Fairy and Impartial: LGBTQ Fantasy Starfig Investigation Book 4
LGBTQ Fantasy/Action Adventure/Humor
Independently Published
September 30, 2021
384
All Twig Starfig wants is to settle into mated life with his wizard and be a good leader to his clan. No drama. No heartache. A happily-ever-after fit for a dragon. Or half-dragon, at any rate.
Instead, Twig and Quinn get roped into a new case involving missing orc stones. Yes, those really are a thing. Twig’s dad is on the PR warpath . . . again. Quinn's little brother can't seem to stop pining over their housemate. Someone—or something—seems to be following them. And getting quality time alone with his wizard is more difficult than keeping one’s virginity at an incubus party.
To make matters worse, Twig's old enemies start dropping like fairyflies, and they find themselves smack in the middle of an inconvenient murder investigation with a certain red fury as the main suspect. With everyone in Lighthelm convinced of Bill’s guilt—and by association Twig’s—Starfig Investigations is on the case.
Is there no one in the Elder Realm who’s fairy and impartial?
Reviewed by Ulysses Dietz
Member of The Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Magic and mayhem—with a heavy dose of silly humor. Oh, and sexy, too.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Meghan Maslow’s Starfig Investigation series, with this fourth book a most welcome addition to the lineup.
Maslow’s world of magical creatures—known as Elder (I guess from the descriptor of paranormal things, eldritch?) exists in opposition to the world of humans, Hominus, in which magic exists. But Twig Starfig is not human, even if he looks like one most of the time. What Twig really is, is a misfit. A misfit who has found his calling as a private investigator in the world of Elder. He has gathered around him his misfit family, which starts out the book fairly small: himself, his mated love Quinn Broomsparkle (really, the names are hilarious and absurd, which is part of the charm), Quinn’s kid brother Zak (a wizard in training), and a huge fierce red fury demon who calls himself Bill and sports sweater vests and bow ties.
As if the disruption from a major home renovation wasn’t enough, Twig and Quinn’s happy domestic life becomes even more disheveled when an orc shows up with a case for them. Twig’s instinctive hatred of orcs kicks in, but clearly Dandelion is not your typical orc. Dandy’s case leads Twig and company to dark and dangerous places; while at the same time old enemies begin to show up dead, with fingers of suspicion pointing directly at Bill. Is Bill a murderous monster—or just a lovable nerd who happens to be a terrifying demon?
Maslow likes mayhem, and the amount of violence in these books is a little startling. But she also loves the gentler side of creature nature, and the overwhelming importance of loyalty, acceptance, inclusion, and tolerance balances the swordplay and bloodletting.
Secondary characters are fascinating and add to the pleasure in the storytelling, as well as offering rich potential for future engagement in subsequent books. Twig’s awkward relationship with his meddling, power-hungry fairy of a father, Auric Starfig, is ridiculous, but also poignant. His equally awkward friendship with Agent Leotoris, the Elven police captain, is also brimming with unanswered questions and future potential.
There’s a lot to enjoy in these action-packed books. For all its obviousness, there is sly subtlety in these books; things that bring you up short and make you pause to think. Ultimately, these are, for me, enormously satisfying, and I can’t wait for the next one to drop.
LGBT/SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR/EPIC FANTASY/DARK FANTASY/ADVENTURE
