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* BreakTheHaughty: Corlis treats Thessa and Lokenn like this for the first half of the story, failing to realize that 'he' is the one who needs to gain some perspective.
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* BreakTheHaughty: Corlis treats Thessa and Lokenn like this for the first half of the story, failing to realize that 'he' ''he'' is the one who needs to gain some perspective.
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* BreakTheHaughty: Corlis treats Thessa and Lokenn like crap for most of the story, until he's forced to learn some humility.
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* BreakTheHaughty: Corlis treats Thessa and Lokenn like crap this for most the first half of the story, until he's forced failing to learn realize that 'he' is the one who needs to gain some humility.perspective.
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* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If only [[spoiler: Thessa had shown Corlis the money she stole from Estrum.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since she had no reason to.
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* Biomanipulation: This world's version of necromancy includes any supernatural modification of the human body, including healing.
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* FireForgedFriends: The main characters start off by actively trying to screw each other over, and come out on the other end as friends. [[spoiler: The ones that survive, anyway.]]
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--> "My friend Hanna used to say there's no bigger bastard than someone who thinks they're a hero."
--> "If that's true, there's no [[TitleDrop better place to be a hero]] than New Montres."
Thessa is a young noblewoman who has an unfortunate run-in with a werewolf on her engagement night. Lokenn is a fugitive necromancer, out to restore the reputation of himself and his maligned art. Corlis is an innkeeper with a dying aunt and rapidly mounting debts.
In a string of bad luck and worse decisions, the three of them end up neck-deep in an undercover investigation they had nothing to do with. Soon enough, they're skulking in warehouses, dining with crime lords, and occasionally bleeding in alleys. The powers that be give them three days to find answers, but the real question is whether they can stand each other that long.
Meanwhile, at the other end of town, Officer Nella works on a murder case that has nothing to do with them -- except that it involves the same warehouse, the same crime lord, [[ImmediateSelfContradiction and also Lokenn.]]
Published in 2022, ''A Bad Place to Be a Hero'' is the first volume of the planned "Bad Series" of fantasy mysteries by Jerry F. Westinger. The direct sequel, ''A Bad Time to Meet the Family'' has been announced for an early 2023 release.
!!A bad list of tropes to be found in the book
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Thessa's considerably younger than her three sisters, who would routinely gang up to make fun of her when she was young.
* AntiHero: Pretty much the entire main cast, except Nel.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: Thaumaturgy works by trapping specific types of elemental spirits in properly cut quartz crystals.
* AttemptedRape: Estrum's fatal mistake.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Corlis, but not [[KilledOffForReal Lokenn]].]]
* BadassNormal: Corlis can hold his own against much more powerful people using nothing but his wit.
* BetaCouple: Nel and Mainu, as implied by the final chapter.
* BittersweetEnding: The story closes with the mystery solved and the characters released, but they know the real culprits [[KarmaHoudini won't suffer any real consequences]].
* BlackComedy
* BodyHorror: Implied. As Lokenn explains, most werewolves don't survive their first transformation, and many end up horribly disfigured.
* BreakTheHaughty: Corlis treats Thessa and Lokenn like crap for most of the story, until he's forced to learn some humility.
* ChekhovsGun
** Rasser's habit of paying in Werrish currency.
** Lokenn's spare crystal.
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If only [[spoiler: Thessa had shown Corlis the money she stole from Estrum.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since she had no reason to.
* CrapsackWorld: Crime, corruption and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking terrible parenting]] are rife in this world.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler: Lokenn]], by way of the paladins' thaumaturgic collars. The actual death [[GoryDiscretionShot happens in the middle of a scene cut]], and the other characters are [[SoundOnlyDeath mercifully spared from the sight itself.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Corlis is a fairly typical variety. Lokenn also gets in some barbs, though [[UpperClassWit more subtle ones]].
* ExplosiveLeash: To make sure the characters don't escape the city, the paladins put thaumaturgic collars on them that explode if they go too far from a certain point.
* FinaglesLaw: ''Nothing'' ever goes according to plan.
* {{Foil}}: Thessa's open and passionate nature versus the aloof and calculating Corlis.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "You would sooner die than say 'Thank you'."
* FromBadToWorse: Arguably most of the plot.
* GoshDangItToHeck: Despite the grim setting, the harshest word in the book is "piss". Instead, characters use [[HoldYourHippogriffs Ardonnese idioms]] like "drown me" or "rot in the deep dark".
* JerkAss: Estrum is at the very least this, before his [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty last moments with Thessa]]. Gramonte also hints he's [[SerialRapist much worse]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Corlis attempts to frame Lokenn for murder, but ends up being arrested alongside him.
* ItsAllMyFault: In their DarkestHour, Thessa blames herself for all that happened. Corlis, who spent the majority of the story trying to prove her wrong about everything, does exactly the same thing now and [[FriendshipMoment explains why she's the least at fault out of everyone.]]
* KangarooCourt: Corlis, Thessa and Lokenn's trial lasts about half an hour before they're all sentenced to death.
* KnightTemplar: General Stultus [[spoiler: and Major Gramonte]].
* MagicAIsMagicA: Both thaumaturgy and necromancy have strict and clearly defined limitations.
* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Major Gramonte]] was behind the quartz smuggling that Estrum was investigating.
* ManipulativeBastard: Corlis and [[spoiler: Gramonte]].
* [[NiceGuy Nice Girl]]: Porla the coach driver.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: In this world, werewolves are the result of necromantic experiments, and have no connection to the moon (although they can only transform by night).
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler: Corlis and Thessa]] survive the ordeal, but [[spoiler: Lokenn]] doesn't.
* SequelHook: The very last scene in the book shows a lawyer poring over birth records in search of an abandoned child.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Though it's clearly on the cynical end about the world as a whole, the story also puts great emphasis on the importance of trust and forgiveness.
