EyebrarianPrize winnersGet the app

Books › Dread Brass Shadows (Garrett Files)

Cover of Dread Brass Shadows (Garrett Files)

Dread Brass Shadows (Garrett Files)

First published 1990 · 1 pages

A hardboiled fantasy noir fueled by furious revenge and city-wide, multi-species chaos.

What it feels like

Reading this book feels like stepping into a chaotic, hardboiled fantasy noir where the stakes are deeply personal and the city is always on the edge of boiling over. The narrative moves at a brisk, pulpy pace, driven by a furious thirst for revenge after a sudden act of violence. It blends classic private investigator tropes—complete with a cynical but determined protagonist and a parade of dangerous, opportunistic characters—with a gritty, multi-species urban fantasy setting. The atmosphere is dangerous and volatile, centered around the corrupting influence of a mysterious artifact that threatens to twist identities and unleash widespread evil. It is a perfect fit for readers who crave a gritty, fast-paced detective story wrapped in a wildly unpredictable fantasy world.

Mood
  • chaotic
  • noir-tinged
  • dangerous
  • volatile
Tone
  • hardboiled
  • pulpy
  • vengeful
  • gritty
Pace
brisk
Themes
furious vengeance · urban chaos · shifting identities · corrupting power
The writing
Pulpy and hardboiled, blending classic private investigator grit with the wild unpredictability of a multi-species fantasy world.
The arc
The journey begins with a sharp, personal fury for revenge and expands into a desperate, chaotic struggle against city-wide corruption.
Who it's for
Readers who love gritty, fast-paced detective fiction mashed up with chaotic urban fantasy and cynical but driven protagonists.
Content notes
  • stabbing
  • violence
  • revenge
  • objectification of women

About the book

Garrett has a fondness for redheads provided they share certain measurements and are cute. Tinnie Tate is his favorite, but she is stabbed on her way to see him, which sent Garrett into a fury of revenge on whoever had ordered the act. While pursuing that matter, two more redheads show up - identical copies of each other. As if that wasn't enough, he encounters a blonde wanna-be bounty hunter or darn near anything else to make her fortune. The whole city becomes a boiling pot of all the different species and races because of a mysterious book that could change a person into someone else with a common motivation for evil. Garrett means to change all of that if it kills him. gmb 3-30-20

Description from Open Library.

Books like Dread Brass Shadows (Garrett Files)

See why they match