Cruel Zinc Melodies

Garrett Files #12

by Glen Cook

Max Weider needs Garrett's (P.I.) help. He's building TunFaire's biggest theater, but the workers are being attacked by all manner of creepy things - from giant insects to shadowy ghosts. Garrett takes the case because, after all, working for the Weiders means free beer. But as Garrett will soon learn, taking a job at this theater also means serious drama.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Detective, Science Fiction, Crime

405 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Glen Cook was born in New York City, lived in southern Indiana as a small child, then grew up in Northern California. After high school he served in the U.S. Navy and attended the University of Missouri. He worked for General Motors for 33 years, retiring some years ago. He started writing short stories in 7th grade, had several published in a high school literary magazine. He began writing with malicious intent to publish in 1968, eventually producing 51 books and a number of short fiction pieces.
He met his wife of 43 years while attending the Clarion Writer's Workshop in 1970. He has three sons (army officer, architect, orchestral musician) and numerous grandchildren, all of whom but one are female. He is best known for his Black Company series, which has appeared in 20+ languages worldwide. His other series include Dread Empire and and the Garrett, P.I. series. His latest work is Working God’s Mischief, fourth in the Instrumentalities of the Night series.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/glencook

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.6112335569789 stars.

· Book 1: Sweet Silver Blues ★★★★
· Book 2: Bitter Gold Hearts ★★★★
· Book 3: Cold Copper Tears ★★★★
· Book 4: Old Tin Sorrows ★★★★★
· Book 5: Dread Brass Shadows ★★★★
· Book 6: Red Iron Nights ★★★★★
· Book 7: Deadly Quicksilver Lies ★★★★★
· Book 8: Petty Pewter Gods ★★★
· Book 9: Faded Steel Heat ★★★
· Book 10: Angry Lead Skies ★★★★
· Book 11: Whispering Nickel Idols ★★★★
· Book 13: Gilded Latten Bones ★★★★
· Book 14: Wicked Bronze Ambition ★★★

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is twelfth in a fantasy mystery series. You can read out of order, but I don't recommend it. You could probably skip this one if you really want, though you'd miss a really touching relationship coda.

This isn't much of a mystery, really. There are a couple of complex elements going on with some plot threads mixing in interesting ways. Garrett does get multiple opportunities to flex a bit and show he's ready to stand with TunFaire's big bads—if not on equal footing, then at least able to make smart choices and wise plays in the heat of the moment.

I don't know what else to review. Tinnie is still a thorn. I get the sense that Cook is trying to mature that relationship even as it is exposing fault lines and irreconcilable worldviews. And I kind of hate the non-resolution for the family situation with Furious Tide of Light and her daughter Kevans. Kevans, in particular, is a psychopath that the Dead Man only just managed to prevent being the poison in the heart of an oppressive police state. I do not like her roaming free with all the resources she ever had and poison in her heart and a genius like Kip helping her out.

Offsetting the one-thing-after-another plot (kudos to Cook for lampshading that explicitly) is the final reconciliation with Eleanor at the end. I cried with their final dance and how it simultaneously healed Garrett's heart even as it saved the city by soothing the buried entity below. Adding the image of an alien entity forever watching the plays on the stage of the World theater (kudos for the Elizabethan callback to the Globe) was icing on top.

I'm going to leave this at four stars. The lovely resolution and the growth in Garrett as he approaches maturity are great, but it's still a bit of a mess as a mystery.

A note about Chaste: Tinnie is all up in Garrett's business in this one and occasionally that means sleepovers. There's nothing on-page, though, so it's pretty chaste.