* StatusQuoIsGod: The characters are put through hell, and at the end [[ItsTheJourneyThatCounts gain nothing but their freedom]] and [[TrueCompanions each other]].
* TheUnfavorite: Thessa's parents are clearly less invested in her future than her sisters'.
* VillainousBreakdown: General Stultus does ''not'' handle defeat well.
* WretchedHive: New Montres (see page quote).
--> "My friend Hanna used to say there's no bigger bastard than someone who thinks they're a hero."
--> "If that's true, there's no [[TitleDrop better place to be a hero]] than New Montres."
Thessa is a young noblewoman who has an unfortunate run-in with a werewolf on her engagement night. Lokenn is a fugitive necromancer, out to restore the reputation of himself and his maligned art. Corlis is an innkeeper with a dying aunt and rapidly mounting debts.
In a string of bad luck and worse decisions, the three of them end up neck-deep in an undercover investigation they had nothing to do with. Soon enough, they're skulking in warehouses, dining with crime lords, and occasionally bleeding in alleys. The powers that be give them three days to find answers, but the real question is whether they can stand each other that long.
Meanwhile, at the other end of town, Officer Nella works on a murder case that has nothing to do with them -- except that it involves the same warehouse, the same crime lord, [[ImmediateSelfContradiction and also Lokenn.]]
Published in 2022, ''A Bad Place to Be a Hero'' is the first volume of the planned "Bad Series" of fantasy mysteries by Jerry F. Westinger. The direct sequel, ''A Bad Time to Meet the Family'' has been announced for an early 2023 release.
!!A bad list of tropes to be found in the book
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Thessa's considerably younger than her three sisters, who would routinely gang up to make fun of her when she was young.
* AntiHero: Pretty much the entire main cast, except Nel.
* AppliedPhlebotinum: Thaumaturgy works by trapping specific types of elemental spirits in properly cut quartz crystals.
* AttemptedRape: Estrum's fatal mistake.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Corlis, but not [[KilledOffForReal Lokenn]].]]
* BadassNormal: Corlis can hold his own against much more powerful people using nothing but his wit.
* BetaCouple: Nel and Mainu, as implied by the final chapter.
* BittersweetEnding: The story closes with the mystery solved and the characters released, but they know the real culprits [[KarmaHoudini won't suffer any real consequences]].
* BlackComedy
* BodyHorror: Implied. As Lokenn explains, most werewolves don't survive their first transformation, and many end up horribly disfigured.
* BreakTheHaughty: Corlis treats Thessa and Lokenn like crap for most of the story, until he's forced to learn some humility.
* ChekhovsGun
** Rasser's habit of paying in Werrish currency.
** Lokenn's spare crystal.
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If only [[spoiler: Thessa had shown Corlis the money she stole from Estrum.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since she had no reason to.
* CrapsackWorld: Crime, corruption and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking terrible parenting]] are rife in this world.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler: Lokenn]], by way of the paladins' thaumaturgic collars. The actual death [[GoryDiscretionShot happens in the middle of a scene cut]], and the other characters are [[SoundOnlyDeath mercifully spared from the sight itself.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: Corlis is a fairly typical variety. Lokenn also gets in some barbs, though [[UpperClassWit more subtle ones]].
* ExplosiveLeash: To make sure the characters don't escape the city, the paladins put thaumaturgic collars on them that explode if they go too far from a certain point.
* FinaglesLaw: ''Nothing'' ever goes according to plan.
* {{Foil}}: Thessa's open and passionate nature versus the aloof and calculating Corlis.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "You would sooner die than say 'Thank you'."
* FromBadToWorse: Arguably most of the plot.
* GoshDangItToHeck: Despite the grim setting, the harshest word in the book is "piss". Instead, characters use [[HoldYourHippogriffs Ardonnese idioms]] like "drown me" or "rot in the deep dark".
* JerkAss: Estrum is at the very least this, before his [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty last moments with Thessa]]. Gramonte also hints he's [[SerialRapist much worse]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Corlis attempts to frame Lokenn for murder, but ends up being arrested alongside him.
* ItsAllMyFault: In their DarkestHour, Thessa blames herself for all that happened. Corlis, who spent the majority of the story trying to prove her wrong about everything, does exactly the same thing now and [[FriendshipMoment explains why she's the least at fault out of everyone.]]
* KangarooCourt: Corlis, Thessa and Lokenn's trial lasts about half an hour before they're all sentenced to death.
* KnightTemplar: General Stultus [[spoiler: and Major Gramonte]].
* MagicAIsMagicA: Both thaumaturgy and necromancy have strict and clearly defined limitations.
* ManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Major Gramonte]] was behind the quartz smuggling that Estrum was investigating.
* ManipulativeBastard: Corlis and [[spoiler: Gramonte]].
* [[NiceGuy Nice Girl]]: Porla the coach driver.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: In this world, werewolves are the result of necromantic experiments, and have no connection to the moon (although they can only transform by night).
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler: Corlis and Thessa]] survive the ordeal, but [[spoiler: Lokenn]] doesn't.
* SequelHook: The very last scene in the book shows a lawyer poring over birth records in search of an abandoned child.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Though it's clearly on the cynical end about the world as a whole, the story also puts great emphasis on the importance of trust and forgiveness.
* StatusQuoIsGod: The characters are put through hell, and at the end [[ItsTheJourneyThatCounts gain nothing but their freedom]] and [[TrueCompanions each other]].
* TheUnfavorite: Thessa's parents are clearly less invested in her future than her sisters'.
* VillainousBreakdown: General Stultus does ''not'' handle defeat well.
* WretchedHive: New Montres (see page quote).
