“Sighing heavily, for he disliked violence generally and murder in particular, Cabal set off to commit violent murder.” Johannes Cabal, the infamous necromancer, is the single constant The Necromacer and The Detective have in common. Admittedly, it surprised me but did not diminish my enjoyment in any way. The two novels could not be more different. It gives the main character a new depth, seeing him in a whole different, unfamiliar to him, setting, stuggling but still coming out on top of things because he is the keen minded necromancer we met in the first novel. As the book title suggests, The Detective revolves around a murder case, that Johannes Cabal can't simply walk away from, since he is aboard a flyig aeroship fleeing from powers that are after his life and his curiosity is geater than the concern for his wellbeing. The pacing is moderate, the writing as strong and witty as in the first novel and the characters intriguing. I enjoyed the banter and the action and every embarassing scene Cabal found himself in immensely. I liked the fluid and effortless world-building. The supernatural aspects were (unfortunately) missing until the very end of the book. But the extra story we get from a very different POV in the end covers it pretty nicely and finally shows Johannes' good sides. I just have a very soft spot for those foolish heroes disguising as anti-heroes. Johannes Cabal may be an antisocial, ocassionaly shooting people, stealing, cheating and a deceiving bastard but he is not emotionally deprived, cold hearted or cruel. The homoeopathic doses of his backstory weave into a sympathetic support and comprehension of his actions. Recommending it to everyone wo loves dry homour, supernatural creatures and little gore here and there.