Heroic fantasy has a new hero and his name is Eddie LaCrosse. Burn Me Deadly is the second in the series but it works as a standalone. I don't know how I missed the first but I plan to get a copy of The Sword-Edged Blonde ASAP. Eddie is my kind of hero, an independent hardboiled P.I. type. I cut my teeth on pulp fiction and Eddie's story reminds me of the old days - tough guy heroes who have no compunction about bending the laws, damsels in distress, and violent encounters.

Alex Bledsoe gives a nod to Mickey Spillane's "Kiss Me Deadly, which also starts out with a doomed female hitchhiker. But this superb who-dunnit takes place in an action-packed fantasy world. The hard-bitten hero has a wit that's as sharp as his sword and he doesn't mind killing the bad guys.

Eddie LaCrosse, freelance sword jockey, can be hired for twenty-five gold pieces a day. He's returning from a routine job when his horse is spooked by an injured woman in his path. Eddie offers her a ride but he and Laura don't get very far. They're ambushed by a group of thugs and left for dead. A good samaritan rescues Eddie but it's too late for Laura. When he wakes up in the moon goddess hospital his girlfriend Liz is at his bedside. He's gonna need her help because Eddie just can't let it go. He's out for payback. Eddie only has a few clues and they lead him to a mysterious cult. Unfortunately, the more he learns the more people die.

Fans of detective stories and heroic fantasy should add Bledsoe to their must read list.

Publisher: Tor Books (November 10, 2009)

ISBN: 978-0-7653-2221-0

Hardcover: Pages 320

Price: $24.99