Inspector Hobbes And The Blood by Wilkie Martin

I was disappointed with this book, on the whole, as I was expecting something along the lines of Ben Aaronivitch's PC Peter Grant series and this really isn't that.  On the surface they seem to have a similar premise - all is not what it seems and myth and magic collide just out of sight of human eyes.  It is just a shame that Me Martin's take on this is much less well thought through and the myth and magic is just bolted in to a regular small town scenario.  There are also no real reveals in the book, hinted at heavily but no outright acknowledgment.  Initially this works well as Andy is more than a bit gormless so you go with it as we are seeing things from his perspective.  As things progress it starts to become a wee bit tedious, it is obvious what Hobbes is and now Andy has met the Ghouls and The Olde Troll why not just fess up?

The crime caper element of the story is marginally more successful with home break-ins, a daring raid on the local museum and even a smash and grab at the local church.  What do the items stolen have in common?  Why did the thieves not cover their tracks by taking a selection of random items to hide what they were really up to?  The second question, alas, is never answered but the first one is with a great big shovelful of related, but worthless, information accompanying it.

The only thing that really saved the novel from being unfinished and flung in a corner was the characters.  There are definitely a large number of eccentrics living in this sleepy little town.  Hobbes and Andy are the central characters but they are somewhat eclipsed by Dregs The Dog, who steals each and every scene he appears in.  Even after a whole book I still don't really know Hobbes, which is a problem when it comes to making you want to pick up the next in a continuing series.  This is doubly so when the main character is so hopelessly bumbling that all I really want to do is shake and slap him.

I think I may have been over-forgiving when I jotted 3 Stars down in my notebook against this title.  However, that was my immediate reaction on completing the book so I will stick with it.  Must say I am regretting buying the boxed set of the first 3 books now as reading another doesn't fill me with joy.