Book Review: The Fly in Paradise

The Fly in Paradise

By:  Francis Pauli

Publisher:  Mundania Press

Publish Date:  August 2011

Format:  Paperback 213pgs

Genre:  Fantasy

Series:  2nd book in Changeling Race; 1st Book ~ A Moth in Darkness

Recommendation:  Oh yes.  LOVED the twist on the fey history here, and the mystery intertwined to bring you to understand the history.

Book Synopsis:
Something's rotten in the Fey lands.  While Marcus Bramble tracks the lunatic who started it all, Elizabeth and the crew at the Embassy sort through the evidence he left behind.  With Lockland back, and the revels behind her, Liz's world is slowly returning to normal.  But on both sides of the borders, shadow creatures spring out of nowhere, and the dark legends surrounding the fey take on a whole new meaning.

Now time is against them.  On the mortal side of things, protesters rally to close the borders, politicians descend on the Embassy, and something that shouldn't exist stalks Elizabeth through the city.  In his world, Marcus faces a madman with answers he doesn't want to hear.  The Fey rulers turn a blind eye on forests teeming with imaginary monsters, and the Sidhe tower stands silent amidst the chaos.  Will the race to uncover its secrets solve the mystery of the elves' past or unleash even more horrors on them all?

First Sentence:
Blackness swelled and hovered around the woman.

My Thoughts and Summary:
Everyone is at a loss as to how Brendan got out without anyone knowing or seeing him, at end of A Moth in Darkness.  In his investigation, Marcus, decides to go to a revel to relax, but they are different now, he learns just how different and maybe a lead.  As suspected Brendan is back and up to no good.  Marcus has been trailing Brendan with no luck to finding him.  Liz and Lockland are both recovering; Liz resisting to dance with the fey and Lockland from his wounds.  Bev is working on a case dealing with the fairy "drinks" from the revels, when she stumbles upon a crime scene.  A murder, gruesome murder, with child size foot prints with claws walking away, not human at all.  This synthesized fairy offering could be connected to brutal deaths of whole villages, and Liz and Lockland are back to work full swing.  Nightmare creatures, things of human myth come to life in both fey and human worlds and all get worried about the gate between the two worlds ~ could they close them?

Oh dang! I WANT The third book now!! Wonderful story, and one heck of a way to turn the world upside down and inside out.

I'm struggling with what to share with you as I don't want to give anything away.  This book is the book that changes the whole fey world from what was established in the first book.  Gaa.  Very good!  Very well done!  I will admit, I read the synopsis for the third (and final) book of the series.  When I read it there was mention of Seelie court.  I just thought, "Oh they are comparing to the 'Seelie' court idea."  After reading the first book, I wasn't sure how the Seelie idea would play into this series.  Well, Wow!  Let me tell you, by the end of this book I knew EXACTLY how it played into the book, and series.  I loved this twist to the Seelie idea, and the way we came to it.  Wonderfully done.
 
We do get different views, separated so it isn't confusing for us.  The views are from: Liz, Lockland, Marcus, Bev, Jess (one of Liz's close friends and one of three to open First Gate), then also a few views from the Sidhe.  The Sidhe views are few, but really nice to read as it gives us more inner views that make us curious and flipping the pages.  I really like how we get all pieces of the puzzle as each character is working on a different agenda, that all works back to the one thing we are all looking to get too.
 
I soooooo can't wait to get my hands on the third and final book of this trilogy, Spider's from Memory.
 
 
I received this book from the publisher for review, after enjoying A Moth in Darkness so much.