Joe Conner is an internal affairs officer who has to investigate the death of his former partner and it seems another cop is the murderer. As Joe gets further along in the investigation things get very weird. I found this to be a well written book with good characters.

***I received this book in exchange for an honest review*** ( )

William Meikle's latest novella is a superb mixture of noir and horror. Joe Connors is an internal affairs officer, and his latest case is would up tightly with his past - his former partner has turned up dead, and his killer appears to be another cop. As Joe digs deeper into the case, the reason he and his former partner had a falling out becomes the center of the investigation, and events take a turn for the weird.

Meikle shows his mastery of short-form fiction with this story. Events move forward at a brisk pace and not a single word feels wasted or out of place. Connors is an interesting and nuanced character, and while paying homage to the great "heroes" of noir fiction, Meikle is not trapped by them and offers his own interpretation of the genre with his protagonist.

Part of me wishes this story were longer, but that's mostly because I want more of a good thing. On an intellectual level I realize Broken Sigil is exactly as long as it needed to be, and that's good enough for me. ( )

Horrornoir!...great little story I can see where Mr Meikle's inspiration for this short sharp little gem came from! Joe Connors is called to a shooting and the victim is his friend Johnny Provan, killed by a single gunshot. As the story unravels we learn about the sad death of Joe's wife Brenda and the murky past of Johnny Provan...and his involvement into the "world beyond" The story has a great list of characters and uses The Maltese Falcon as a focal point. There is a lovely use of language and a great understanding by Willian Meikle of the workings and use of the short novella. There is an explosive start, a great mid section with the mystifying concierge Madame Girotte, and a most unexpected punchy ending. Broken Sigil is a shot of the hard stuff when you fancy a little knock out drug! read and enjoy :) ( )