This was a really fun read! It is quite unique with all manner of supernatural beings and threats to national security. It has intensity, action and humor throughout. I enjoyed every minute!
I don't know why I let this book languish on Mt. TBR for so long. It has everything: a smart and witty heroine, creative bad guys, and a little bit of mystery. I had kind of gone off the paranormal genre, but this book was really engaging.
This is the first book in the Checquy Files series by O'Malley. The second book in this series, Stiletto, is supposed to release in Jan 2016. I enjoyed this book; is was a fun blend of secret government conspiracy and urban fantasy.
I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook is very well done. The narrator did an excellent job of giving all of the characters unique voices and portraying emotion and urgency in the narration.
Myfanwy Thomas's first recollection is standing in the rain with a bunch of dead men in a circle around her and all the men are wearing latex gloves. Then she finds the note in her pocket which starts out "The body you are wearing used to be mine." Myfanwy is in a body and has no memory of how she got there. The letter she finds gives her two choices: go to a safe deposit box, take the money there and run...or assume the life of Myfanwy Thomas as it was before her memory loss. After killing a bunch of people with a wave of her hand Myfanwy decides to try to find out more about her abilities and assumes Myfanwy's old life.
Shortly after making that choice Myfanwy finds out that she holds the position of Rook (a position of top authority) in a secret government agency known as the Checquy. The Checquy polices supernatural and paranormal creatures throughout England protecting the population from things better left unknown.
As Myfanwy stumbles her way through daily duties (and enjoys her ultimate power) she is struggling to answer the top question in her mind; who tried to kill the original Myfanwy Thomas? Then when a group called the Grafters (who have long opposed the Checquy) start to threaten both life as humanity knows it and the Royal Court of the Checquy Myfanwy has to turn her attention to why the Grafters are after them and who in the Court of the Checquy is linked to the Grafters.
There are a lot of politics, administration, espionage, mystery solving and general craziness in this book as Myfanwy tries to unravel this web of deceit and lies. I love Myfanwy's no nonsense attitude to everything; she takes the strangest of circumstances in stride and does an excellent job of mitigating the damage. She is also a bit snarky and witty as well.
I loved all the crazy characters in the story and their rather bizarre powers. The book was a lot of fun to read and you just never knew what the next page was going to hold.
The story wraps up well, although there are some loose ends that will most likely be addressed in subsequent novels. This is a different sort of urban fantasy. Think of it as urban fantasy where battles are fought with superb administration abilities and crazy personal super powers.
Overall this was a fun and different type of urban fantasy read. I enjoyed the quirky characters and witty dialogue. I also enjoyed all the strange powers our characters have and the very different anatomies of the Grafters. Myfanwy Thomas is a very unique sort of urban fantasy heroine and I found her to be refreshing and interesting to read about. I look forward to further adventures with Myfanwy and the Checquy. I recommend to those who enjoy mystery and urban fantasy stories.
This book was a fun read, it caught me right from the start. Fast paced and funny and engrossing. I really liked it.
