Dragon Precinct by Keith R. A. DeCandido

Gan Brightblade is a hero and the personal friend of the Lord and Lady of the City of Cliffside. So when he and his friends, the heroes who had slain the tyrant mage Chalmraik the Foul, come to the city for a little cruise, drawn by the rumor that Chalmraik has come back to life, they want to keep their mission secret.

But Gan Brightblade is murdered, his neck broken as he was inside his room along. And to investigate his killing are Half-Elven Danthres Tresyllione and her human partner Torin Ban Wyvald. Immediately, the two run into problems. None of the companions wants to speak about why they have gathered there, saying only that they are there for a sailing expedition to the islands.

And the murder happened down in Dragon Precinct, near the docks. It's one of the not very nice areas of the city, and yet they must hobnob with some of the greatest heroes of the realm. Danthres, being a half-elf, is disliked by elves, and also by Dwarves, so she's blocked from interrogating the Dwarven General, the Elven hero, and also from the Barbarian, because of the effects of his stinking body on her delicate nose. But she also hates having to bow to the high and mighty and the fact that everyone seems to be lying to her about why they are actually in the city puts her on edge.

The biggest shock comes when they find out that Gan apparently broke his neck on his own. There was no magic involved, and nothing for him to break his neck on. So how did he come to die? Because of the involvement of the Lord and Lady of Cliffside, the guard is being pushed to find a solution to the murder, fast. But when more of Gan's friends begin to die, can Danthres and her partner find the murderer, and help solve the other cases plaguing Dragon Precinct?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as it combined two of my favorite genres: mystery and fantasy. Essentially, it's a murder mystery that takes place in a Dungeons and Dragons-type setting. But instead of just weapons and motive, they also have to take magic into account.

Here, too, is a heroine who is very much a sour, cynical person with a hair-trigger temper. A lot of paranormal romance heroines have the same kind of personality nowadays, but I read it here first. Also unusual is that Danthres is ugly instead of beautiful. Most human-elf crossbreeds have the beauty of the elven parent, and the stamina and strength of the human one. But in addition to Danthres being the product of rape, she, as she puts it "Got the worst sides of both sets of races", and that was also unusual to read.

I really enjoy this book. It's a fairly fast read, doesn't bog you down in magical systems you have to understand or anything like that, and provides a cracking good mystery in addition to the fantasy. Highly recommended.