Overview
It should have been a case like any other: a missing princess, a king willing to pay in gold for her return. But before he realizes it, sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse is swept up in a web of mystery and deceit involving a brutally murdered royal heir, a queen accused of an unspeakable crime, and the tragic past he thought he’d left behind.
In order to uncover the answers he seeks, Eddie must delve into the dark underbelly of society while digging deep into his own private history, drawing past and present together. Vast conspiracies, women both beautiful and deadly, and a centuries-old revenge scheme are only a few of the pieces in a lethal puzzle.
The Sword-Edged Blonde is a tour-de-force foray into a realm of action, intrigue, and murder.
Synopsis
It should have been a case like any other: a missing princess, a king willing to pay in gold for her return. But before he realizes it, sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse is swept up in a web of mystery and deceit involving a brutally murdered royal heir, a queen accused of an unspeakable crime, and the tragic past he thought he’d left behind.
In order to uncover the answers he seeks, Eddie must delve into the dark underbelly of society while digging deep into his own private history, drawing past and present together. Vast conspiracies, women both beautiful and deadly, and a centuries-old revenge scheme are only a few of the pieces in a lethal puzzle.
The Sword-Edged Blonde is a tour-de-force foray into a realm of action, intrigue, and murder.
Publishers Weekly
Equal parts sword-and-sorcery action/adventure and noir whodunit, Bledsoe's finely polished debut is evocative of fantasy legend Fritz Leiber's classic tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Bledsoe's narrative, while set in a comparable world, features only one protagonist: "sword jockey" Eddie LaCrosse, a private investigator who has spent most of his life trying to distance himself from a shadowy and tragic past. When his old childhood friend, King Philip of Arentia, enlists his help to unravel a scandalous mystery surrounding the brutal death of the young royal heir-a murder in which the king's beautiful wife, Rhiannon, is the prime suspect-LaCrosse accepts only to encounter a deity who forces him to come to grips with the horrific events of his youth. Incorporating elements from both hard-boiled mystery and heroic fantasy, Bledsoe's genre-blending first novel is both stylish and self-assured: Raymond Chandler meets Raymond E. Feist. (Nov.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationEditorials
Publishers Weekly
Equal parts sword-and-sorcery action/adventure and noir whodunit, Bledsoe's finely polished debut is evocative of fantasy legend Fritz Leiber's classic tales of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Bledsoe's narrative, while set in a comparable world, features only one protagonist: "sword jockey" Eddie LaCrosse, a private investigator who has spent most of his life trying to distance himself from a shadowy and tragic past. When his old childhood friend, King Philip of Arentia, enlists his help to unravel a scandalous mystery surrounding the brutal death of the young royal heir-a murder in which the king's beautiful wife, Rhiannon, is the prime suspect-LaCrosse accepts only to encounter a deity who forces him to come to grips with the horrific events of his youth. Incorporating elements from both hard-boiled mystery and heroic fantasy, Bledsoe's genre-blending first novel is both stylish and self-assured: Raymond Chandler meets Raymond E. Feist. (Nov.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationLibrary Journal
A princess is missing, and her father, King Felix of Balaton, wants her back; when his wizards fail to find her, King Felix hires private investigator and sword-for-hire Eddie LaCrosse. Along the way, LaCrosse stumbles upon another royal family in distress-a murdered heir and a queen suspected of the crime-and the solution lies in a past that Eddie would rather forget. Bledsoe's debut novel begins a fantasy detective series featuring a wisecracking, noble-hearted hero and a world of moon priestesses, cheap spells, and real monsters, some in human form. Fans of Glen Cook's Garrett novels or hard-boiled detective fiction will appreciate this well-crafted gem of a tale. For most libraries.
—Jackie Cassada