The Bookwyrm's Review of Emerald City Confidential : Death Wears a Red Shoe by Jared Millican

 

Buy on Amazon

Rating: 9/10

Synopsis

When Dorothy Gale, the Mayor of the Emerald City and wealthy socialite’s daughter has been murdered, Walter Diggs, a former palace guard turned private detective is hired to investigate and uncover what the tin men didn’t find. What he does find will shake Oz to its very core. Drugs, sex, murder, corruption, and deception. The dark side of Oz you never knew about but always wanted to.

Review

I have always been a fan of well done reimagining's of classic characters and locations, whether it be stuff like Simon Hawke's Time Wars series or the various retellings of characters like Sherlock Holmes. When I was offered the chance to review this book, set in a world as classic as it gets, I knew I had to give it a read. It was an excellent decision, since I was hooked from the first page to the last.

Taking a classic setting like the land of Oz, and Emerald City in particular, could have backfired. In this case, however, it really paid off. This isn't the simple city of the movie, but a city much more reminiscent of 1930's Chicago or New York, with technology from earth brought through various portals and modernizing both Oz and the society at large. This included bringing the bad with the good, things like organized crime, firearms and explosives. This mix of the old and the newer is an interesting mix, as we see groups like the munchkins, flying monkeys and the various witches interacting with tech like cars, electricity and zeppelins in a completely organic way. The whole thing is a very surreal noir setting, and an absolutely intriguing setting with so many possibilities for future stories.

This brings us to the characters, who are such a fun throwback to those old pulp noir detective stories. Walter Diggs is that down on his luck, hard drinking and hard fighting gumshoe with a chip on his shoulder, who will fight for his clients and get to the bottom of their cases. He has deep roots in Oz, being the grandson of a famous person in Oz, and he feels the weight of that legacy daily, and sometimes fails to live up to it. However, he still keeps trying, and it seems like death is around every corner.

The supporting characters are a really fun bunch, ranging from a client looking for her missing father, who seems to be in danger herself, to a dangerous munchkin gangster madam. And that's not including the characters you'd expect, such as the witches, the Lion or Dorothy, Mayor of Emerald City. They have some really interesting arcs of their own, adding some interesting flavor to the story. The villains are partly out in the open, and part of a twist you won't expect, as they should be in a mystery. It's a fun journey discovering who's behind all the chaos affecting Walter's life.

This was definitely a fun read. I really enjoyed the noir elements mixed in with the fantastical elements of Oz, which the author took in some fun directions. Flying monkey's hiring out as enforcers for hire, munchkin crime bosses and tin man police are just a few of the fun surprises you have awaiting. Finding out who Walter's famous relative is was also a fun surprise, and this should have some appeal for fans of urban fantasy and noir detective stories. I highly recommend this one.