So, so good.
Not quite 5 stars, like the previous installment in the series. A book I said was 'the purest distillation of 'tough guy urban fantasy' I have ever seen'. This installment, while excellent and entertaining, just didn't hit me with the same impact. It's definitely a me thing though.
Blackmoore is for me like Harry Connolly, authors at the top of their game. Pushing out book after book of very high quality urban fantasy and just not seeing the audience they deserve.
This book was the 'Vegas' book and like any visit to Vegas it ends up not working out like you would expect and tinged with all kinds of regret. Lots of backstory reveal and entertaining characters to roll along with Eric Carter's 'tough guy with a heart' vibe. In fact it strikes me that the intent of these books now is to reign things in slightly. Book 5 and 6 in the series had serious 'go big or go home' chops with their denouments but Blackmoore seems to have realised that continually trying to go bigger is a zero sum game. He's leaning into the setting and backstory he has created and whilst there are plenty of impressive set pieces in this book there isn't a sense of 'have to top what I did before' that I appreciate.
Things have definitely been set up for another installment and I will be mashing that pre-order button as soon as I can. Which is the most concrete praise I can offer. Definite recommend for this and the whole series.