“The Grimnoir Chronicles: Detroit Christmas”
Larry Correia
A Cosmic Christmas
Hank Davis, ed.
Baen Books
paper $12.00
ebook $8.99 Baen Kindle Nook Kobo

I’ve been intending to read Larry Correia’s Grimnoir Chronicles for a while now.  After having read the short story “Detroit Christmas”, that series just moved up the list.

In this story, Jake Sullivan is hired by an attractive young woman to find her missing husband two days before Christmas 1931.  He’s a powerful healer and had served in the War in the same unit as Jake, although as a high ranking Healer, Jake had never met him.

The man’s car had been found in a snowbank, and the front seat was covered with blood.  There are things that suggest the Healer had been kidnapped by a pair of vicious gangsters.  It just so happens they are believed to be lying low in the area.  The Bureau of Investigation has put out an alert on them.

Jake manages to find the gangsters, but things aren’t as simple as they appear.  This is a short story, so I’m going to refrain from divulging any more details.  I don’t want to spoil any of the twists.

I will say this.  I’d heard that this series was a good blend of noir and fantasy.  I’ve also heard that Correia is pretty thorough in his research.  Both of those statements are true.  I’m definitely going to be checking out the rest of the series.

An audio version of “Detroit Christmas” is available on the Baen podcast.

A Cosmic Christmas is a mix of fantasy and science fiction, all with a Christmas theme.  One of my favorite stories is included.  That would be Seabury Quinn’s “Roads”.  I looked at it in depth a few years ago.  Here’s the link to that post.