[Maggie K · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the stronger editions of this series. Garrett takes a job working out some delays in the Weider's latest investment, and of course nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
This installment brings out a lot of old players...it is always nice when a author lets us see where people ended up! Also, Garrett is putting serious thought into his relationship with Tinnie, and seems to be growing up a little bit

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cook has found another great problem for everyone’s favorite fantasy detective to tackle in this twelfth volume of the Garrett Files. Beer magnate Max Weider is trying to build a theater to keep his daughter and her friends happy and it is being plagued by vandalism, giant bugs, and ghosts. Enter Garrett to save the day. The only problem? Whatever is really happening in the theater has attracted the attention of some of the biggest powerhouses on the Hill, meaning that the movers and shakers of his kingdom are going to make solving this one a lot harder than it has to be.

The underlying problems (there are more than one) are good ones and it’s always fun to watch Garrett pull the layers off the mysteries to get to the bad stuff at the core. There’s also a side plot of interest to long term readers of the series. Garrett and his on-again off-again girlfriend are trying to decide if it’s time for them to stop playing game with each other and get serious. At the same time, the ghost angle permits Garrett to get some unexpectedly sweet closure with Eleanor, the ghost in his painting.

Overall, this is a good addition to the series—not the absolute best but a very credible read.

[Drew McCaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t think this one is quite on the level of Old Tin Sorrows, but it’s definitely the best Garrett book in a while. The central mystery has plenty of the usual twists and turns, but the book shines the most when it spends time on Garrett’s own gradual maturing. The final scenes left me with an excellent bittersweet feeling.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cruel Zinc Melodies is the twelfth book in the Garrett P.I. series written by Glen Cook and centered on the adventures of private investigator Garrett.

Its winter in TunFaire, and life has slowed down for Garrett, until a parade of lovely ladies led by his favorite fiery red-head makes its way through his door. The red-head, Tinnie Tate, Garrett's girlfriend, is accompanied by Alyx Weider, a sultry temptress and daughter of the local beer baron, and several other friends. It turns out the girls have aspirations to become an acting troupe for a new theater that Alyx's father, Max Weider, is building to keep his youngest daughter happy and to have a new vehicle for moving more of his product.

The trouble is that Max needs some help. It seems that construction of his theater, The World, is beset by ghosts, bugs, and break-ins. Garrett figures that this is pretty much a security job, and ends up bringing in some of the usual crew including Saucerhead Tharpe and even Winger.

Right off the bat, Garrett wraps up the break-in problem, as it seems that a gang of kids was trying their hand at the racketeering business. The ghosts and bugs present a bit more of a problem. It turns out that the bugs are of sorcerous origin and the result of some sorcerous experimentation by a group of kids from the Hill, led by Kip Prose. Worse yet, the bugs have been disturbing the sleep of a large entity from a bygone age that has been slumbering for eons beneath the ground that The World is being built upon.

Cruel Zinc Melodies is written rather well. Cook continues to expand the world of TunFaire and the narrative and writing seemed to be improved significantly. It has an intriguing plot with giant bugs, ghosts, a youth gang, families of sorcerers, rat people, trolls, and dwarves are mingled and merged into a well thought-out narrative.

All in all, Cruel Zinc Melodies is written rather well and is a rather good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to continue in the very near future.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5

This book is very hard to rate. It has all of Glen Cook's flaws on display more so than some of the other books in the series. It also shows off a lot of what makes him one of my favorite writers in fantasy.

I think his biggest flaw is pacing. This book has very disjointed pacing which drags it down but almost everything else is very good. I think it does suffer a little because Cook is finally trying to move Garrett's life forward in a way that you have not really seen before in the series. There are a lot of changes going on and they are very interesting, I just think they get in the way of some of the storytelling. I think it is the reason the book has pacing issues.

I did enjoy the book and it is a worthwhile read in the series. Yet again he shows off that this is his playground where he can do whatever he wants. We get new elements of this world including a sapient entity written in a way that I have never seen in fantasy. Which was incredible.

