Familiar Diversions

Dead Man's Rain was good, but left me feeling a little unsatisfied. Even if this story didn't reference the events of The Mister Trophy, I at least wanted it to add something to my understanding of Markhat and his world. All I learned, I think, was a little more about Markhat's specialty during the war – he was a dog handler.The story, taken on its own, was interesting enough. Markhat had a few questions to answer, and I wanted to know the answers as much as he did. What was the Widow Merlat afraid of? Who was trying to scare her? Why would someone try to scare her? Did any of the Merlat children have something to do with the sightings of the widow's dead husband?The Merlat children, Elizabet, Othur, and Abad, were clear suspects, although Markhat at least considered the possibility that the widow's faithful butler had something to do with the revenant sightings. Elizabet was a snake of a woman – she was used to using her looks to get her way, and she was sure she could wrap Markhat around her finger. Abad, a gambler, was used to the Widow Merlat stepping in and paying his debts. Othur was a junkie who'd probably kill someone for a few coins. There was no shortage of people who'd have taken issue with the widow changing her will.I was a little surprised at how dismissive Markhat was of the possibility that Ebed, the widow's husband, was a revenant. He kept saying that there was no such thing. Considering how he had previously learned, in The Mister Trophy, that the common knowledge that trolls couldn't do magic was incorrect, you'd think he would have been more open to the idea that the widow really had seen her husband. His repeated insistence that it wasn't possible bugged me.Another thing that bugged me was the way Mama Hog was used in the story. In both Dead Man's Rain and The Mister Trophy, she had conveniently powerful magic she pushed on Markhat at just the right time. I really hope that a future story reveals she has weaknesses beyond not wanting to do the dangerous and/or physical work herself, or it won't be long before I get tired of her. I also hope that Markhat eventually stops dismissing Mama Hog's hexes as third-rate, since it seems clear that they're anything but and trying to say otherwise makes him look like an idiot.All in all, despite my complaints, this really wasn't a bad story. I still like Tuttle's writing, I still like Markhat, and I'm still interested in learning more about him and his world. I think Dead Man's Rain might have been more appealing to me if I hadn't read The Mister Trophy. Other Comments:Someone fell down on the job a little when it came to checking for typos. In one instance, Ebed's name was spelled "Eded." Also, the straps fastened to a horse's bridle are called "reins," not "reigns" - this was misspelled every single time. Yes, I've made this mistake myself, but not in a novella I've sold to people.(Original review, with read-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)