“Blood is all there is.” “What happens when the blood is no longer enough?”
The oldest and gravest of the Wild Folk laws dictates that human flesh must not be consumed. When half-eaten bodies start turning up between Old London and the North, Yannia Wilde knows the killer can only be one of her kind. When Yannia’s betrothed, Dearon, insists on joining forces with her and Karrion, things get even more complicated.
While Yannia tries to balance tracking down the killer with the tension between her, Dearon, and Karrion, another case in Old London draws her attention. A West Mage Council member, whom Yannia exposed as a Leech only days before, has gone missing, and his girlfriend is found murdered in his flat. Is the Leech, a master of deception, capable of murder, or has someone framed him?
Caught in the web of Old London’s political intrigue, Yannia must learn to play the game and to choose her allegiances with care. But to catch a predator of her kind, she must also embrace her wildness and set aside everything that makes her human.
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My thoughts: I had heard of this series and read book one, but somehow missed the rest (I have fixed that omission now) but I think this works as a standalone as well as a continuation.
A series of terrible murders, kidnapped children, and Yannia is looking for a Wild Folk gone rogue. There’s also a Leech (who steals the power of others) on the Council, who might be a murderer too. Lots for her, Karrion and Jamie to investigate.
Then there’s her complicated relationship with Dearon, Elderman elect, from back home in the Wild Folk’s Northern lands. Hes her father’s heir and they’re supposed to be engaged, but despite the attraction between them, she’s not entirely thrilled to have him accompany her to London to “assist” in the hunt for the killer.
I was fascinated by the magic system in these books, it’s clever and intriguing, Britain has a long history of nature worship and folk magic. Books like The Rivers of London and The King’s Watch series both use a similar concept, solving magical crimes but with magic systems linked to nature and the land.
I like Yannia, she’s a clever and thoughtful detective, even when working as a PI for some unscrupulous people, she keeps her suspicions to herself till she has proof and works well with both Karrion and Jamie. I liked that the Met know about magic and no one seems bothered by it.
The plot was clever, with enough twists and turns for any crime fiction fan. The fact that there remains cases unsolved at the end was an interesting twist in itself – so many books end with everything tied up neatly in a bow, but here much remains to be done, hopefully in the next book.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 