This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT DARK JENNY THE FIRST TIME I READ IT?
I have only the vaguest of memory of what actually happened in the first Eddie LaCrosse novel (The Sword-Edged Blonde), and only somewhat better recall about the second (Burn Me Deadly). That's a reflection on the amount of stuff I've read in that time, and is in no way a reflection on Bledsoe. I do have a very clear recollection about what both books told me about Alex Bledsoe's talent and that I enjoyed them a lot. I'm equally certain that Dark Jenny won't suffer from that same fading from memory/excuse to reread them. This one is gonna stay with me for a while.

Essentially, this book is a variation of an Arthurian story—ideal king, queen rumored to be less than ideal, noble knight corps with a few rotten apples thrown in, a wizard figure, wicked half-sister, and a whole lotta intrigue—with a few unique twists of Bledsoe's own thrown in for good measure. Not a sour note to be found here—some notes that were hard to listen to, sure, but...okay, there's a metaphor that went awry. I was trying to say that yes, there were things that were less pleasant than others—this book goes to some dark, nasty places--but it all worked well.

We get this Arthurian tale via an extended flashback—in the middle of a nasty winter storm, with nothing else to occupy the attention of his neighbors, Eddie receives an interesting package. One so interesting, there has to be a great tale that goes along with it—which he ends up telling to the crowd at his favorite tavern (with only the tiniest of breaks to remind us that this is all in Eddie's past). By making this all an extended flashback, Bledsoe is able to give us a slightly different version of Eddie—one on the way to being the guy we've seen in the last two books. It also gives him the excuse to have a great femme fatale to grab Eddie's attention without having to write around his lovely lady.

A great, riveting fantasy noir. Can't wait for the next one already. A decent jumping on point for those new to the series, and a great third installment for those who've been around for awhile.

THOUGHTS THIS TIME THROUGH
In the nine years or so since I read Dark Jenny I held on to a vague recollection of the plot, I remembered it was a clever twist on an Authurian Legend, and that it knocked me for a loop. But that's really all I remembered.

So when I started it on my Eddie LaCrosse re-listen, I was excited. And spent a lot of time pretty disappointed. I couldn't see why it knocked me for a loop.

It was a very clever way to tell an Authurian story while critiquing the Authorian stories. Bledsoe got the best of both worlds there, he got the utopia, the glory, the all the trappings. And he got to show the inherent problems with them, how short lived the utopia was (and if that's the case, just how "eu" was the topia?)

And it was a fun story about a younger Eddie LaCrosse, sword jockey at large. I wasn't blown away, but I was having a good time.

And then I got to the part that I must've been thinking about when I wrote my original post about it years ago. It's not long after we learn why the book is called Dark Jenny, if you're curious. And then I remembered exactly what I felt in 2011 and why the impression lingered even if the details had faded.

WHAT ABOUT DARK JENNY AS AN AUDIOBOOK?
Once again, Stefan Rudnicki, isn't who I'd have guessed was a good fit for LaCrosse. But I'd have been wrong, he's a great voice for this series and I can't imagine anyone else doing it now. I can't put my finger on why, but I think this novel works better in print than in audio (which is not a reflection on Rudnicki, it's something about the story)—but I have no complaints about this as an audiobook.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT DARK jENNY?
I guess I kind of gave it away earlier. At this point in the series, Bledsoe has locked it in. He knows who Eddie is and how to tell his stories. There's the right mix of fantasy elements (including the Arthurian material) and hard-boiled PI elements; humor and grit; violence and sympathy.

I don't know if this is that much better than it's predecessors—but it is somewhat, at least. And it resonates on an emotional level for me far more than they did. I'm completely sold on it. ( )

I ythink I will follow this author, because it's good entertainment, and not very pretentious! ( )

Hard-boiled detective story set in a fantasy which draws heavily on the Arthurian legend.
Eddie LaCrosse, is a mercenary who gets caught up in a power play in a foreign kingdom. Instead of playing out the way the plotters had planned, Eddie gets involved and accused of murder in the royal court. He has to try and find out who committed the murder and also try to stay alive.
Story OK, but the plot device it hung on was too far-fetched to make you suspend belief (heck, even the hero found it hard to believe.)
( )

A bit of arthurian legend spin in this one. Excellent again. ( )

"I remembered the way her hair smelled as she wrenched my fingers back into place."

While drinking a beer with his girlfriend on a snowy day in Angelinaƒ??s Tavern, middle-aged sword-jockey Eddie LaCrosse gets a strange delivery: a coffin. This unusual event sparks some interest in Angelinaƒ??s lethargic patrons, and soon theyƒ??re all gathered around while Eddie regales them with the story of how he came to be the recipient of such an odd gift and, more importantly, whoƒ??s in it.

