Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Dim Sum Asylum
AUTHOR: Rhys Ford
NARRATOR: Greg Tremblay
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 9 hours, 44 minutes
RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2017
BLURB:
Welcome to Dim Sum Asylum: a San Francisco where it’s a ho-hum kind of case when a cop has to chase down an enchanted two-foot-tall shrine god statue with an impressive Fu Manchu mustache that’s running around Chinatown trolling sex magic and chaos in its wake.
Senior Inspector Roku MacCormick of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division faces a pile of challenges far beyond his human-faerie heritage – snarling dragons guarding C-Town’s multiple gates and exploding noodle factories. After a case goes sideways, Roku is saddled with Trent Leonard, a new partner he can’t trust, to add to the crime syndicate family he doesn’t want and a spell-casting serial killer he desperately needs to find.
While Roku would rather stay home with Bob the Cat and whiskey himself to sleep, he puts on his badge and gun every day, determined to serve and protect the city he loves. When Chinatown’s dark mystical underworld makes his life hell and the case turns deadly, Trent guards Roku’s back and, if Trent can be believed, his heart…even if from what Roku can see, Trent is as dangerous as the monsters and criminals they’re sworn to bring down.
STORY REVIEW:
Rhys Ford is a master at descriptions. The worlds and the characters she creates are so creative and she paints them so vividly that the reader can easily imagine exactly what she is seeing in her mind’s eye. Dim Sum Asylum is no different. This world was gritty and dirty and corrupt and the imagery mirrors that perfectly. I absolutely LOVED this version of Chinatown and the creatures that inhabited it. The rules of the road were easily understood.
Roku and Trent were fabulous characters. They both had so much going on in their lives that every new chapter brought more information that kept want needing to know more. I loved their personalities and how often the dry humor and the sarcasm were perfectly timed to make me laugh. I did question their instant connection and why that attraction turned into more. It felt rather fast to me and to be honest, I am not 100% certain this story needed the romantic aspect. Once I got over the why of it, I enjoyed the connection between the men, but I think the mystery and action would have been compelling enough on their own to carry this story.
I greatly enjoyed the plot and mystery. I LOVED learning about magic and rules and golems and types of fairies and the crime families and manners. It all worked together to create and action packed and tense situation that had me eager to know who, what, when, where, why, and how. It was captivating and left me utterly entertained.
I am not sure if this is a series or not, but things ended in a way that make me so very hopeful that we will be seeing these men again. I would not say no to another enjoyable reading experience.
NARRATION REVIEW:
Greg Tremblay continues to demonstrate that he is a perfect match for Ms. Ford’s paranormal works. He is a master at accents and really nails the darker tones the author favors. He did another fantastic job with this performance and I believe he made this story even better than it would have been if I had read it for myself. I recommend this one highly.
RATING: 
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