Unabridged Chick

I had a great time with this first book of this series, The Sword-Edged Blonde, and I just knew I'd love the rest of Bledsoe's books. Sadly, I couldn't quite manage to get to books two and three before needing to review this one, but rest assured I'm going to go back and do so (after loving book one so much I went out and bought all three!).Like the first book, the mood and vibe of this book is what I just loved: it's wry, sardonic, a bit tongue-in-cheeks, kind sexy, very 'masculine', and wonderfully escapist.  The comparisons to private investigator pulp feels accurate: there's a wry hero, dirty urban landscapes, some sex, some murder.In this book, our hero, Eddie LaCrosse -- battered, loyal, rough around the edges but obviously bearing a heart-of-gold -- takes on a case from a close friend. He's asked to find her lover, an infamous pirate, who was last in touch twenty years ago. Quickly, of course, things get a bit complicated -- there's a kid, debate of the pirate's origins, rumors of treasure, lies, misinformation, misdirection, and messy adventure.  What seems, on the surface, to be bouncy, banter-y fun disguises a much darker story -- and it's this seedier, discomforting ugliness that really captured me and has me addicted to this series.I think this would stand alone fine, but would be a bit of a crashing introduction to Eddie LaCrosse and his world.  Check out the author's website, where you can download the first chapter of this book and get a sense of his writing and world-building -- and if you like, I highly recommended starting with the first book and reading on from there.  (I'm grateful I can go back to read books two and three because waiting for another Eddie LaCrosse book now would kill me!)