Dopplegangster

October 14, 2012

Dopplegangster (Esther Diamond, #2)by Laura Resnick

A struggling actress, a 350-year-old mage whose day job is protecting New York City from Evil, a skeptical cop... and double the number of wiseguys that there should be.... ( from the author's website)

About a third of the way into the second book in the Esther Diamond series I knew I was sold on the entire series. I will admit that I will be buying the rest of them very soon - in fact I have already bought the third book before writing this review. I'd have bought the fourth as well, but the store didn't have any more in stock. I will find another store, yo! And the fifth book comes out in, like, 2 weeks. hehThese books are just really fun. The urban fantasy aspect is toned down, Esther herself isn't magical at all, but there are many magical things happening around her. So far each book has had its own supernatural type element and they don't overlap. Sure, Esther makes reference to the attempted demon raising from the first book, Disappearing Nightly, but this time around the only mystical shenanigans are the duplicated gangsters.While working as a singing waitress (at a mob-run restaurant to pass the time between jobs, Esther witnesses a murder that turns out to be impossibly done. She's not exactly a suspect, but she's more than a witness and perhaps her own life is in danger. Funny things are happening with New York City's wiseguys, they are raving about having seen their perfect double and then they die. What's going on? With the help of her mage friend Max and Lucky, an older wiseguy who has also seen these doubles, Esther sets out to find the answers, clear her name and try not to appear too loony tunes to her potential boyfriend - who happens to be the detective investigating these murders.Once again, Laura Resnick has written up another great cast of characters. As much as I loved the drag queens from the first book, these NYC mobsters were just as amusing. I really enjoyed Lucky as a character and I liked how protective and fatherly he was to Esther (most of the time). The dialogue was well done and it was a natural, humourous banter that kept me giggling out loud.Dopplegangster gets bonus points for the addition of Max's familiar, Nelli. Her antics made me laugh more than once and I hope she's a recurring member of the team going forward.I read online somewhere that this series was picked up by a different publisher after the first book. I know that Disappearing Nightly is a reissue as the other books came out. They are now published by DAW Fantasy and I am forever grateful that they published these books. Esther Diamond and her wacky, magical friends are just what I need this month. A little magic, a little mystery and a whole lot of laughs makes a girl feel better about the world.I will likely have the third book finished by the end of the week. What perfect October reads!Esther Diamond Novels