If you havenƒ??t read one of Alex Bledsoeƒ??s EDDIE LACROSSE MYSTERIES yet, go ahead and try this one ƒ?? you donƒ??t need to have read The Sword-Edged Blonde or Burn Me Deadly to enjoy Dark Jenny (though I should say that I liked the plots of ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/dark-jenny/ ( )

"I remembered the way her hair smelled as she wrenched my fingers back into place."

While drinking a beer with his girlfriend on a snowy day in Angelinaƒ??s Tavern, middle-aged sword-jockey Eddie LaCrosse gets a strange delivery: a coffin. This unusual event sparks some interest in Angelinaƒ??s lethargic patrons, and soon theyƒ??re all gathered around while Eddie regales them with the story of how he came to be the recipient of such an odd gift and, more importantly, whoƒ??s in it.

If you havenƒ??t read one of Alex Bledsoeƒ??s EDDIE LACROSSE MYSTERIES yet, go ahead and try this one ƒ?? you donƒ??t need to have read The Sword-Edged Blonde or Burn Me Deadly to enjoy Dark Jenny (though I should say that I liked the plots of ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/dark-jenny/
( )

"I remembered the way her hair smelled as she wrenched my fingers back into place."

While drinking a beer with his girlfriend on a snowy day in Angelinaƒ??s Tavern, middle-aged sword-jockey Eddie LaCrosse gets a strange delivery: a coffin. This unusual event sparks some interest in Angelinaƒ??s lethargic patrons, and soon theyƒ??re all gathered around while Eddie regales them with the story of how he came to be the recipient of such an odd gift and, more importantly, whoƒ??s in it.

If you havenƒ??t read one of Alex Bledsoeƒ??s EDDIE LACROSSE MYSTERIES yet, go ahead and try this one ƒ?? you donƒ??t need to have read The Sword-Edged Blonde or Burn Me Deadly to enjoy Dark Jenny (though I should say that I liked the plots of ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/dark-jenny/ ( )

"I remembered the way her hair smelled as she wrenched my fingers back into place."

While drinking a beer with his girlfriend on a snowy day in Angelina’s Tavern, middle-aged sword-jockey Eddie LaCrosse gets a strange delivery: a coffin. This unusual event sparks some interest in Angelina’s lethargic patrons, and soon they’re all gathered around while Eddie regales them with the story of how he came to be the recipient of such an odd gift and, more importantly, who’s in it.

If you haven’t read one of Alex Bledsoe’s EDDIE LACROSSE MYSTERIES yet, go ahead and try this one — you don’t need to have read The Sword-Edged Blonde or Burn Me Deadly to enjoy Dark Jenny (though I should say that I liked the plots of ... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/dark-jenny/ ( )

Catching a cheating husband wasn't any big thing. At least not until sword for hire Eddie LaCrosse made the mistake of standing over a freshly poisoned knight. Now he has a castle full of suspects and a very real need to clear his own name before he ends up blamed.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table re-envisioned - King Marcus Drake, Queen Jennifer and the Knights of the Double Tarn, and all of them with some interesting secrets. Not sure I would have picked this up had I realized it was another take on the King Arthur legend, but I'm glad I did. ( )

It was really difficult to decide how to rate this one. I was so annoyed with it most of the time I was reading it. The story and the way the characters behaved and reacted to situations just seemed so utterly unrealistic, it had me rolling my eyes so much that it made me dizzy. But in spite of that.. I felt compelled to keep reading. I would put it down, but then pick it back up because I wanted to know what would happen next. I even ended up staying up a little later than usual so I could finish it. That, in the end, is what saved it from being a two star rating. When the fourth book comes out I'll still probably read it.. But I'm hoping it ends up being better than this one. If not... I may just have to call it quits on this series. ( )

Very enjoyable fantasy. I will be looking for the others in the series. ( )

The third book in the Eddie LaCrosse series is a prequel of sorts with Eddie telling the story of events set before the first two books. This book brought the series back to the detective style of the first book and was better for it. Eddie once again on a proper, paid job to discover the truth through his unique methods.

It brought the mystery and intrigue back the previous book was missing. Here Eddie working his way around the land in his youth is in an unfortunate place at an unfortunate time and his only way out is to solve the murder and the conspiracy surrounding it.

