A child goes missing under the watch of wealth and distinction, and her mother finds no help from the forces of law and order. The only chance at saving the child from tragedy is in the form of two strangers, a man and woman haunted by the dark afflictions of their own lives. Thrust together by these events, can they raise themselves up in time to save her before she is shattered by an unspeakable fate? When the dust settles, will they find the light of hope in each other's hearts? ...or will the darkness swallow them all? (description taken from the link below)
Dog and Spider Private Investigations is a supernatural/noir book series by Victor R. Ziblis, which can be purchased [1]
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This series provides examples of:
- Action Girl: Jessica is a hardened policewoman who has been taking Sanshou lessons since she was 11. Being a Dryad makes her able to effectively wield two pistols at once. Cynthia is a Wrench Wench with enough Mad Scientist tendencies that she made a primitive suit of power armor at the end of book two. Combined with her history as a hockey goon, she definitely qualifies.
- Artistic License – Geography: Chicago is the setting for book one, and this trope becomes obvious almost immediately when Nick has a very blue date with Jessica in a theater that, in reality, hasn't been a theater for decades. Of course, since this is an Alternate History, it might be excusable.
- Author Appeal: Lots of great asses.
- Badass Longcoat: Nick has one. There are practical reasons for this, but he freely admits this is why he wears it.
- Book Ends: At the end of book one, when Jessica is back at the bar she frequents after having left Nick, the scene is almost a mirrored version of the bar scene in the first chapter.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Even being surrounded by Skinstealers, Nick and Jessica can still find plenty of time to snark.
- “So you’re saying I can punch them to death?” he asked.Jessica nodded tersely, “Yup. For the little ones, anyway.”Nick holstered his pistol, “It has a lot of weapons, but I don’t have time to explain! You’d better... just rely on your karate, you’re good at it!”Jessica, keeping her eyes out for threats, glanced over at him for a moment, “Did you just quote the shitty Force Five US translation of Toushou Daimos?”Nick moved his hands through a series of motions, “Dynamo! Battle! Turn, NOW!!”Jessica shook her head, “Okay, NOW I’m saying I love you. You’re a dork, but you’re the right kind of dork.”
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Due to the author intending to pitch the series to former employers the original draft version of Jessica in the first two books was changed to a white woman. When the audiobooks were produced, they ended up based on that draft. Though an explanation was given at the beginning of audiobook 2, the return of Jessica to her intended race will certainly be a weird artifact.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Averted. While occasionally members of the assorted species are born to human couples, any mixing results in a purebred of one parent or the other. There are still other traits passed on. Lori, for example, is the elven daughter of an American elf and a Chinese human. Her appearance more closely matches that of her mother, though all other traits are pure elven.
- Hot-Blooded: Oh BOY is Nick this. Emotions flow like a tidal wave with this man. When it's time to be a gruff PI, Nick doesn't just put on airs, he lives the role and loves doing it. When a friend comes to see him? Instantly thrilled. Jessica? Instantly goofy with snuggly cuddly affection and he does not care what anyone around them thinks of it. When he is sad? Drinking, howling in pain, hurting himself just to see if he still feels? You bet. Even with strangers he is not afraid to be who he is and damn the consequences.