I only have two more Garrett novels left . I really hope the one he sent to his publisher finally gets a release date.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shakespeare had the Globe and now Garrett has the World. His sometimes boss at the Weider brewery is building a 3-stage theater building but giant bugs, ghosts and other problems keep cropping up and slowing down the building project. There's also a gang trying their hands at extortion his girl wanting more of a commitment and his protégé truly starting to shine. Garrett is spinning in circles and it's going to take a literal miracle to sort this whole thing out because somewhere deep down, there might be a dragon!

[Pye Josephus Joestar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, I lot of really neat concepts in this one, however a few of them do fall a bit short but other than that, I would say that would be my only complaint. I'd write more about the book but Its not very fresh in my mind anymore as I took a huge break playing dragon quest builders 2 that just came out and then came back to finish the last half of the book. THEN I completly forgot to write a review about a month later haha. I do however remember that I really really enjoyed the writing of this one and it kept my interest very easily compared to some earlier titles.

[astaliegurec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glen Cook's "Cruel Zinc Melodies" appears to be the point in the series when Garrett starts to grow up. Instead of Garrett, P.I. going out and getting pounded, now it's more like Garrett, Inc. semi-managing a group of people and doing the job. It's an interesting change in pace. The writing, characters, descriptions, etc. are all very good with only a couple of things where I have slight problems. First, Cook seems to have put too many irons in the fire here. The main plot seems a bit slow because Garrett has to cover many different things at once instead of focusing on the main thing. Second, there seems to be a bit more preachiness in the book than in previous books. But, then again, Garrett's getting old (and he admits it). And, finally, Cook sticks a bit of Belinda into the plot. But, there's no mention of Chodo, and Belinda seems to have just as many spiders in her head as she used to. Yet, at the end of the previous book, Cook's got Chodo recovering and both him and Belinda hooked into the "whispering nickel idols" to bleed off their despair and insanity. Garrett has specific instructions to "[g]ive them a few days to get used to their jewelry. Then you can release them to their regular lives." That jewelry is non-removable. So, Belinda should be more sane and wearing that jewelry and there should be some mention of Chodo. But, regardless, it's an enjoyable book and I rate it at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.

The books in Cook's "Garrett" series are:

1. Sweet Silver Blues (Garrett, P.I.)
2. Bitter Gold Hearts (Garrett, P.I.)
3. Cold Copper Tears (Garrett, P.I.)
4. Old Tin Sorrows (Garrett Files, Bk. 4) (no Kindle version available)
5. Dread Brass Shadows: A Garrett, P.I. Novel
6. Red Iron Nights: A Garrett. P.I., Novel (no Kindle version available)
7. Deadly Quicksilver Lies (Garrett Files) (no Kindle version available)
8. Petty Pewter Gods: A Garrett, P.I. Novel
9. Faded Steel Heat: A Garrett, P.I., Novel
10. Angry Lead Skies: A Garrett, P.I., Novel
11. Whispering Nickel Idols: A Garrett, P.I., Novel (I've run out of links, sorry)
12. Cruel Zinc Melodies (Garrett, P.I.)
13. Gilded Latten Bones: A Garrett, P.I., Novel
14. Wicked Bronze Ambition: A Garrett, P.I., Novel

[Melissa McShane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, really. It works out to be an interesting plot--simple problem turns into complicated problem turns into potentially world-threatening (or TunFaire threatening, at least) crisis. I like that so many characters from previous books are on stage, some of them literally, and that we've got a new character in the sorceress Furious Tide of Light (and those names the wizards take for themselves are pretty great). But Cook forgets a few details, misspells some of the names of past characters, like Kayenne for Kayean Kronk, and occasionally I felt that he wasn't totally committed to the story. I *do* think he was trying hard to rescue Garrett's relationship with Tinnie Tate, but how successful he is at this will have to wait for the next book.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Glen Cook, especially the Garrett novels. A little Raymond Chandler, a little Terry Pratchett, a lot of Glen Cook.
I'm a sucker for fantasy hard boiled detective novels with a humorous twist. Cook, like Steven Brust, can always be counted on to deliver the goods.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sweet, though somewhat out of nowhere ending almost redeemed the book. But it was undone by all the characters acting like hormonal teenagers--every woman is good looking and all fall in love with Garrett, Garrett can't stop thinking about beautiful women even when his life is in danger, Garrett's girlfriend goes into a frenzy when he even looks at another woman. Blah.

