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Zoe Faust has found herself a real fixer-upper of a house in Portland, Oregon. She started out in France, and has moved across country in her little trailer to get to Portland, where she hopes to put down roots and grow her on-line herbalism business. Would that it were that easy. Her contractor shows up on her porch, dead. There is a gargoyle packed in her crates of alchemical goods - a live gargoyle who makes fantastic French cuisine. The detective from the police department is a little unusual, and more than a tad attractive. And, to top things off, there is a very curious sixteen-year-old boy who wants in on everything.
Dorian, the gargoyle, needs Zoe to rediscover her alchemical roots to save his life; he is slowly turning back into stone. Zoe is not anxious to revisit that time in her life. Bad memories are there. Still, Dorian cooks the most fabulous vegetarian meals for her, and there is something to be said for that. Brixton, the curious one, is finally convinced that Dorian must remain a secret. In exchange, he wants to learn about alchemy. Again, not someplace Zoe wants to go. Detective Liu has connections with Brixton, doesn't believe Zoe killed her contractor, and has his own agenda.
Someone steals valuable contents from some of Zoe's crates, as well as an alchemical book of Dorian's, a book vital to saving him. There is another murder. Secrets are uncovered. Zoe struggles to juggle everything, to share only what needs to be shared, and to not reveal to the wrong person anything vital. Not an easy task while one is trying, literally, to keep a roof over one's head. Nobody in the greater Portland area wants to work on Zoe's house and she can't get a straight answer as to why this is.
Zoe's issues are very real to her, and cause her some distress and soul searching. This is a good thing for the reader. The characters are amusing, real, vibrant. Portland, even the little corner of it inhabited by Zoe and her friends, is a wonderful city and a perfect setting for this story. Pandian's book is a little gem for those of us who enjoy stretching the boundaries of the "real" world without losing sight of what's important.
§ P.J. Coldren lives in northern lower Michigan where she reads and reviews widely across the mystery genre when she isn't working in her local hospital pharmacy.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, January 2015
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