Fantasy novel series by Glen Cook
Garrett P.I. is a series of fantasy novels by American writer Glen Cook about Garrett, a freelance private investigator. The novels are written in a hard-boiled detective fiction style, with elements of traditional mystery and dialogue-based humor. Garrett, during his adventures in his home city of TunFaire and across Karenta and the Cantard, has to deal with elves, vampires, centaurs, trolls, and numerous mixed breeds, along with gods, wizards, witches and more. Unlike most fantasy series, the "Garrett P.I." novels focus more on the detective aspects of the story and less on the magical.
Background.
TunFaire is a large city in the kingdom of Karenta. It is home to an uneasy mix of humans, dwarves, elves, ogres, pixies, ratmen and various other races, along with numerous mixed breeds in seemingly endless combinations, with humans predominating. Corruption, poverty, crime and general lawlessness abound.
Karenta has been involved in a generations-long war with the kingdom of Venageta over control of the Cantard, a region that houses most of the world's silver mines. (Silver is necessary for magic.) Male humans are subject to a mandatory five years of military service, which many do not survive (including Garrett's father and brother). However, anyone who can prove they are at least one quarter non-human is exempt. This is a source of much resentment, exacerbating racial tensions.
Major recurring characters.
Garrett.
Garrett is the protagonist of the series and, as the series name indicates, is a private investigator.
Garrett is an ex-marine with a knack for figuring things out. He is in his early 30s at the beginning of the series, 6'2" tall, with blond (or dirty blond) hair and blue eyes. He struggles to stay in shape due to his laziness and affinity for beer. Garrett survived his five years of mandatory military service as a marine in the ongoing war with Venageta. When he returned home to TunFaire, he began his freelance investigative service.
Garrett avoids work as much as possible, doing just enough to make ends meet at the beginning of the series. However, he comes into a substantial fee at the end of "Sweet Silver Blues", which allows him to buy a house (with a room for his associate the Dead Man) and hire Dean as cook and housekeeper. He initially has one steady source of income, a retainer from Max Weider to keep the insider theft at the latter's breweries in check. Later (in "Angry Lead Skies"), he is given a small ownership share in the highly profitable Amalgamated Manufacturing Combine (for his efforts which lead to its formation).
He becomes involved romantically with several women at various times, the most prominent being Tinnie Tate, with whom he has a tumultuous, on again-off again relationship. However, he ends up seriously involved with and engaged to Furious Tide of Light, an extremely powerful, well-connected sorceress, at the end of "Gilded Latten Bones". Garrett's weakness for beautiful women often results in him trying to rescue them from their troubles. Unlike his friend Morley Dotes, Garrett has a conscience and avoids killing whenever possible, even when it would be in his best interest to do so.
Morley Dotes.
Morley is a half-dark-elf assassin and entrepreneur who owns his own restaurant and bar, originally called The Joy House but later renamed The Palms. Morley has a reputation as being the best street fighter in TunFaire. He is vain and conceited, a dedicated vegetarian and health nut who constantly chases after women, married or otherwise. With his charm and exotic good looks, he usually gets them, yet he still claims that Garrett has an easier time attracting young ladies than he does. He eventually ends up in a romantic relationship with Belinda Contague, the head of the underworld (and Garrett's former girlfriend), violating his rule not to get involved with a woman crazier than him.
Morley and Garrett, despite their differences, are the best of friends. As the series progresses, their friendship grows stronger, although neither one will readily admit it. As Morley matures, he seems to take more of a role managing his restaurant and less of a role in the world of crime, although he is always up for an adventure with Garrett when the time comes.
Morley Dotes first appears in "Sweet Silver Blues", where his debts from his gambling addiction provide an extra motive for joining Garrett's expedition.
Saucerhead Tharpe.
Waldo "Saucerhead" Tharpe is a professional thug and bodyguard. He is a friend of Garrett and Morley, and his line of work lies somewhere between theirs—he will beat people up for money, but will not kill for hire. He is a bit slow of thought, but has a deeply ingrained sense of nobility, and once he accepts payment for a job he will see it through or die trying.
Physically, Saucerhead is a remarkably large and ugly human. He is much taller than Garrett's 6'2", incredibly strong, and almost impossible to kill. Though these qualities may imply a bit of ogre or giant blood in his background, Tharpe claims to be of pure human stock.
Although he is typically attracted to small, feisty women, late in the series he falls for Garrett's large friend Winger.
He first appears in "Sweet Silver Blues".
The Dead Man.
Garrett's partner, known only as the Dead Man, is a member of a very rare species called the Loghyr. About four hundred years before the events of "Sweet Silver Blues", he was killed with a knife. However, a Loghyr's spirit can persist long after death, so his multiple minds are still functional, as are his formidable mental powers.
Within a certain range of his corpse, the Dead Man is telepathic and telekinetic. He is able to communicate through direct mind contact, as well as read and control the minds of unwilling subjects. He can lift physical objects up to the size of a small person, perhaps larger. The full extent of his powers is uncertain, and Garrett suspects he can do far more than he lets on.
The Dead Man is also a deductive genius, often helping Garrett solve cases, though he prefers to give limited advice and force Garrett to solved things for himself. He entertains himself by running military simulations, putting "armies" of mind-controlled insects through maneuvers on the walls of his room.
The Dead Man's body weighs about 450 pounds and, after Garrett purchases a house, has a room of his own in it. He is a little ragged around the edges where the vermin have pecked at him, but Loghyr flesh corrupts extremely slowly. Despite being dead, he does have to "sleep" occasionally for weeks and even months at a time to rebuild his energy.