[Nighteye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, interesting, funny. Satirical book making fun of a lot of stuff, now Insects and bugs are the big thing to try to avoid; hound or lambsize ones. After murders, alians, abductions, several diffirent damsells in distress a fun another strange and wierd fantasy book come to pass. Good as the other ones.

[Matthew Reads Junk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a few of this series and they're all pretty much interchangable. They're not great detective novels, and they're not great fantasy yarns either. They're not even that humorous.
This one really was a slog, packed with too many characters, SO much refreshing and reminders of everyone's shtick and an ending that makes little to no sense.

[Kelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts with a goofy premise but has some of the most profound and beautiful moments of the series so far. I'm constantly in awe at Cook's ability to make me laugh then cry a chapter later. Excellent read.

[Paschalis]

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[Adam Sweeny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good twist of a tale, certainly a high point of the series.

[Brandon Mehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit scattered. Even more than the last one, but the ending pulled it together magnificently.

[Kirby Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last book in the series for me. One of the stronger entries. I really want to read the whole series in order in the near future. I think it will probably help some of the books.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great one!

[Zoie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Life is too short - maybe I will try again another time.

[Catching Shadows · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Cruel Zinc Melodies, our favorite gumshoe with a notable distaste for actually working on cases is accosted by a small horde of young well to do ladies (among them sometime girlfriend who might be something more serious than “girlfriend,” Tinnie Tate) bring him the offer of a job. Alyx Weider, the daughter of Max Weider, the biggest brewer in town would like him to investigate a possible haunting at a very large theater the Weiders have decided to build. He takes the job after a great deal of argument, and a talk with Max Weider who believes the problem is actually vandalism or rivalry from other businesses in TunFaire.

Initial investigations reveal that none of the workers will admit to seeing ghosts, but the building seems to be infested with insects of unusual size. Garrett decides to enlist the aid of Pular Singe’s half-brother, Jon Stretch, a rat people community leader with the ability to control rats to investigate and act as exterminators. (There is some interplay where the ratpeople at first pretend that they aren’t insectivores, though they eventually give up the pretense.)

The giant insects eventually turn out to be a separate phenomenon related to some friends of Kip Prose. These kids are from “the Hill” the part of town where the well to do and sorcerers live, and they have been experimenting with various projects that have drawn interest from various quarters. Unfortunately, the kids (and the bugs) have also drawn the attention of something that lives somewhere deep under TunFaire and a system of caves at the bottom of a large silt deposit. The creature’s dreams are somehow creating the ghosts, by interacting with the subconscious of anyone affected by the dreams.

The combination of the Thing in the Caves, and Giant Bugs draws the very concerned attention of the parents of the kids, which is a nightmare for Garrett. Especially since, a) he hates and fears sorcerers, b) they are in his way, and c) he hates and fears sorcerers. (Certain people from The Hill, including a member of the Sorcerer PTA attempt to reassure him they are people just like him. Garrett remains mostly unconvinced and slightly disturbed as he contemplates the idea that “monsters” are also “parents.”)

The sorcerer PTA results in a murder and a lot of trouble for everyone, which draws the attention of the watch, and Prince Rupert, which is even more of a headache. Garrett has various conversations with people from the Hill and the watch, and has a “mature argument” about law and order with Colonel Block.)

Garretin fact has many mature conversations. (After these conversations he generally complains about them.) There’sa brief fly by from Belinda Contague who is there to check out the restaurant area Morely wants to get in order to expand his business. She also wants to unnerve and flirt with poor Garrett who is still trying to be mature (which means no flirting and using his head and other parts. After making him very uncomfortable, Belinda assures him that she’s only teasing and won’t poach onTinnie’s territory, which leaves Garret even more uncomfortable.

