, makes his first appearance in a full-length novel. And it’s a real corker, too. Oberon, a private eye in 1930s Chicago, has a secret: he’s a faerie prince. Well, technically, he used to be a faerie prince: he walked away from his world, stepped sideways into our world, and now he’s just trying to make it day to day in a place that is, in so many ways, scary and depressing (but he believes it’s still better than the place he left behind). When he’s approached by the wife of a local mobster, Mick is surprised to find out that she wants him to solve a special kind of missing-person case: the woman’s daughter, she says, was replaced 16 years ago by a changeling. And she wants Mick—she’s somehow aware of his special magical abilities—to find out who took her. But to do so, Mick must return to the Otherworld and confront a past he really hoped he’d left behind for good. The author leaves the door wide open for a sequel, and that’s just fine: the book is thoroughly entertaining, and Mick is a likable guy with whom we’d enjoy spending some more time. Urban-fantasy fans should be all over this one. --David Pitt
Review"Gives the hardboiled genre a truly magical revamp." - MuggleNet
"Mick Oberon is a delight and by the time the book was over, I felt like I made a hilariously grumpy friend. It’s a lot of fun, and Marmell is an author I really want to hit it big. He deserves it, and this book shows a lot of his strengths." - Bookworm Blues
"This book opens with fists swinging, and barely pauses to take a breath." - My Bookish Ways
“The book does a nice job of never tipping its hand, with a climax that delivers on all aspects.” - Bookgasm
“The author leaves the door wide open for a sequel, and that’s just fine: the book is thoroughly entertaining, and Mick is a likable guy with whom we’d enjoy spending some more time. Urban-fantasy fans should be all over this one.” – Booklist starred review
"Gripping fantastical....engaging....the potent mix of gangsters, magic, Fae politics, and a strega on the warpath makes for a ride that never touches the brakes. Marmell expertly maximizes the thrills, leaving the reader with a lingering desire for a magic wand and a glass of warm milk." ̶ Publishers Weekly starred review