The Clarity of Cold Steel cover art

The Clarity of Cold Steel

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The Clarity of Cold Steel

By: Kevin P. Wright
Narrated by: Paul Jenkins
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About this listen

Mortise Locke, the Machine City, last bastion of mankind in all its fallen glory, where the sum total of life is cheaper than in part.

A poor kid wrung from the city's dregs has been abducted. His family's lost all hope. Enter Detective Shakteel, gumshoe legend in his own mind and maybe -- just maybe -- a few others.

He's the bloodhound loosed on the kid's trail, and it's clear from the get-go that someone wants this hound put down. And they ain't shy about it. Killers keep coming.

And the clock keeps ticking... Can Detective Shakteel navigate the labyrinth of Mortise Locke's criminal underworld? Can he follow the trail? Can he dodge death in its pantheon of incarnations to finally find the missing kid?

And if he does find him, will he wish he hadn't?

Join Detective Shakteel in this lightning-paced steampunk thriller sure to set your blood to boil.

©2017 Kevin Wright (P)2018 Kevin Wright Fiction Modern Detectives Mystery Science Fiction Steampunk Technothrillers Thriller Thriller & Suspense Technology Detective

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All stars
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The clarity of cold steel really tries to break with convention in terms of characters and location. This is a detective noire story set in.....well there is the issue. I'm not sure where it is set.

It could be post apocalyptic, dystopian future or alternate reality it is never really made clear. Not enough effort is made with the world building of this novel which left me struggling to place the setting. Just when I thought I had an image in my mind of what was happening a new detail would be thrown in that caused me to completely alter my perception.

The story itself however is a very good mystery that isn't short on compelling action sequences.

The narration is clear and understandable with many different voices for the plethora of characters in the story. However I did struggle to buy into the narrator as a grizzled private eye.

An enjoyable story let down by poor exploration of what could be a vivid and compelling setting.

This audiobook was given to me for free in exchange for an impartial review.

A break from the norm but not without issues.

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