Eventually the situation is more or less resolved except for the mysterious creature,which it turns out is linked to “rollups” of massive metal or mineral deposits and also a great deal of destruction when this happens. Garrett has an idea of how to fix this, so he heads down into the caves and finds a way to talk to the creature–who while intelligent, isn’t actually self-aware until it wakes up and communicates with Garret through a “ghost” Garrett creates–Eleanor, the woman from the painting in his office. Unfortunately, he is knocked out for a really long time.

He’s eventually found by his friends, and there’s a happy ending for almost everyone.

[Kurt Criscione · Rating 3 out of 5]

First I will admit that I let this book sit on my shelves for at least 2 maybe 3 or more years before i read it... so my memory of the series was slightly faded. It took a little bit for me to get back into the character... and maybe because of the time of year and my own current life i found some of his habits slightly annoying... hence the 3 star rating instead of a solid 4. His bopping from one idea to another to making a comment about something in the background... well you really need to read the seires in order to get how sometimes the focus of the scenes shift based on Garret. He's kinda focus challenged at times.

Garret always has a bit of the "whine" about him and in this book he was complaining the whole way as normal... but when you stop and step back from the chaotic clutter of the mystery and people getting underfoot, and his authourity getting undermined and all that... this was probably one of the more sedate and easy of his missions, so the whinning was a bit annoying (in the other volumes in the series he really earned the right to complain, we're talking Bruce Willis leave butt kickings he's endured, torture and gods and other such stomping on him.)

There is one other aspect of the stories that never bothered me when i was reading them before and that was his interactions with his girlfriend... it was getting old & annoying in this book. Her constant jealousy whenever he just looked at another women, her constant doubt and harping...jeez! It was getting old WAY fast, and finally near the end of the Book Garret does make a mention of it. On two occasions telling her point blank the world is not about her, nor does it revolve around her. IDK... it was great to finally have him stop her, tell her he loves her and that he's working... and having her going off at his job was unprofessional.

Ok i understand that its kinda a trope/cliche to have that style relationship... and maybe I'm just getting old and cranky... but when you have a scene with some twisted sorcerors argueing and the tension is mounting and you think some really awesome action sequence is about to unfold... and the girlfriend comes in from the right and starts whining that one of the sorcerors is a women and Garret has been staring at her for too long... yeah that awesome sorceror battle goes into the background and the rest of the scene is Garret trying to keep Tinnie happy. MEanwhile this Reader is bored with another example of their dysfunctional relationship and cheated out of a "meaty scene".

That all said i still love the huge cast of characters, the mystery/hardboiled detective touch, and all the rest. I fear for future volumes and now that the relationship will be the death kneel, that's how he'll end the series...Garret marries and decides he has to move into a different house and severs ties with everything, and lives on pretending to be happy. Just my prediction.

[Patrick D'Orazio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all of the Garrett books as well as the Black Company series. Glen Cook (who I am proud to say went to my Alma Mater) is a writer whose character Garrett pops off the page with snarky wit that has always had me laughing and enjoying his thoroughly fun detective tales in the fantastical environment of Tun Faire.
With this being number twelve in the series, reading this novel was like slipping on a comfortable old glove for me. I know the characters, remembering back to the good old days of when each of them were introduced, and enjoying them all.

I was in college in the late eighties when I read my first Garrett book. Now, as I am about to turn forty there is a certain appreciation for a maturing Garrett, alebeit a reluctance on my part to see him resist the urge to stray anymore, resist the urge to get himself into far deeper trouble with the likes of Deal Relway and Westman Block. All the lovely ladies that populated the pages of stories past were like Bond Girls, with their wicked or more tame temptations for the sarcastic ex-marine. Now he is trying to be a one woman man and seems to be a bit more even tempered overall. There is certainly still a zing to the stories but it is slightly tempered by a more thoughtful, less reactionary Garrett.

