Promises to Keep

Sylvan Investigations #2

by Laura Anne Gilman

The person you pass on the street...may not be human.

They are known as the fatae, the various non-human species that make up the Cosa Nostradamus, the magic-using community. And they could be your neighbors, your teachers, your fellow commuters. Your local PI.

Meet Danny Hendrickson: Human mother, fatae father, 100% attitude.

Sylvan Investigations specializes in missing people - whether they've disappeared on their own, or through unknown circumstances. So
a grown man going missing isn't normally a troubling case. Even when he disappears off a rooftop. Even when they discover he's been hiding secrets of his own.

But Danny's new partner - human, and Talented in ways that make even jaded New Yorkers take notice - sees something more in the scenario...and what she sees is deadly. To the client—and to them.

"Gilman breaks your heart in the best way possible as she revisits the Cosa Nostradamus world with charming half-faun Danny taking the lead.... Gilman's deft touch delights in the Sylvan Investigation novellas."

- C.E. Murphy, bestelling author of 'Mountain Echoes'

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery, Novella, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

ebook

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Laura Anne Gilman’s work has been hailed as “a true American myth” by NPR, and praised for her “deft plotting and first-class characters” by Publishers Weekly. She has won the Endeavor Award for THE COLD EYE, and been shortlisted for a Nebula, (another) Endeavor, and a Washington State Book Award. Her work includes the Devil’s West trilogy, the Cosa Nostradamus urban fantasy series, the Vineart trilogy, and the story collection WEST WINDS’ FOOL. Her upcoming move, UNCANNY TIMES, will be out from Saga Books in 2022.

She lives in Seattle with a cat, a dog, and many deadlines.

Reviews

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Promises to Keep takes place four months after MIles to Go.
Danny and Ellen get a new missing persons case. A man had disappeared from his roof. He isn't a faithful kind of a husband so I didn't really care about him. The case gets even more confusing when they find out there is a baby involved. The story occasionally jumps to the missing man's POV.

This time the story includes another PSI character (Pietr) and even the Wren makes an appearance doing what she does best. Also, Ellen has to solve a case of her own here (another vision).

Another great thing about this story is how author slowly expands the world introducing different kinds of fatae. The Council is mentioned too. None of it overwhelms the story, though. I know more because I've read the other series set in this world, but for someone who started with this one, you could say there is zero info dumping.

[Tonya Nardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the world and the characters.

That being said, these need to be better proofed as there are distracting typos and grammatical errors.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good paranormal suspense series about half faun former cop and current private investigator Danny, who suddenly finds he has an employee - a powerful seer with self-esteem issues.

[Dena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the whole Cosa Nostradamus! I hope for more stories!

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished it way too quickly.

[Wetdryvac Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid writing.

[Andrea]

P

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting ... I guess you could call it an extension of the origin story that began in Dragon Justice and Miles to Go. This felt a bit slighter than "Miles to Go", but it was still worth reading. It showed Ellen as more comfortable with herself and in the larger community than she had been. At the end, I wanted to read more stories involving these characters. Hopefully Ms. Gilman will eventually write those stories.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've gushed about the series overall in my comments on the first book. This one got 4 starts because I can't give 4 and 1/2. I didn't give it a 5, because there is one character in the story that seems to shift behavior from bad guy to good guy, and I didn't really understand why. The story focuses on the search for a missing infant, and leaves a loose end in that the fate of the child's mother is left hanging as well. All that said, Danny and Ellen's relationship develops nicely in this book, and there are a lot of layers to the mystery, which doesn't start with a search for a missing baby. Good paranormal.

[Cathy]

If really like to get this, I'm a big fan of the series and Danny is a cool character, but $4.50 is just too much for a 56 page story. I have a hard enough time rationalizing even $3.00 for a short story, there are too many of them for my very slim budget and I can't get my library to buy most of them, and never when they aren't at B&N or Amazon.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story about Danny and Ellen, and this time her Vision is not the core of their case. I like that Ellen is finding more confidence, and it was great to see some of the mentor/mentee training that she and Wren go through.

Danny, as always, is just a fun character.

[Bri Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery baby!

I am happy to read about a more confident Ellen. Boss-man will have trouble keeping up with her in the next book or two. I hope to see more of the Wren again also.