Another good dose of Welsh noir, and very entertaining. I have read this series slightly in the wrong order, 1-3-2 (current book) and unfortunately it was that long ago that I read the first one that I've forgotten a lot of what happened. It was quite recently that I read the third one, so I did see a couple of things coming in this. But still, it was a good mystery and I had no idea what was going. It's all very suitably silly in a seriously written way!

Lordy, and how to describe this complex story? The continuing sagas of private detective, Louie Knight, and his teenage trainee detective, Calamity Jane. Gretel, a large student from Lampeter, hires them as the Dean has gone missing and she's worried. Turns out a Druid assasin may be after him, and there's talk of a satchel he's carrying with him. The whole Dean angle does then seem to get side lined a bit as the plot thickens and over complicates with all the locals, and their hidden pasts and double dealings. I love the idea of this illegal back street fight club where old biddies go to do gossip-fighting. Absolutely bonkers.

This was a fun read. Even if you're not familiar with Wales, the make-believe version of Aberystwyth here is so over the top it makes you wonder what could be next. It's like Monty Python meets a crime noir novel. The seedy underworld of Aberystwyth is run by druid gangsters, whose ladies of the night ply their trade along the Prom, dressed in 18th century Welsh national dress of black shawls and stovepipe hats. Can't wait to read the rest of the series. This is the second novel, but since it doesn't build on #1, I did not feel at a loss for reading it first.