Sharp, witty, mysterious and surprising this book hit all the right points. Not quite a 5-star book but a very strong 4. I've really enjoyed this series and will have to try Alex Bledsoe's other books while waiting for the next Eddie LaCrosse adventure. ( )

nother fun new Eddie LaCrosse novel - one that combines fantasy, mystery and mythic fiction when it and the erstwhile mercenary now-sword jockey take on the tale of King Arthur. Much like how the first two were constructed, Dark Jenny begins with an original setup and then whisks the reader into an alternate but familiar world, this time peopled with renamed versions from one of the world's best loved stories. With a favorite noir character of the femme fatale entering the fray to entertain and lead men - and Eddie himself! - astray, and other assorted fantasy staples (witches! secret religions! magic!), immersing myself into this third novel was as easy as ever. Dark Jenny comes loaded with the same trademark humor and sarcastic sense of irony shown so often in the first two books in this genre-blending series, and it doesn't hurt to have level-headed and skilled investigator Eddie unravel a new mystery in his familiar, intelligent, often bloody, way.

Without doubt, this is another solid effort from Alex Bledsoe, if one that lacks the unpredictability of the first two in the Eddie LaCrosse series.Whereas I firmly love The Sword-Edged Blonde and (my favorite so far) Burn Me Deadly, I found myself a tad dismayed by how simple and obvious I found the mystery to be here in Dark Jenny. Bledsoe throws in several red herrings, but as someone that loves the King Arthur legend and reads many retellings of the story, I was never diverted or distracted, as was the writer's intention. Anyone overtly familiar with that tale of love, loyalty, honor, and betrayal will see through to the overall antagonist quite easily, despite any and all attempts to occlude the reader. The adaptations and changes to the characters names are simple to spot (Grand Bruan = Great Britain, Marcus Drake = Arthur Pendragon, Belzcrux = Excalibur, Knights of the Double Tarn = Knights of the Round Table, and so on and so forth) and keep the atmosphere redolent of that often-told and well-loved source material. What Dark Jenny lacks in unpredictablity, it makes up for in humor ("I suppose you all wonder why I've asked you all here" make me seriously lol.)

All that isn't to say that Bledsoe doesn't come up with a few twists and surprises all his own - and which helped this stand on its own as clearly the author's own creation/interpretation - but the big reveal at the end... wasn't. For me, at least. This is the first time in three tries that I've figured it all out before Eddie, and I am strangely proud of that fact. Whatever my issues with this latest novel, these have been great, and fun novels and it's a series I eagerly anticipate continuing. Main character Eddie remains the greatest credit to the series - he's likeable despite his checkered past (I especially liked this description of him: [He has] a large sense of fairness, a real taste for violence, and a weakness for lost causes.") and his inner monologue is often wry, humorous, self-deprecating as the occasion calls for it. All in all, he's easy to read, easy to root for, and my affection for him grows steadily more with each subsequent adventure.

I had fun with this but besides my dismay over the obvious nature of the big bad, for the first time I find myself closing an Eddie LaCrosse novel with more questions than the novel started with. This is a bit SPOILERY so stay away if you don't want some of the mystery resolved before you even start. #1. How did Megan escape from whatever jail she was thrown in by the king? #2. How did she subsequently get her hands on Belacrux? #3. Why would she take the sword of the island, and bring it all the way to Eddie, only to have him bring it back to Grand Bruan and put it where it belongs? It just seemed... illogical, though it gave Eddie a great segue to tell his tale of knights, betrayal, double identities and more. A little disappointing, but I still had a lot of fun and was vastly entertained for the whole 348 pages. END SPOILERS.

Dark Jenny is a solid three star book; another fun and interesting novel from a very imaginative author. It, like Burn Me Deadly, works equally well as a sequel or a standalone novel, and while I liked it, it just wasn't as strong or creative as its two predecessors. Fans will enjoy it, but I'd suggest starting the series at the beginning and working your way through to this one. I'm definitely a fan of this author, this series, and most especially of this character - I'm way more than excited to see what's in store in the next mystery-fantasy-adventure with Eddie. ( )

This was my first Eddie Lacrosse novel, but I think I'll try to find the others because I really enjoyed this one. I read that this series is basically mysteries in fantasy settings, but I didn't expect it to be set within the King Arthur myth! This novel is Eddie telling his tavern friends the mystery he solved seven years previously on Grand Bruan Island. A Knight of the Double Tarn (ie Round Table) eats a poisoned apple and dies. Queen Jennifer is the prime suspect, but thankfully Eddie is there to solve the case. Bledsoe skirts around the familiar Arthur myth, changing names (Merlin becomes Cameron; Lancelot becomes Elliott...) and keeping things fresh with Eddie's amusing voice. I was truly kept guessing until the end. There were moments when it would have been nice to have read the other Eddie Lacrosse books (allusions to other escapades, etc.), but overall, this novel stood well on its own. Recommended. ( )

Every once in a while I go out to the mailbox and discover a book in the mail that I wasn't expecting. A lot of those books end up sitting on my review shelf, but some of those books intrigue me enough to dig my eyes into them. Such books tend to be quite good. Dark Jenny is one of those books.

