The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold follows Fetch Phillips, a "man for hire" in post-Coda Sunder City. The Coda was the result of an ongoing war between the Humans and the Opus, which resulted in the destruction of all magic. As a result, Elven individuals have grown exceedingly old or crumbled to dust, Vampires have lost their fangs and ability to be satiated by blood or be susceptible to sunlight, and creatures like Wyverns and Angels have lost their wings. No magical creature has been left unaltered, only the Humans remain the same.

Edmund Rye is a fading Vampire, grown old and weak as a result of the Coda. He has been a highly respected teacher working to help the species intermingle, but now he cannot be found. Fetch is hired by the principal of the species-inclusive school where Rye has been employed in order to find the missing teacher.

This was something completely different for me. I've never read a genre mix like this and I found it quite enjoyable. A lot of readers have compared it to Jim Butcher's work, so I may need to check that out. For me it felt like a mashup of fable fantasy, John Grisham detective/mystery, and some kind of western adventure. It was an odd combo, but it totally worked for me.

The whole story is gritty and dark, a bit of an underdog style story without being overly in the "hero" category. Fetch is a morally gray character with definite faults and vices. He's like a private eye verson of House, but without the ragtag support team. His supporting characters were also a lot of fun.

The world building was fun and intriguing. I loved the character descriptions and the different magical beings included in the population. I really appreciated the specifics and minor details that were peppered in along the way. I wanted to know more about these characters, which seems to be possible as this book is the first in a series. That makes me excited to see what else Arnold can add to his world.

The plot was good, but there were places where it wandered a little and/or felt a bit slow. A couple of sections felt extraneous and there probably could have been some tightening in the prose. The writing was direct and descriptive without being flowery. It fit the character of Fetch and the gray of Sunder City. The flashbacks were well done and woven into the story in a way that acted a little bit like an info dump without being boring or overwhelming. They added a lot to the understanding of Fetch's character and his personal conflicts.

Overall, the story was intriguing and I liked reading and watching how the pieces slowly came together. I will definitely be looking to pick up the sequel.