Supernatural C.S.I.

In the midst of a family crisis a long forgotten relative shows up to lend a hand. The unorthodox Tallow Jones shows up at the house of Detective Douglas Jones, a relative who does not recognize him because he hasn’t seen him in years. Tallow offers his help freely and seems to easily find things that trained crime scene investigators who have already looked over the location have missed.

Throughout the novel everyone seems to be playing things close to the vest as the majority of characters are hiding something, especially Tallow. Most often he seems aloof, always making strange comments. Yet, at the same time he always appears to have or make statements with extreme confidence as if he sees things others cannot. The narrator does a good job of subtle voice shifts as the character dialogue, point of view, and thoughts and emotions switches rapidly from character to character.

One thing that confused me greatly was the rich supernatural lore of the book. In a world that thinks that things of magic and fantasy are works of fiction, Tallow explains a great many supernatural events to his mundane detective colleagues. Even though Tallow Jones is written well enough to stand on it’s own, this rich lore and wealth of knowledge seems to come out of nowhere, until in the books ending credits, the author’s other book series "The Bowl of Souls" as a source of more information for the reader. Once I knew that the other series existed and that Tallow Jones was a kind of "spin-off" or at least existed in the same literary universe, the lore from Tallow Jones seemed clearer as it did not just spring forth from a vacuum.

Tallow Jones is fun, serious, comical, and action-packed all at the same time. I’m eager to see where the plot threads will lead and am seriously considering looking up the other series to get a better handle on the supernatural aspects of this novel.