Dark Jenny follows Eddie LaCrosse, a witty sword for hire who'll solve any case for a reasonable price. But Eddie also has a history that most people don't know about, and it involves the fall of
the kingdom of Grand Bruan, a feudal utopia with an Arthurian legend at its core. When a mysterious coffin is left in the snow outside his place of business -- i.e., a tavern -- Eddie begins to weave a tale about murder, dark family secrets, unscrupulous and vengeful characters, and a version of Grand Bruan's fall that nobody has ever heard before.

Dark Jenny is a lot like the movie Clue on a twisted date with The Princess Bride. Bledsoe's novel is one part dark comedy and one part social critique. As a dark comedy, it benefits from having a strong protagonist and a solid cast of secondary characters. Eddie is sarcastic, witty, and clever, but he is also a farcry from the antiheroes of many popular fantasy series, despite his attempts to avoid involvement in anything other than his business. The result was a character I enjoyed reading about and a character whose motivations I could understand, even if I might have disagreed with him. This feeling is helped by the fact that Dark Jenny is a first person narrative, the result of which is a thorough understanding of Eddie's thought processes and a lack self-referentiality -- that is that the novel doesn't suffer from requiring some familiarity with Bledsoe's other works, however minute.

Instead, the novel is made internally consistent by a character who feels fully-developed from the outset (the novel opens in a tavern and does a fantastic job of creating a sense of familiarity through Eddie's interactions with the various minor characters around him) and whose development is then displayed full-force by a flashback narrative (one which shows that development morally through his interactions with the people of Grand Bruan, in which his aggressive nature is challenged by -- and challenges -- people above his stature; we then get to see how his personality functions and why he is who he is). Eddie's voice is perhaps the strongest aspect of the novel next to the genre critiques, without which I think Bledsoe's tale would falter.

The core of Dark Jenny is an Arthurian legend twisted on its head, in part because the kingdom has descended into barbarism, which the opening of the novel indicates, but also because Bledsoe doesn't avoid breaking down the utopianism of feudal myths (often through humor) in order to show the dark inner workings of societies which are served by those myths. To put it another way: Bledsoe's novel, despite presenting itself as a fun, but dark comedy, is one which critically engages with the mythologies societies give to their citizens, showing the tenuous balance between maintaining order and manipulating one's subjects. (Bledsoe is engaging with the fundamental unknowability of utopia, which Fredric Jameson discusses throughout his writing, but specifically in Archaeologies of the Future). Bledsoe relays these critiques largely through humor, which is refreshing when one considers how many fantasy novels deconstruct the feudal utopia through elaborate political or metaphysical pessimisms.

Dark Jenny does have some issues, though, some of which will be the result of the reader's taste. While the novel contains within it a heavy social critique, its outer skin -- that of its comedic nature -- sometimes falls short from a language perspective. Eddie frequently uses euphemisms which are far too modern for the world he is playing with. Though Dark Jenny is set in a secondary world, I felt myself being drawn away from the story when phrases like "she's a knockout" appeared in the text. Many readers may not be bothered by such things, but I find that the language can only be modernized so much before the story's medieval settings starts to feel strained against an encroaching modernity.

There are also issues related to the Bledsoe's use of sexual relationships. I never got the sense that certain characters were reasonably attracted to one another (though there is a twist which explains why some characters are that way). In Eddie's case, there is a love interest, but it felt somewhat strained to me. I tend to prefer romantic relationships which develop realistically. Eddie's "charm," while usually evident in other avenues (such as his interactions with Kay), wasn't given enough space in the romantic subplot. There needed to be more interaction, because without it, I got the sense that the relationship did not contain the depth that Eddie frequently announced in the text (the relationship seemed to be about sex rather than some kind of attraction beyond the physical; the novel suggested that the relationship wasn't just physical).

The novel's structure is also interesting to note. I feel that some readers will have issues with Dark Jenny's jumps between the world's present and its distant past (at about the same frequency as The Princess Bride), but I found the structure enjoyable and fascinating. This means that the novel doesn't present itself in a straight way. Some details are revealed from the start, while others are left to be discovered -- by the Eddie's past self and by the reader. The structure works well with the mystery plot that begins the novel's present and past, and will certainly please fans of other genres than fantasy (mystery fans might find Dark Jenny enjoyable).

Overall, however, I greatly enjoyed the book. It's a dark comedy/fantasy romp with a strong lead character, plenty of mystery and twists, and a solid plot. I've been inundated with too many epic fantasy stories; receiving this book in the mail was a welcome shift from what I usually read in the genre. You should definitely give it a whirl. ( )