Markhat Files Books In Order

Publication Order of Markhat Files Books

Markhat Files is a series written by the prominent U.S. writer Frank Tuttle. In the first book of the Markhat Series i.e. ‘The Mister Trophy’, the writer has vividly defined Markhat and his surroundings, which are quite mysterious places with trolls and vampires. The story begins with Rannit’s personal investigator Markhat, who is a Finder. All he wanted was to have a beer at Eddie’s when he is hired on a case by three trolls in order to find something. While the job looks doable, Markhat senses that he is missing out on something. The case provokes city’s vampires and soon Markhat finds himself in deep trouble which he never expected. As the story progresses, the trolls help Markhat and prove their trustworthiness while fighting alongside Markhat who didn’t believe earlier that they could do magic. This book is rather a novella rather than a full sized novel and it is executed very well with great fantasy and characters which provoke the interest and imagination of the reader.

The Mister Trophy is very appraised by the readers due to its quick humor which is sometimes dark but still funny. Tuttle also engages the readers quickly although the first being short doesn’t last that long. The first book may seem like an introduction or pilot to the entire story and personality of Markhat. The book defines the city and the outline for the adventures of Markhat. The story has a lot of action and the reader does not get filled in between different scenes unnecessarily. While some readers may find the book a bit irritating as it does not give enough details for the background of the story, most of the readers find it quite amusing and fun to be zipped from one scene to another quickly. This story could be a prelude to his coming books and it cleverly mixes vampires, fairy tales and mysteries with breathtaking action and adventure. Often there are many people who go on a spree of reading the remaining parts once they have read the Mister Trophy. Being a small first book, it often leaves the readers with a large number of questions and they have to read enough parts before they are satisfied that they have enough knowledge about Finder Markhat.

The second book in the series of Markhat files is ‘Dead Man’s Rain’. Although this book keeps humor on the downside, it indulges very well in horror. To keep the theme more serious, Tuttle has employed good storytelling techniques. The fantasy is combined well with horror although the story may feel like a fairy tale or a detective novel at times. A mixture of so many elements makes the novel increasingly enjoyable for readers of different ages.

In the second book, Markhat is approached by a widow who wishes to ask his help as her husband has come back. The reader is plunged into a world where there are different caste systems and the difference between the rich and the poor is clearly apparent in a society. The descriptions of various scenes given throughout the book are vividly describing and explain events visually. Markhat has come from a poor sector and through his years of “discovering things”, he has seen and dealt with the best and worst kind of people.

The story is quite interesting in itself but some people find it inadequate as the story does not reference itself to the first book. The novel also lacks in detailing the readers on anything about Markhat or his personality, all the readers find out is that his specialty during war was being a dog handler. As he answers various questions in the book regarding the fears of the rich widow Merlat, the readers also are unfolded different twists and turns which have been confusing them. The story hangs around the Merlat children as well as the butler who is also a suspect in light of the revenant sightings. During the story, Markhat also runs into Elizabet who the daughter of Merlat and a very cunning person, she uses her looks on Markhat to try to get her way. Abad who is also a child of Merlat is a gambler and his mother often has to step in and pay off his debts to get him out of trouble. The other child Othur is a drug addict who can do anything for a little amount of money.

Markhat is very dismissive of the fact that Eded who is the dead husband is a revenant and he continues to say that there is no such thing as a revenant. Markhat is also ignorant of Mama Hog’s hexes and she appears in both first and the second part to conveniently do powerful magic on him at a right time. The readers hope that the future books show a less ignorant and matured Markhat who adheres to what people say and takes advice of people more seriously.

Overall, the Markhat series has developed carefully and gracefully over the years. People get to learn new things about Markhat through a new adventure or mission. Frank Tuttle has weaved numerous careful stories around this hard boiled main character having a careless attitude to his style. Markhat appears to be like an outcast but a gentleman who has a good sense of sarcastic humor and thinks very less about what other people say or want. Often Markhat finds a logical or realistic solution which in a fantasy world which makes the novel more intriguing as he discovers various things along his journey.

The Markhat Files continues to be one of the best works of Frank Tuttle and even though the novels in these series are short in length. They feel satisfactory and filled with enough action to engage the reader and wait for future works. The mixed genre adds another great appeal to the novels and takes the interest of the readers to another level. The ending of the novels is also quite great and carefully planned as per the storyline. The readers never seem to complain about the flow or the entertaining value of the Markhat Files and they continue to amuse readers worldwide with Frank Tuttle’s great talent of weaving different genres together in a great story.