Bitter Gold Hearts is the second novel in Glen Cook

Glen Cook

Glen Cook is a contemporary American science fiction and fantasy author, best known for his fantasy series, The Black Company. Cook currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri.-Biography:...

's ongoing Garrett P.I.

Garrett P.I.

Garrett P.I. is a series of books by author Glen Cook about Garrett, a freelance private investigator. The novels are written in a film noir-esque style, containing elements of traditional mystery and detective fiction, as well as plenty of dialogue-based humor. The Garrett P.I...

 series. The series combines elements of mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 and fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 as it follows the adventures of private investigator

Private investigator

A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...

 Garrett.

Plot introduction

Garrett is a hardboiled

Hardboiled

Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...

 detective

Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

 living in the city of TunFaire, a melting pot of different races, cultures, religions, and species. When people have problems, they often come to Garrett for help, but trouble has a way of finding Garrett on its own, whether he likes it or not.

Plot summary

The novel starts with Garrett being approached at his house on Macunado St. by a young woman named Amiranda Crest. She explains that her employer is the Stormwarden Raver Styx, whose son Karl daPena has been kidnapped. They want Garrett to organize the exchange between them and the kidnappers. The Domina Willa Dount, in charge while the Stormwarden is away, explains to Garrett that they only need him as a decoy, and apparently, Garrett's work is over. But when Garrett is attacked on his way home by a band of ogres, his interest in the matter is piqued.

When the kidnapper's demands rise, Garrett is brought back in to give his expertise on the matter. It soon becomes apparent to Garrett that the members of the Stormwarden's family are all involved in the affair to some extent, as is a band of ogres led by a mysterious individual named Gorgeous. The link between the ogres and the dePenas appears to be a prostitute by the name of Donni Pell, who had both Karl daPena and Gorgeous as customers. Apparently, she orchestrated the kidnapping of Karl by convincing Gorgeous and his band of ogres to help.

The transfer of funds with the kidnappers goes off without a hitch, but when Amiranda Crest is murdered and Karl daPena is found after allegedly committing suicide, Amber daPena comes running to Garrett for help. With the help of Morley, the Roze boys, and Kingpin Chodo Contague's skull crackers Crask and Sadler, Garrett storms Gorgeous' hideout, capturing Gorgeous and some of his cronies. The ogres, when faced with torture, offer some information into the kidnapping, and Chodo orders Donni Pell to be found and delivered to Garrett.

When the Stormwarden returns to town, she comes first to Garrett to find out just what happened to her family. Garrett then manages to orchestrate a meeting between all the guilty parties, and in a masterful display of deductive reasoning, Garrett implicates Karl daPena Jr., Karl daPena Sr., Amiranda Crest, the Domina Willa Dount, Donni Pell, Gorgeous, and others all in a convoluted kidnapping scheme gone horribly wrong. With the truth out, the situation gets ugly fast, and Garrett and company flee the scene, letting city investigators clear the mess. At the end of it all, the Dead Man, in his infinite wisdom, sheds some light on the few remaining mysteries in the case.

Characters in "Bitter Gold Hearts"

• Garrett
• The Dead Man
• Dean
• Amiranda Crest
• Karl daPena
• Domina Willa Dount
• Amber daPena
• Morley Dotes
• Saucerhead Tharpe
• Playmate
• Crask and Sadler
• The Roze Triplets
• Gorgeous
• Chodo Contague
• Donni Pell
• Stormwarden Raver Styx