A friend is looking for a set of books she remembers from a few years back which was sort of a fantasy-world w/ mythical creatures but it was similar to Sherlock Holmes era. It featured a detective (perhaps in a trenchcoat) with a sidekick who was a monster. It has a telepathic connection with him & would help him solve mysteries. The sidekick could only go out at night as it was either being hunted or was just too ugly. In one adventure they saved a girl who was being prostituted & later she joined a gang which helped them in their missions. Also, there was a prostitute who specialized in Ogre-customers & got killed.
THe girl they rescues was being prostituted by her father in a tavern in exchange for alcohol. Another girl they were assigned to find had seemingly gotten killed but they found her held by a magic-user in a state of frozen suspension to preserve her beauty. There were cobblestone streets & guns both in this world, and it was a series of books. Also, the monster-sidekick wasn’t actually ugly but it couldn’t go out in public because it was in danger.
Sounds like a fun series. Except for the monster side-kick it sounds a lot like Glen Cook’s Garrett P.I. series. However, the monster side-kick doesn’t work. None-the-less, recommend that series to her, I believe she will enjoy it.
Too bad. Here is a link to Cook’s Book’s anyway.
Upon second thought, Glen Cook’s book could work, now that I have thought about it a little - if we stretch the description a little. Garrent has a partner that he refers to as “The Dead Man” who is a creature (I think called a Logyr) who’s physical body has died, but who’s “spirit” still remains. The dead man is “the brains” of the outfit and of course, being dead never leaves the house.
I was thinking along almost those exact same lines when I read the OP. Between The Dead Man, and Pular Singe (the ratperson), you get sidekicks who are telepathic, hunted (sort of, if I recall correctly), and shunned by the majority of society. True, Singe was only introduced later in the series, but she’s played more significant parts in the latest books, I believe. (It’s been a while since I read them.)
It’s a fair bit of a stretch, true, but it could work.
My friend does indeed confirm that the Glen Cook “Garrett” series is it! When I went to Amazon, she recognized the book title BITTER GOLD HEARTS. And then the rest of the posts about The Dead Man brought back her memories. She said she’s so happy as it had really bugged her for a while, Thank you all for her!
Cool beans. Looks like there is a new one coming out this year, which is good 'cause I haven’t seen one in a while. The last few were only OK, but I will still read it.
If she likes that, recommend Simon R. Green’s Nightside series.
And Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files.
Ditto.
And that makes me so happy! I hope he can make it like the old ones.