Review: Orlando A. Sanchez – Tombyards & Butterflies

Montague & Strong Case Files #1

“It seems like your recent entry into immortality has given you a slight case of SOSS [Sudden Onset Supernatural Stupidity]. It’s okay. I’ve seen these symptoms before in our newly turned vampires. It never lasts long, and neither do they.”

Michiko Nakatomi

Honestly, I am torn about this book. I wavered between three and four stars, but it ultimately came down closer to a three. It feels like an intriguing basis for an urban fantasy series, but at the same time, the world is not fleshed out. It’s action-packed, but light on details and some of the known details don’t make much sense. More time on the backstory and less on the action would have made all the difference to me.

By far, my biggest problem with the book is that nothing is fully explained. When was the supernatural war, and what was the aftermath? Was the Task Force formed in response to the war, and how long have Montague and Strong been a team? There are references to all manner of things that just aren’t fleshed out. This lack of detail may be corrected in future books, but it’s not handled in this one.

The two main characters are veteran private detectives, well-known for handling supernatural threats. When we first meet them, they’re tracking a werewolf, and unfortunately, Simon Strong forgot to pack the silver ammo. That just irks me. It doesn’t give me much confidence in a lead character when he is shown to be a buffoon right out of the gate. Fortunately, most of the buffoonery is what spills out of his mouth as he tries to do the right thing. Tristan Montague plays a good straight man to his hijinks and pulls him out of verbal trouble more than once.

This book falls prey to one of the tropes of the urban fantasy genre. Their detective agency is behind on the rent. But at the same time, one job pays the past due rent plus the current rent. Simon buys expensive, tailored suits, and they eat at a restaurant where a filet mignon costs $200. So why were they were late on the rent? Was the werewolf issue an unusual occurrence? How often do these things happen? It makes no sense to me why they would have been behind on the rent.

I think more detail about the world, and Simon’s thought process would have made this a much stronger entry in the urban fantasy genre. As it stands, it’s an action-packed thrill ride without enough substance to make me want to revisit this universe any time soon.