ARC Review: Last Violent Call (Foul Lady Fortune #1.5) by Chloe Gong
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Series: Foul Lady Fortune #1.5
Author: Chloe Gong
Published February 28th 2023 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Goodreads Synopsis
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong comes two captivating new novellas surrounding the events of Foul Lady Fortune and following a familiar cast of characters from the These Violent Delights Duet!
In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous in their peaceful, quiet life. But when they hear about several Russian girls showing up dead in nearby towns, they decide to investigate—and ultimately discover that this mystery is much closer to home than they ever imagined.
In This Foul Murder, Benedikt and Marshall have been summoned by Roma to find the elusive scientist, Lourens, and bring him to Zhouzhuang. Time is of the essence aboard the week-long Trans-Siberian Express, but when someone is murdered on board, Benedikt and Marshall convince the officer in charge not to stop the train so that they aren’t thrown off-schedule. Instead, they pretend that they are investigators and promise they can solve the murder, but as they dig deeper, they realize that the murder might having surprising ties to their own mission…
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss. This in no way impacted on my view.
As soon as I learnt there would be a novella bind up, tying together Chloe's two series, I was desperate to get my hands on a copy. So thank you very much, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for approving my EW request!
In the first short story, A Foul Thing, we see Juliette and Roma after they escaped Shanghai, and are now a happily married couple. Try as they might, they were never able to escape their past, and so work as weapons brokers, helping both those in need, and those with money. They are visited by someone in need of help, and neither can turn them down, especially when it seems that the case is linked to their old friend, Lourens, and the events of Shanghai they ran from. Seeing the pair again, happily and openly together, was a dream. I devoured the story in one sitting, and it's definitely whet my appetite for Foul Heart Huntsman!
The second novella, This Foul Murder sees Mars and Benedict travel from Moscow in the West, across Siberia to meet up with Juliette and Roma, and the rest of the gang. What should be a relatively simple, though long, journey, soon becomes a murder scene, and Mars and Ben manage to work their way into the investigation. They know it is linked with Shanghai, and Lourens, somehow, and they need to discover the truth, before the murderer flees, and they are left with more questions than answers. The closer the train is to their terminus, the more pressure the pair are under, but they soon realise that once the gang are back together, they can achieve it all!
Dates Read:
February 3-18, 2023
Rating
4 Stars
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