Synopsis:
If Norman Melamourne, a Source-hating ex-detective, had things his way, the Source wouldn’t have snapped into existence twenty years ago. After all, it’s the reason his wife lost her life; he lost his job, and now even his favorite restaurants use Source-processed ingredients. He can taste the difference, and it’s awful.
When a consulting position lands on his plate, it leaves a bad taste, too. The Source was the apparent method of murder. As much as Norman despises the Source, the one hard and fast rule was it couldn’t affect living things. But it seems it had, and to make matters worse, the prime suspect, Lance Delum, is the son of the man Norman blames for his wife’s death.
Lance Delum, Professor of Source Studies, can’t get the image of his student’s, Sasha’s, magically burned-out eyes from his head. It was an impossible thing, the Source affecting living material, but it had happened, and Lance, for all his knowledge of the damned field, couldn’t figure out how. Or why.
Torn between grief and frustration at his lack of understanding, Lance soon finds himself in a desperate attempt to clear his name. Another body was found days after Lance’s release, and more circumstantial evidence points to him.
As he investigates, Norman’s heart says Lance did it. An expert in the field might be able to pull this off, and the kid came from a bad crop as far as Norman was concerned. But his gut says Lance is being set up, and Norman always trusts his gut.
Getting Lance to trust Norman might be about as difficult as clearing the kid’s name, but the two must work together to prove Lance’s innocence and discover why someone is killing with the Source.
Review:
Part urban fantasy, part murder-mystery, The Not So Mundane Mysteries of Norman Melamourne is a fun little read. It’s a novella, so don’t let the length of the title fool you. 😊
The concept of magic (or the Source) in this story was interesting, though we never fully get to learn how it works. Through Lance’s viewpoint, we see aspects of it from an academic perspective and his desire to use it to do good. But there are others, like Norman, who don’t trust it and react adversely to its use/presence. But I thought the entire concept was fascinating. The Source wasn’t always part of the world, but arose overnight during an eclipse. Based on archaeological records, it wasn’t the first time it arose, and there’s evidence it sometimes changed.
One of the key elements of the story is that the Source was not supposed to affect biological organisms, but could only be used on inanimate objects—with the exception of whoever the killer was. It’s one part of the mystery Lance and Norman set out to solve.
They’re an unlikely team. Lance is a young professor (who may be autistic, though I’m not 100% sure), with a specialty in Source Studies. He’s brilliant and has a curious mind, but he doesn’t always know how to act in social situations. Norman is a former detective who still does some contract work with the local police department. He’s gruff and has a no-nonsense personality, but he’s an excellent judge of character. Norman isn’t terribly fond of Lance’s father, which adds a little strain to their initial interactions, but in the end, they work pretty well together.
While I liked the story, it did feel a little rushed, in that there were some errors and inconsistencies that probably would have been caught with another editing pass. I also wish the magic system had been explained a little more. There was a lot hinted at, and with as interesting as the concept was, I really wanted to know more.
But overall, this was a quick read and a fun story with some pretty cool concepts. If you like light fantasy set in a modern-style world, I encourage you to go check it out.
Leave a Reply