The Dead Man and Garrett are friends as well as business partners. Garrett has been known to refer to the Dead Man as Chuckles, Smiley, Old Bones, and His Nibs.
The Dead Man first appears in "Sweet Silver Blues".
Dean.
Dean Creech is Garrett's housekeeper and cook. Dean is elderly, around 70 years old, and he watches the house while Garrett is away. He is generally critical of Garrett's lady friends, with the exceptions of Tinnie Tate and Maya Stump, whom he adores.
Dean cooks and cleans, and snipes and grumbles about how much Garrett is or is not working, how he is eating, who he consorts with, or how late he sleeps in the morning. Dean hopes that Garrett will someday settle down with one of his many homely spinster nieces.
Dean first appears in "Bitter Gold Hearts".
Tinnie Tate.
Tinnie Tate is Garrett's on-again off-again girlfriend. She is a short, fiery redhead in her mid 20s with long, straight hair, green eyes, a few freckles, and a very attractive body. She lives in the Tate family compound with her cousin, Rose Tate, and her uncle, Willard Tate, among others. Her relationship with Garrett is often strained by her volatile personality, but they both enjoy the makeup sex they have when they reconcile.
Tinnie Tate first appears in "Sweet Silver Blues". In "Cruel Zinc Melodies", Garrett introduces Tinnie as his fiancée (primarily to stop her from insulting an attractive sorcerer from the Hill who is showing an interest in Garrett), without talking it over with her first. At the beginning of the subsequent novel "Gilded Latten Bones", Tinnie and Garrett have been living together for some time. However, their relationship is strained because Garrett feels that Tinnie is excessively controlling. They agree to have her mind modified by the Dead Man to remove her obsession for control. Their relationship goes through an informal breakup, and the modification is aborted.
Tinnie finally loses Garrett to the much more stable Furious Tide of Light, who is one of the most powerful sorceresses in TunFaire and a member of the upper, upper class.
Playmate.
Playmate is a black man close to seven feet tall, though Garrett often exaggerates his height as closer to nine feet. He also has colored scars on his face. Despite his fierce appearance, he does not have a mean bone in his body. Playmate owns a stable close to Garrett's house, and he often provides horses and carriages to Garrett when he needs them. Garrett thinks Playmate would make an excellent preacher, but Playmate's dedication is to his stable, first and foremost.
Playmate first appears in "Sweet Silver Blues".
Winger.
Winger is a country bumpkin turned thug-for-hire. She is tall (roughly Garrett's height) and attractive, though strong and built like a brick outhouse. Garrett likens her to Saucerhead, but with better teeth and long blonde hair. Winger is impulsive with a penchant for schemes that get her and everyone around her into hot water. Her taste in clothing is atrocious, and she is something of a kleptomaniac. She has about as much of a conscience as Morley Dotes.
Garrett and Winger have a history. Garrett is not entirely sure why he and Winger are friends, but they are, and he counts Winger as one of the few people who would rise up to defend him under any circumstances.
Winger first appears in "Dread Brass Shadows".
Chodo Contague.
Chodo Contague is, for much of the series, the kingpin of the Outfit, TunFaire's most powerful organized crime syndicate. He acquires the position following the assassination of the previous kingpin, which is orchestrated by Morley Dotes at the end of "Sweet Silver Blues".
Although he is about 60 years old and uses a wheelchair due to an unspecified condition, Chodo is still a very menacing figure; there is a ruthlessness about him that makes even his henchmen seem kind by comparison. As head of the Outfit, he is one of the most powerful men in TunFaire.
Due to several of Garrett's actions, among them saving Chodo's life, Chodo feels indebted to Garrett, but at the same time, Chodo only favors Garrett as long as their goals coincide. At the end of "Dread Brass Shadows", Chodo suffers a stroke that seemingly turns him into a vegetable. At the end of "Whispering Nickel Idols", he is on the road to recovery. Eventually, he is deposed. Emerging from the ensuing infighting, one of his offspring, Belinda, takes over, using him as a figurehead while consolidating her power in the male-dominated underworld.
Chodo Contague first appears in "Bitter Gold Hearts".
Crask and Sadler.
Crask and Sadler are Chodo Contague's bodyguards and right-hand men. They are cold, ruthless killers who follow Chodo's directions to the letter, and both are vicious fighters on a par with Saucerhead Tharpe and Morley Dotes. Although Crask and Sadler often team up with Garrett on raids and stakeouts, it is always an uneasy truce between the parties. Crask and Sadler would as soon kill Garrett as help him if Chodo Contague gave the order.
In "Dread Brass Shadows", Crask and Sadler turn against Chodo Contague and, with the aid of Garrett and Winger, they attempt to assassinate him. When Chodo suffers a stroke, Crask and Sadler take over as heads of the Outfit, under the pretense that Chodo is still giving them orders. At the end of "Red Iron Nights", Belinda Contague snatches power back from Crask and Sadler, and the two flee TunFaire.
Crask and Sadler first appear in "Bitter Gold Hearts", and they die at the end of "Faded Steel Heat".
Belinda Contague.
Belinda Contague is the daughter of Chodo Contague. She has black hair, very pale skin, and prefers to wear all black clothing. Despite her choice of attire, she is very attractive.
Belinda suffers from conflicting emotions. Part of her wishes to be normal, so she could be carefree and