I have just finished this and cannot recommend it highly enough, there are not enough stars for how good this new voice on the market is, the amazing command of the English language, and Hodder had better get the next book out pronto as that is what will be on my Xmas list if it is. When a young girl goes missing the whole of Low Town is on the look out for her. A murky place with more criminal syndicates than traders somebody should know something. Our man is an ex warden, ugly brutish, survivor of the plague that took so many lives when he was young and of the war where he was witness to the magic released that ended it. Now, thrown out in disgrace from the force and addicted to Pixie breath he is the only one who can follow the clues that will lead to the perpetrator, but will he be able to stop him. Sounds a simple story but I loved it for Polansky's use of language, not dumbed down so you might want a pocket dictionary for the excellent flowery language used with Ling Chi next to your bed for some beautifully used words throughout. Polansky - new favourite author next to Abercrombie- do not change the way you write, this was new and refreshing and not dumbed down. Keep it real and gritty and your intrigues aplenty. A very bold accomplishment in fantasy, get it now.

The Straight Razor Cure by Daniel Polansky is a truly fantastic first edition of a series that is filled with so much potential and promises something extra special for the next instalment. It kept me reading for hours a day, flicking through pages, wanting to learn more about Warden and his companions. The tale itself is dark, gritty, and engaging. This is an exceptional debut dark fantasy novel that is written in the first person. This cannot be missed. The Straight Razore Cure is a novel that deserves to be placed at the top of any fantasy lover's reading lists. I cannot praise this novel enough.

A child goes missing in Low Town and when the Warden finds the badly mutilated body he is reluctantly dragged into the search for the murderer. At it’s heart this can be seen as a detective story set in a dark, brutal and feudal world. Here dark magic exists and the Warden’s investigations take him back to his time in the army and the evil that was harnessed to win the war. You find yourself immersed in this dark and powerful fantasy. You can feel the dirt and the grim of Low Town and the cold of the snow. Daniel Polansky writes with flair and drama.

I wanted to love this book, I really did - it's a well crafted world, with interesting characters and a great back-story only half told. However, it also has a huge gaping flaw as a book It is supposed to be a magickal whodunnit, but I worked out whodunnit 4 chapters in, and whydunnit by half way through. the "twist" is screamingly obvious from a few pages in, too I even worked out how it was going to end about 2/3 of the way through. in all, a pleasant read, but don't expect the central "mystery" to be too mysterious