Whisper in the Wind by Luke Arnold

Luke Arnold returns to the city of Sunder and down at heel “Man for Hire” Fetch Phillips in the fourth book of his noir-inspired fantasy series Whisper in the Wind. Sunder city is part of a world that was once rich in magic but due to the actions of humans seven years before (unwittingly aided by Phillips), the magic has gone away, the magical creatures have lost their powers and human greed and violence is in the ascendancy. Whisper in the Wind is the fourth book in what is quickly becoming one of the great urban fantasy series and can probably be read as a stand alone but really builds on the three books that have come before.

When Whisper in the Wind opens, Fetch has retired his shingle and is running the café at the bottom of his building. But his skills and his past were always going to catch up with him. Soon he finds himself providing support to a group of anarchist teenagers, fending off the one good police officer who wants him to help investigate the death of her partner and trying to ignore the incendiary pamphlets that have started appearing decrying the city administration and signed by someone calling themselves “Whisper”. Soon he is being blackmailed by the editor of the main newspaper in town to find Whisper and that is before the high profile explosive killings begin.

Phillips, as always, is a classic but unique protagonist. Hard bitten, hard boiled, able to take a bit of punishment and with a heart of gold. He is still learning to deal with the betrayal that he was a part of, particularly as he finds new parts of the world corrupted by the loss of magic.

Whisper in the Wind once again combines urban fantasy with plenty of social commentary. Arnold digs deeply into the aspects that make noir detective fiction tick – corruption, the power of police, co-opted media, self-serving religion and an undercurrent of rebellion. And, particularly given Fetch’s history, a consideration of what it means to join – be it an organisation like the police or the army, or a revolutionary cell.

Whisper in the Wind is far from the end of this story. Arnold once again builds on the history and lore of Fetch’s world. And always beneath it all, that glimmer of hope that perhaps somehow, some way, the magic can be brought back. Arnold ends with what can only be described as a multi-layered cliffhanger, bringing further complications but also a tiny glimmer of hope. It was a three year wait for this entry after the first three came in reasonably quick succession. Hopefully the wait for the next one will be shorter.

Whisper in the Wind by Luke Arnold

9

9.0/10