"A Parliament of Bodies" by Marshall Ryan Maresca: Review/Giveaway

by Terrance McArthur

Details at the end of this post on how to win a copy of this book and links to purchase it.

Satrine Rainey and Minox Welling are police detectives in a special unit in the city of Maradaine. Satrine is a former spy with a databank of information in her brain, and Minox is a mage without affiliation, whose hand has immense, barely-controlled power. Dayne Heldrin is a powerful knight-like guardian of Right, armed with a shield and a sword, but shunted into a dead-end post because, when he tried to save the son of a powerful family, the young man was injured, and the family blamed him. These protagonists from two series of Marshall Ryan Maresca’s “Maradaine” novels come together in A Parliament of Bodies, an often-bloody, mystery-thriller that sprawls through the city.



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Now, the mechanical wizard, who previously devised deadly puzzles, has unleashed carnage and terror in the Parliament building where Dayne is stationed. Bodies are imperiled, impaled, ripped, and shredded, which Dayne sees as bearing earmarks of the villain who ruined his career. Minox is under investigation for his rogue magic—is he a danger to the public? Set up for a rigged test and questioned by an inquisitor who seems to be prejudiced against him, Minox struggles to find answers while suspecting corruption, not only in the constabulary, but in the entire society.
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Other law-enforcement members of Minox’s family are involved, and the mental infirmities of Satrine’s husband have a place in the puzzle, while a female trainee working with Dayne defeats street gang members left and right. Beyond all this, many things that seem to be the clues to the conspiracies are not what they seem at all.

It’s steampunk mixed with medieval fantasy, All the President’s Men blended with James Bond, and The Silence of the Lambs merged with stuffed you’ve never imagined. Maresca is a Catherine’s Wheel of a writer, shooting off plotline sparks in all directions, but they all seem to be interconnected. Characters from one set of books show up in another cycle. The secret is…keep reading all the books, whenever they are published. The different threads show promise of weaving together into a vivid tapestry.

To enter to win a copy of A Parliament of Bodies, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “parliament" or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 18, 2019. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address (so if you win we can get the book sent right out to you), and if via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

You can use these links to purchase the book. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:




Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a Librarian in Fresno County, California. He is also a storyteller, puppeteer, magician, and maker of pine needle baskets. On top of that he writes stories that range from rhymed children's tales to splatterpunk horror. He's an odd bird, but he's nice to have around.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.


Comments

  1. Sounds interesting

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  2. Sounds like an interesting book. Looking forward to reading.
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