Our favorite mismatched buddy cops are back in the latest Fifth Ward novel: Good Company by Dale Lucas, and this may be the best one yet!

Rem and Torval are headed back from their latest shift patrolling the streets of Yenara when a thief on a rooftop literally falls into their laps. After capturing the thief and taking him in they discover that he is a notorious outlaw wanted in another country. The human Rem, and his dwarvish partner Torval, are watch wardens normally charged with patrolling the teeming and unruly streets of Yenara. Now they are tasked with escorting the thief back home through a menacing forest. The forest holds many dangers not the least of which is the thief's companions who are hoping to rescue him. The foreign soldiers traveling with Rem and Torval are also of dubious integrity. The only ones that Rem and Torval can truly rely on are each other and they will need to do so if they are going to make it back to Yenara in one piece.

Good Company takes Rem and Torval out of the city for the first time, allowing us to explore a little bit more of their world. The Fifth Ward books are filled with intrigue along with action and adventure. In Good Company Lucas spends more time with viewpoint characters other than Rem and Torval which deepens the intrigue and helps keep you guessing as to which are the good guys and which are the bad guys. The relationship between Rem and Torval has matured and deepened through the course of these first three books. They rely on and trust each other and this heightens the tension when they face danger, both separately and together. The forest setting not only takes them out of their comfort zone, but their encounters in the woods make them reexamine some long-held prejudices about some of the creatures they only know from the city, including orcs, trolls and goblins.

The action scenes, particularly those in the forest, are some of the most intense and exciting in the series. In Good Company, Lucas juggles more plot threads and viewpoint characters than in the previous books and the added complexity results in the best story yet. This world is rich and vibrant and it's clear that it has a lot of stories left to tell both inside and outside of Yenara. Dale Lucas has another winner on his hands in a series that gets better with every book. Highly recommended

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. ( )