Immortal sidhe Tuulois MacColewyn is living rough. After nearly two centuries of life as one of Faerie Queen Titania's prized wolves and a handful of years as a Roaring Twenties mob boss's favorite enforcer, he's now exiled to New York, making rent doing dirty jobs for other fey outcasts. He used to consult on the occult for Detective James Corhagen at the NYPD, but since their highly combustible friendship burned itself out a year ago, Cole hasn't heard from him.
All that changes when Corhagen summons Cole right out of his shower and into the middle of a crime scene. The NYPD is facing a rash of messy black–magic murders, complete with exploding hearts and very little forensic evidence, not to mention the sinister disappearance of several half–fey children. However hard he tries to deny it–and his inconvenient attraction to the sidhe–Corhagen needs Cole's help. A persistent police inspector rounds out the team, but when their investigation comes too close to the truth, suddenly it's their lives on the line. With a powerful killer on the loose, Cole, James, and Inspector Vallimun must race against time to stop the monster out to claim the thirteenth child.
Review
J.L. O'Faolain's The Thirteenth Child, from Dreamspinner Press, is a gay romance wrapped up in a supernatural murder mystery. Tuulois MacColewyn, or Cole as he is more affectionately known, is one of the Sidhe, an immortal race with an array of magical powers. Among Cole's is the ability to shapeshift into a wolf and reanimate corpses. The latter talent comes in handy when he is magically summoned, by New York police detective James Corhagen, to investigate a series of grisly, supernaturally-arranged murders. The murders, it turns out, are a cover to divert police attention from the killer's true purpose, which is to kidnap thirteen half-human children. Of course, all hell will break loose once the killer obtains the thirteenth child, so James and Cole work desperately to find the killer and stop him.
Along the way, they encounter ghosts, goblins and golems, not to mention a creature so horrible the mere sight of it causes a man to claw out his own eyes. Even Little Red Riding Hood puts in an appearance. If all of this sounds preposterous, take heart in the fact that O'Faolain uses it to frame a very sexy and complicated m/m/m relationship. James and Cole have an intimate past, and there romance did not end well. James has long been in denial about his feelings for Cole, and he's now hiding behind the married-with-children shield. But the mutual attraction between the two guys is still there. They are joined in the investigation by the rough, tough-talking Inspector Vallimun. It is no surprise what happens with these three hot men working in close quarters. The novel includes some dreamily sexy scenes.
There are other surprises here, however, and everything culminates in a battle between magic powers. The ending leaves everything open for a sequel, which I suspect most readers of this book will be eagerly awaiting.
