BLOODHOUND: A TORTALL LEGEND: Beka Cooper, Book Two
Tamora Pierce
Random House Children’s Books
Fantasy
ISBN: 9780375814693
560 pages

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Tamora Pierce novels have the reputation of grabbing readers by the gullet and speedily whisking them deep into the belly of the story right off the bat. There is usually no lack of entertainment or intrigue in a work by Pierce, and her new title, BLOODHOUND, lives up to expectations. Fans will be thrilled with Beka Cooper’s maturity, the respect she now has among the Guards where she works as a “Dog” (policewoman), and the interesting adventure she engages in as she wades waist-high (literally) into the center of a crime syndicate, trying to uncover the source of counterfeit monies infesting the Lower City.

Familiar names and faces are strewn throughout the story, making readers of the first book in the trilogy feel comfortable. New rogues are thrown into the mix to make solving the mystery of bad money a tricky prospect. As a full-fledged Dog in the Provost’s Guard, Beka works with a partner during her watch, but that is easier said than done. She continues to have trouble waiting on partners to catch up with her once she sets her nose to tracking and chasing a bad guy. This single-minded tenacity is not looked upon well as it leaves her partners in the lurch and sometimes working a fight or an argument on their own.

Desk Sergeant Kebibi Ahuda is regularly miffed at Beka because partners are hard to assign to her --- until Achoo, one of the Guard’s scent hounds, crosses paths with Beka. Only then does it seem that a true partner, be it a four-legged one, has been found for Beka. Interestingly, Beka is reluctant to take Achoo on because of the extra demands. The dog has been trained to obey commands in a language Beka does not speak, so she must be trained as much as Achoo. Things work out well as one bloodhound to another the two regularly find their man or woman and bring them in for justice. She has to have a human partner as well, however, and is pleased to be working again with friends and fellow Dogs Senior Guardsman Matthias Tunstall and Corporal Guardswoman Clara Goodwin.

Someone is distributing counterfeit coins in the Lower City. The already shaky economy of the poorest district is the most affected and reacts the most violently. When the price of day-old bread increases unexpectedly in response to the bad coins, a riot breaks out, and no one is spared a bruise or a broken bone. The army is called in to occupy the Lower City and maintain the peace, giving Beka time to go undercover and seek out the source of the tainted money. But Tunstall is laid up with serious injuries he received during the riot. She and Goodwin travel north to Port Caynn in response to a tip.

At age 17, Beka is an experienced Guardswoman but somewhat unaware in the ways of flirting and gambling. While she can handle the blatant flirting (after all, Rosto, Rogue of Corus, has made it clear that he fancies her), learning about gambling firsthand is a new experience for Beka. She doesn’t play the games, but makes it her business to learn all she can and watch closely to see if she can “sniff out” where the dirty money originates. She and Goodwin claim to be on holiday in Port Caynn while the army is on watch in the Lower City, but in reality they are infiltrating the underworld of the dock city trying to latch on to whoever is casting the counterfeits around. They run smack-dab into Pearl Skinner, Rogue in Port Caynn and general all-around bad girl. Nothing rotten goes on without Pearl’s involvement.

Tamora Pierce masters intrigue with BLOODHOUND as she spins a tale with texture and depth that keeps readers guessing and turning pages. Even though it was an extra long time between books one and two, this second installment is worth the wait.

    --- Reviewed by Joy Held

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