the road to lisdoonvarna by charles de lint

this book came out of my owned but unread pile. unlike most of de lint's fantasy books, the road to lisdoonvarna is a straight forward mystery novel. a private detective is trying to find out who raped and beat a friend while taking on a case for a missing teen. some of de lint's trademarks sneak in: a love of celtic music, busking musicians, canadian setting, a native american sidekick, and the idea that we should all help each other as best we can. except for the bad guys, maybe, who take each other out in the end. no surprising twists here, just an enjoyable read.