Bitter Gold Hearts is the second book of the Garrett, P.I. books by Glen Cook. It is a Fantastic Noir series set in a High Fantasy world. Garrett is a private investigator, former Marine, and Knight in Sour Armor working to solve a variety of cases with all the witches as well as other creatures about him.
Garrett is contacted by a beautiful half-fairy named Amiranda Crest, who represents the household of sorceress Raver Styx. Her son, Karl daPena, has been kidnapped by forces unknown and Domina Willa Dount believes that the very hint of Garrett Ward's presence will result in the negotiations going smoother.
Unfortunately, while Karl is recovered, the situation rapidly goes downhill with multiple bodies appearing as well as a question of whether a kidnapping has happened at all. With one of his lovers killed, Garrett decides that he is going to involve himself despite everyone agreeing it would be better if he didn't.
There's also the question of the missing 200,000 silver marks that is one of the greatest fortunes in the realm.
It is followed by Cold Copper Tears.
Bitter Gold Hearts contains the following tropes:
- A Simple Plan: Amiranda and Karl came up with the kidnapping plan but things rapidly go south as they get involved with real criminals and everyone getting greedy results in horrific death.
- Book Ends: Disoriented and dying, a wounded Saucerhead makes his way to the Bledsoe, thinking he'd been born there and ought to die there too. Subverted when Garrett shows up and pays off the medical staff enough that they pull Tharpe through.
- Brick Joke: Garrett encounters a troll with huge fangs and mispronounces "saber-toothed tiger" when he describes them. A few of the later books use the same "soober-tithed teegar" and other variants.
- The Butler Did It: An almost literal example as this is Domina Dout's role as the head of her household. She's also the person who murdered Amiranda Crest.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Raver Styx magically tortures Donni Pell, her husband, and brother-in-law.
- The Dragon: Domina Dount is Raver Styx's right-hand woman, and obliquely admits that she's arranged morally-dubious deals for the Stormwarden.
- Downer Ending: Domina Dout gets away with her 200,000 in stolen silver marks, leaving Amiranda unavenged. Donni Pell is left on Garrett's doorstep. He also only manages to survive due to the police getting involved.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Lettie the madam had her first big love affair at thirteen, but thinks Donni Pell's preference for ogre-breed lovers is perverted. In Gilded Latten Bones, Morley's gangster friends are disgusted by the resurrection men who sell dead bodies to necromancers.
- Explosive Leash: Garrett slips an enchanted crystal into Skredli's pocket and tells him that if he doesn't follow through on the plan they'd agreed to, it'll explode and tear the unfortunate ogre in half. Possibly a subversion, as the witch he'd gotten the crystals from didn't seem the sort to craft an Explosive Leash, so Garrett may have been bluffing.
- Fairy Sexy: Amiranda Crest is half fairy and very attractive.
- Faked Kidnapping: Due to contradictory clues, Garrett has trouble determining if Junior's kidnapping is this trope or not. It's a kidnapping that started out fake, then turned real when the culprits got greedy and scared.
- Ironic Name: Gorgeous, the butt-ugly human leader of the ogre gang.
- My Greatest Failure: Failing to protect Amiranda becomes this, for Saucerhead.
- Nobody Poops: Averted. An unemptied chamber pot convinces Garrett that Junior's kidnapping wasn't a complete fake.
- Roof Hopping: The grolls do this in Bitter Gold Hearts. Garrett Lampshades how unlikely it is that the people inside the building don't notice there's a couple of tons of groll jumping on their roof.
- Slut-Shaming: Lettie the madam and Donni's landlady both are heavy into this toward Donni. Its notable because both are ex-prostitutes themselves. Apparently, being a harlot is only shameful if you enjoy the work.
- Stupid Crooks: The Stormwarden, Raver Styx, has difficulty believing anyone could be so stupid as to go against her. Garrett has to explain to her that the majority of criminals don't have that kind of forethought.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Donni Pell from is alleged to play the trope, but isn't actually seen doing so.
- The Stoner: The ogre gang that jumps Garrett early in Bitter Gold Hearts were all wasted on weed as well. Fourteen's chief feature distinguishing him from other cherubim is the enormous banger he carries.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Raver Styx plans on having Garrett and everyone else involved in the investigation killed to avoid scandal.
