Unshapely Things: Mark Del Franco

What would you do if you woke up one day to find that fairies, elves, flits, and the like were real? Would you accept this and move on, allowing these individuals to become members of society or would you fight against their presence? One hundred years ago Earth was faced with that very question when the land of Faerie converged with our world, causing a shift in ideas and world views that no one had ever faced before. The Guild was formed to deal with this new situation and though an uneasy peace exists between the new residents and the old, things could change at any moment. For former Guild investigator (and crippled druid) Connor Grey this peace and possibly the fate of the world, rests on whether he can solve a string of brutal murders involving Faerie prostitutes and a half-breed madman bent on destruction.

Connor Grey was one of the top investigators in the Guild until his run-in with an eco-terrorist elf that left him crippled magically and unable to perform his functions as a druid. After he is placed on disability he begins to work as a consultant for the Boston PD. The cases he assists with involve the Weird, a low-rent neighborhood given over to faeries, elves, dwarves, and strange magics of all varieties. Most of the cases are pretty cut and dried until someone begins murdering faerie male prostitutes and violently removing their hearts. As Connor digs deeper into the crimes he unearths conspiracies that everyone thought were long dead. He finds himself fighting both the Guild and the Boston PD as neither cares about the victims, only the outcome of what is obviously a bigger ritual. Connor will have to push past his hampered abilities to solve the murders before something ancient and truly terrible arises.

Unshapely Things is the debut novel by Mark Del Franco and it's a very impressive start. The characters were engaging and believable and the plot was intriguing. I found myself unable to put it down until I had devoured it completely and I'm eagerly looking forward to the sequel.
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Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Ace (January 30, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0441014771
ISBN-13: 978-0441014774
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