Review: Dead Man in a Ditch

Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The conclusion of our two-part Luke Arnold double feature.

"I don't believe in second chances. I don't believe you can undo what was done. But if I didn't believe I still had it in me to do something good, I would have jumped out the Angel door a long time ago."

In the sequel to Luke Arnold's debut novel, he writes the story I would expect and then slaps me in the face for getting too cocky. And this after I wrote his parents that lovely letter!

For his first novel I was caught up in the joy of reading it but for this read-through, I took tons of notes and kept analyzing what was written and working out where I thought the story was headed. Despite my best efforts, I turned out shocked, then furious, then uncertain, then a whole range of other emotions as things transpired that were entirely out of my control and not in the least how I pictured the story going. The last fifth of the book strapped me to a BMX bike and said "Here, good luck!"

Well, damn.

Which isn't to say the other eighty percent of the book is predictable. I was being very critical and going "Wouldn't it be nice if..." 

Is it his background in movies and television that taught Luke how to tell a story in this manner? Dead Man In A Ditch is a perfect complete package. If I was a teacher I would give it an A++. 

You can't have a title like that and not have a worthy body count. What a delivery. After taking a one-off job for a friend, Fletch is called upon by the police department to investigate a murder that appears to be accomplished with the use of magic. Between the two novels, rumors have sprung about that Fletch is the go-to guy for magic related investigations. They say he is on a quest to bring magic back. Fletch is still in the position we last left him in, so as readers we know he isn't misleading when he says he doesn't believe he can be much help. Magic is gone from this world. 

But Magic isn't always the answer.

Where in the first book Luke Arnold wrote about a world post-magic where inhabitants are struggling to find their places in the unnatural order of things, Dead Man in a Ditch introduces us to what could technically be referred to as an industrial revolution. It is mostly behind the scenes until it's not, but Humans have been busy since the events of the Coda. Fletch takes on a multitude of cases which ultimately put him in the midst of a battle that never truly ended, just changed forms. 

Last time, we viewed the aftermath of the Coda with a grittiness. The relationships we develop this time around or interactions we witness have a deep emotional quality to them. The suffering and loss which I mostly disregarded from the first book hit home here. The part with the Faeries has me still asking questions. I'll avoid spoilers but I wish we revisit this in a sequel. 

Somewhere in Luke Arnold's house is a very worn copy of a Mythical Creature Encyclopedia or else he has a very questionable browser history. I was excited to see a Goblin have a big role that didn't involve berserker rage or banking. Then came the Succumbae who do extreme body modification and steal every scene they're in.  There's also a Unicorn used unconventionally in a scene that brings the desperation we all felt when watching *that* moment in Neverending Story. It's not what you expect. And here I cackle like a madman. 

The majority of our supporting cast is back. Warren, Ritchie, Simms, Baxter, and others. I did notice an omission who gets name dropped at the very end of the book but had no role here otherwise. It was once I sat down to write this review that I realize books one and two are distinctly different. I don't know what type of contract was signed for the series. If it's write-as-you-go or if there is a planned three to seven book saga we are journeying on.  Outside of setting up Fletch with rumors of what he investigates, certain events from book one have no other connection to this story. Which is both a relief and a curiosity. On one hand, this allows us to branch out and explore the world without being stuck with one group of creatures over another. On the other hand, it means some people are out there running around doing who knows what. We don't, but it's not important. The bigger story does carry over and it really threw me. 

I knew what the stakes were, but what a way to break a man. 

Dead Man in a Ditch takes us to the seedier parts of Sunder City. On a job about a missing person, Fletch winds up at a casino and brothel where us readers are taught a new card game. I don't know our equivalent but it sounded fun, the rules are all there, and I anxiously want to play it. I'm making the call right here: Orbit should give Luke Arnold his own author page dedicated to the series and have a playable version of the game online. You can play against other fans, take which fantasy creature are you quizzes...the internet goes crazy for that stuff. Join the Opus! Join the Army! Join the Resistance! Join the Sunder City PD! Join the Library is what my badge would be. Geeze. 

What's up with all the Werecats? 

I googled it and according to Wikipedia: Werecat folklore is found on all continents EXCEPT Antarctica and Australia and is generally based on wild felines native to the area. Did Luke watch a lot of Thundercats as a child? 

Actually, correction incoming. What I thought was Wikipedia is a website called Wiki Fur which is ahem: the free encyclopedia written by and for furries. What dark hole did the internet drop me down to come up with that one? Well, you know what, that's google's top website on the creature so they would be the experts. 

Dead Man in a Ditch takes Fletch's past and brings it guns-a-blazing into the present. The momentum is explosive. When all the pieces fall into place it is a radiant, head spinning, page-turner of a novel. But what does it mean? What does it MEAN? 

It means when we aren't looking that the rug is going to get pulled out from under us. It means not everything that was lost is completely gone. It means there's hope. While some things will never be the same again, there is still a world. There is still a city. And however it will take him, there is Fletch Philips. 

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