This specific book has Garrett working to help one of his longtime employers, Max Weider, with his newest venture, a theater being built to showcase the acting skills of his daughter along with Garrett's longtime sweetheart, Tinnie Tate, plus a bevy of other tantalizing young women, each that seem to tempt Garrett one more than the other.
The problem is that the theater appears to be haunted and have an massive infestation of giant bugs.

I will not go into further details because the plot gets pretty complicated from there, with several different smaller and larger mysteries adding up and being resolved throughout the book.

Most of the old characters from previous stories are pulled into this book and that will cause a lot of confusion for someone not familiar with this entire series. It is a story that has a very healthy dose of the Dead Man, which is always a big plus for me. Garrett's partner always adds a lot to each story he is in.

Overall, this story fits nicely into the saga which is the Garrett Files, but does not stand out as one of the more spectacular works but is quite satisfying for this long time fan of the series.

[Mei · Rating 3 out of 5]

So a couple of things that were different about this book - well, not so much the book, but about how I read it - first, it was in the wrong order, which is a real pain, but I had ordered numbers 10-12 at the same time, and wouldn't you know it, number 12 arrives first, and I just couldn't bring myself to wait, and second, since I only had one Garrett PI book at the time, I only read one, and took longer than the usual 24-48 hour cycle.

Taking those factors into consideration, I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. Garrett grows up! And far be it for me to give anything away, but it's pretty nice to see the character develop and grow, albeit in a Garrett kind of way. I mean, no one really likes to see their characters being trapped in an eternal limbo of being 30-something, where nothing changes, ala Friends. Do they? Do they really?

So I enjoyed this one. It was full of odds and ends and familiar characters wandering in and out, and new ones being introduced. Although I have to say that if I knew someone like Winger in real life, I'd have punched her in the face several times over.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twelfth entry in the Garrett P.I. series mixing fantasy and lightweight detective noire. It faithfully follows the series' formula, so if you've read another one that's all you really need to know.

The book has a couple of good points that push it into four star territory. First, the author flirts with the idea of finally having the main character mature a bit. We'll see how that goes. Second, I found the denouement at the theater was surprisingly touching.

On the other hand, the books is just as formulaic as the previous few entries in the series. The worst is that the author seems compelled to shoehorn every one of Garrett's companions into a bit role, which at this point is about a dozen major characters and another handful of minor ones. Several characters basically walk on, strike a pose, Garrett talks about their quirks, and then they exit stage left. Wasted pages, in my opinion.

[Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 13th book in the Garrett P.I. series deals a lot with the changes in TunFaire now that Karenta's generations-long war with Venagatta has finally been won. This time around mommy Garrett's favorite blue-eyed boy investigates the mysterious occurrences of a playhouse under construction, kicking a viper's nest that ultimately involves an inbred clan of big-shot sorcerers from the Hill, their wayward children, the King's brother, the new order of "secret police", and a sentience from which dragon legends may have sprung.

It's sad that this is the last of the series currently. I've blown through the dozen odd books and thoroughly enjoyed Garrett's private detective noir exploits in a fantasy city. The wait for book 14 would be unbearable.

[Viccy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Garrett, P.I. is a detective in Tunfaire, a free-lancer hired by anyone who needs some investigation done. He is aided by his partner, a dead Loghyr, who can read minds; a rat-girl named Singe, his girlfriend Tinnie and assorted other lowlifes, including an assassin dark elf named Morley Dotes. His primary client, Weider Brewery, hires him to get rid of an infestation of massive bugs and ghosts at a site being turned into a theater. Of course, these manifestations are just the tip of the iceberg for Garrett. One thing leads to another and soon Prince Rupert, third in line to the throne of Karentia, is involved. This series makes me laugh out loud and I always enjoy another dose of Garrett's wisecracks and ingenuity.