Old Tin Sorrows

Old Tin Sorrows
Author(s)	Glen Cook
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Garrett P.I.
Genre(s)	Fantasy, Mystery
Publisher	Roc
Publication date	June 1989
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	252
ISBN	0-451-16013-4
OCLC Number	19795741
Preceded by	Cold Copper Tears
Followed by	Dread Brass Shadows

Old Tin Sorrows is the fourth novel in Glen Cook's ongoing Garrett P.I. series. The series combines elements of mystery and fantasy as it follows the adventures of private investigator Garrett.

Plot introduction

Garrett is a hardboiled detective living in the city of TunFaire, a melting pot of different races, cultures, religions, and species. When people have problems, they often come to Garrett for help, but trouble has a way of finding Garrett on its own, whether he likes it or not.

Plot summary

This Garrett novel is a traditional whodunit. Garrett is approached by his old marine sergeant, Blake Peters, who calls in an old army debt to get Garrett to investigate the mysterious illness afflicting his current employer, General Stantnor. Garrett moves into the Stantnor mansion, to find that only a handful of individuals still inhabit the property and keep it from crumbling into ruin. As Garrett begins his investigation, an unknown individual begins murdering the few remaining members of the household. When some of the recently murdered individuals come back from the dead and attack the living house guests, Garrett calls upon his good friend Morley Dotes for backup. As the focus of Garrett's investigation switches to solving the ongoing murders, he continues to be distracted by two elusive beauties seen around the house: one is the general's daughter Jennifer, but the other can only be seen by Garrett, who suspects that she may in fact be a ghost.

While Garrett escapes multiple murder attempts on his own life, other members of the household are not so lucky, and the list of potential suspects grows shorter and shorter. Morley, meanwhile, suspects the general's illness is not a result of poison but possibly of the supernatural. As the pieces start to come together, Garrett and Morley hire an exorcist by the name of Doctor Doom, and with the remaining house staff gathered, they confront the sick general in his quarters. It is revealed that the general murdered his wife, Eleanor, and the ghost that Garrett has glimpsed is in fact her. Eleanor's ghost, as revenge for her murder, has slowly been stealing the life away from the old general. Additionally, Garrett and company deduce that all the murders were in fact committed by the general's daughter, Jennifer, in an attempt to keep the family estate intact after her father's death. In the aftermath, both the general and Jennifer die, and Garrett takes as his only payment a hauntingly beautiful picture of Eleanor, to remind him of the events. He hangs it up in his study, and on occasion in subsequent novels, he talks to the painting to sort out his thoughts.

Characters in "Old Tin Sorrows"

• Garrett
• The Dead Man
• Morley Dotes
• Blake Peters
• General Stantnor
• Jennifer Stantnor
• Eleanor Stantnor
• Dellwood
• Cook
• Doctor Doom