Curse The Dark

I had read about Laura Anne Gilman's series of mystery/thrillers on the NPR website.  Her characters use magic to complete their assignments in a world where Nulls (that's us regular folk) co-exist with demons, angels and other creatures of myth and legend.  My library didn't have the first book in Gilman's Retrievers series, so I started with Curse The Dark (#47).  That was definitely a mistake.  I felt like I came in in the middle of a complicated story, and I didn't get half the references or in jokes, nor frankly, by the end, did I care much.  Plus, it felt like it took me several months to finish this book instead of four days, which still was way too long.

I know these stories have received positive reviews from a number of sources, but I can't add mine.  Wren is a female retriever, someone with magical powers, who has the ability to retrieve (i.e. steal!) missing artifacts.  She does have a strong phobia that interferes with her work - she's terrified of flying.  When a lonejack like Wren is upset, watch out for any electronics in the neighborhood.  Shorting out a scanner in an airport security line may be one thing, but what if she can't stay calm during the flight itself?  That's where her partner Sergei comes in.  He's a very wealthy Russian art dealer who can handle Wren.  This is the book where Wren and Sergei realize that they're in love with each other.  Sort of.  The amount of time spent on Wren's angst about her phobia and her fixation on Sergei is excruciating. Please, get to the point, I kept thinking! There's very little action in the story, even though Wren and Sergei have to go to Italy on this assignment.  Someone is pulling strings and not telling Wren and Sergei what's going on.  People (and non-people - the fatae) turn up dead or missing.  Mysterious encounters take place at the agency that handed Wren her assignment, and which happens to be Sergei's former employer - The Silence.  None of these goings-on are explained or resolved in the course of the story.  Who wanted the artifact retrieved?  Does it matter that they ultimately destroy it after nearly being destroyed themselves?  Who is murdering lonejacks?  Why does the New York head of The Council of Mages (who may or may not be the Enemy) have a pointless walk on cameo at a wake at the end of the story? Is it just to set up the final meeting between her and the head of the San Diego Council in the Epilogue? 

Well, at least I know the answer to that one!  It's a cliffhanger designed to get you to read the next book in the series.  Maybe you'll read on and tell me what happened.  As for me, I'm returning the next volume unread to the library.