Funnily enough I mentally get T. Kingfisher and KJ Charles confused, just because of the vague similarities of their pen names and the fact that I enjoy a lot of what they write (and because a lot of it is about older characters, and not all of it is straight, and it’s often set in other world, either historical or fantastical) (okay so not entirely confusing why). So to read them back to back, when I’d just been mildly disappointed by a T. Kingfisher book I was looking forward to, was a real treat.
I found out about this book while reading a bit on KJ Charles’ blog on how to write sexy consent into a sexy scene. There are many reasons why I like romance–a monologue I can give that isn’t as defensive as it used to be–but the care with which the best authors explore concepts like consent, pleasure, communication, etc is genuinely heart warming. I don’t know if she used this as an example or if she’d referenced this upcoming work as one in which she thought about consent, but either way I can attest that the characters were sexily consenting and communicating throughout.
I won’t get as much into the whys and wherefores of this novel’s plot, because it’s straightforward enough in that way, but I will discuss how it made me feel as someone who’s become a bit allergic to cop plots (ESPECIALLY corrupt cop plots). How do you write about this very interesting genre of work (solving murders and mysteries and being able to do something about the bad guys) while not sugarcoating the fact that a lot of what cops do is just…bad? Usually you have like, the Good Apple and his fellow Fruit Friends (who may or may not be fruits eyyyyyy) and it’s okay because you, as a reader, know that the Good Apple is actually good because we’re the omniscient narrator.
That is what happens here, but also the Good Apple is forced to reckon with the consequences of Medium Apples and their impact on the average people who wander about. DS Aaron Fowler is charmed by Joel Wildsmith, but Joel has had explicitly bad experiences with cops (entrapment) and isn’t shy about sharing them. Aaron’s attempts at squaring an increasingly difficult circle are a well done subplot, even if the literary world is one day going to be f***ed [if every good apple leaves the police force at the culmination of the story (hide spoiler)] (not really a spoiler but just in case).
Last thoughts while reading this book: I really need to re-read Will Darling!