Undone Deeds

In the sixth Connor Grey supernatural investigation (after Uncertain Allies), the incapacitated former druid’s struggle to overcome multiple injuries pales in comparison to the author’s efforts to untangle a multitude of plot threads. Del Franco skillfully renders a world in which magical creatures and humans uneasily coexist. Recurring characters provide both humor and help as just about everyone in the series converges on Boston, and Maeve, the Faerie high queen, reveals her endgame and Connor’s role in it. Fans of the series will relish the long-awaited resolution of the mystery surrounding the dark mass in Connor’s brain, and newcomers will enjoy the merger of urban fantasy and old-school police procedural, but all will be dismayed that the first third of the book is spent recapping past installments, and lengthy chunks of explanation tug clumsily at what could have been a bracing thriller. Agent: Ginger Clark, Curtis Brown Literary Agency. (Feb.)