Book Review – Fallible Justice by Laura Laakso

So I have a problem… I love to read. Honestly, I wrote my own current work in progress because I was dying to read it, not because I was so terribly keen on the writing process itself. But! As I’ve embraced the idea that I also love to write, I’ve discovered a whole new world filled with other authors – authors I might never have otherwise encountered in the course of my daily life.

One of those authors is Laura Laakso, who wrote the forthcoming Fallible Justice (November 8, 2018, published by Louise Walters Books). I met Laakso via a Facebook group for writers-with-very-little-time-to-write, 10 Minute Novelists. I caught a glimpse of the blurb for her new book, and when she asked for advance readers, I jumped at the chance.

And I am so, so glad that I did.

Fallible Justice is Laakso’s debut fantasy novel, about an unusual detective named Yannia Wilde. True to her name, Yannia is wild – she’s an outsider in London, a member of the Wild Folk, and wildness is in her blood. Step into her shoes for a few minutes, and you will see this is no exaggeration.

But I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time regurgitating things you can glean for yourself from the blurb. The important thing to me is that with Fallible Justice, Laakso deftly manages the elusive trick of making the pages and the words disappear, leaving nothing between the reader and the story. When I think back to the reading process, what I see are not words on a page but vivid memories of Laakso’s characters – Yannia, Karrion, Lady Bergamon, Wishearth, and so many more.

Overall, the story is an intriguing mix of old and new, fanciful and mundane. Beyond that, though, the story has stayed with me. My brain continues to tumble various plot points around like a tumbler polishing stones. I was lucky enough to have a few moments to chat privately with Laakso about some of my questions – and I did have one or two at the end – which has only whetted my appetite for the next installment in her series.  I don’t want to give away a bunch of spoilers, but I will say that Laakso stays true to her characters and the story – no matter where that leads.

Fallible Justice is an overall excellent read, and very much worth your time and treasure.

This review is based on an ARC from Louise Walters Books. Thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.