Nick gets approached by his old frenemies, Detectives Moon and Garou, both wolfmen, as all police are now (great sense of smell, extreme strength, hair-trigger temper, you get the picture). The pair are looking for an invisible man named Anonymous Bosch who went undercover to investigate a new player in the mob scene, a sidhe named Titanio Mab AKA "The Gobfather," who is moving in on the territory now run by braniac Sara Bellum and her horde of zombie minions. When Nick goes undercover as a clown (and yes, they are monsters - haven't you seen IT?), at a local Monsters Only bar, he finds himself drawn to Songbird AKA Dulcinea Ramos, a gorgeous singer in the club and the Gobfather's dame, a human that he parades around in a gilded cage, all but asking for every monster out there to try to turn her. When both Bosch and Songbird turn up dead under strange circumstances, things get more complicated.
Then there's the reappearance of Mickey, Nick's old buddy from the Night War. Mickey wants Nick to join his crew of mobster types, a band of really tough humans who aren't afraid to go out at night and break a few heads, if needed. Mickey sure is giving Nick the hard sell, but it's just not want Nick wants, even though he counts Mickey as a dear old friend.
As Nick continues to investigate the strange happenings that Bosch was working on, and also tries to figure out who killed Songbird, he uncovers a crooked cop, but he doesn't know who it is yet. He finds himself having to work with Sara Bellum's crew, and also a dangerous ex of Mab's called Liling Lam, in order to get to The Gobfather on his own, very dangerous turf. Sure, getting in there is one thing, but getting the goods and surviving the night are something else altogether.
Before long, Nick won't know who to trust, except, that is, for a lovely meat golem he met at the monster club. Her name is Jane Stitch, and although she can't speak, when she looks at Nick, it speaks volumes. Goodbye former flame Hexene Candlemas, hello Jane Stitch!
Once again, Justin Robinson weaves a complicated tale set in a delightful universe where anything goes and the monsters definitely have a leg up. His secretary, Serendipity Sargasso the siren returns, as do a number of other characters mentioned throughout the book that followers of the series will remember, such as Moon and Garou. If you want to get into the series, definitely go back to the beginning and start with City of Devils or you will be doing yourself an injustice. As always, Justin Robinson's books are a fun romp and leave the reader wanting more. While I did find the plot rather circuitous on Wolfman Confidential, it did have a good ending that wrapped things up nicely. If you've been following the series, you won't want to miss it.
