Those familiar with the writing of John Wick will know that once they start reading No Loyal Knight that two things will happen. The first will be that Wick's voice, this time adopting the hard-bitten tones of world-weary, spell-slinging PI Jefferson Carter, will slip deep inside your head, take a hit of your best whiskey without so much as a by-your-leave, and tell you tales of honor, revenge, and the sick, life-altering weight of regret that won't let you rest. The second thing...?

The second thing is that you will know you will read it again. Soon.

No Loyal Knight is a set of hard-boiled detective cases with a strong evocation of mood and motive, with as much left clear yet unsaid as ballsy and laid bare. Each tale moves along like a freight train on a downhill grade. In the magical world of Jefferson Carter, noir has never been quite so dark - nor quite so grimly amused.