I have a strained relationship with magical detective cop series. Ever since Dresden finally got so unbearably bad that I threw out the entire series, I have been slow to pick up or follow through with any of the alternatives on the market. The one exception has been The Fetch Phillips Archives. Now four books in with Whisper in the Wind, I have been surprisingly impressed with every single entry in the series, and Luke Arnold has now shown enough consistency that I think I am ready to trust again.
With Whisper in the Wind being the fourth entry in this series, we have officially hit our detective stride. Fetch is well established in the city, our cast of side characters is expansive and fleshed out, and the core mysteries and motivations of the characters have been established. Now that Arnold has finished constructing his playground, the only thing left to do is play. Whisper continues the series threadline of searching for a way to bring magic back to a dead world, but we also have a side quest involving the press and mysterious deaths. Mister Whisper, a shadowy rebel, has started hijacking newspapers somehow to spread his inciting propaganda. He encourages the people of the city to rise up and throw off the chains of oppression and take down their capitalist overlords. Also, people targeted by Mister Whisper keep exploding under extremely suspicious circumstances. Fetch is once again roped into current events that are way above his head.
Whisper in the Wind, in many ways, is a story about identity. How we perceive ourselves, the face we show to the world, and the way people truly see us are all integral parts of the story. These beats hit at the exact right moment for me in the arc of this larger story, showing that Arnold has a real knack for sensing the larger series story arcs for all his characters. Fetch spends this book coming to terms with all the pieces of his life that built the person he is now. He reckons with the fact that he has lived long enough to become someone in the eyes of the next generation, carrying an influence he has yet to understand. He grapples with how much he cares about how people perceive him, where previously he had power by not caring at all. But he learns to care enough to sculpt his persona and play with people’s perceptions to deceive them to achieve his ends. The entire thing is a marvelous examination of its core identity theme, and I am here for it.
In terms of Whisper’s individual story, I do think the mystery is great, but likely the weakest of the four books. There is so much character work in this book that I feel like there was a shortage of time to establish more of the underlying murder mystery. It’s a trade-off, not a failing, and it’s a swap I am happy to make. Additionally, Whisper does a lot to keep the overarching plot moving. Four books in, and it feels like Arnold is making significant progress towards the central premise (restoring magic), and I feel like everyone is evolving. Each book has felt pleasingly self-contained, and the vibe of each entry has been shifting into new and interesting directions. The series lacks the strained, dragging-out that several of its competitors have become known for. Hopefully, he can keep up the momentum and actually deliver a killer ending at some point.
Arnold has done a tremendous job building a series that stands out in the genre and has restored my buy-in on the believability of fantasy cop series. The characters’ struggles are gripping, well-thought-out, and explored in meaningful ways. Each piece of the series does a fabulous job building out the world and its cast, and I am deeply invested in the central mystery. Four books in, Whisper in the Wind is another fantastic entry into The Fetch Phillips Archives, and it has given me the confidence to firmly state that I am a fan and wholeheartedly recommend the series.
Rating: Whisper in the Wind – 9.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
