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Book Reviews of The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1)

The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1)
The Rook - Checquy Files, Bk 1
Author: Daniel O'Malley
ISBN-13: 9780316098809
ISBN-10: 0316098809
Publication Date: 10/16/2012
Pages: 512
Rating:
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 42

4.2 stars, based on 42 ratings
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

10 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

syntoria avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book. I enjoyed the cast of characters and the world built by Mr. O'Malley. I couldn't put it down because I had to know "what happened next?" Myfanwy's offbeat sense of humor kept me giggling throughout the book. I hope this is the beginning of a new series..
fantasyisbetter avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 113 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful book. Well written, intelligent story about a woman who wakes up in a park, surrounded by corpses wearing latex gloves. She has no idea who she is or what happened, but finds a note in her coat pocket giving her information and advice. The plot and characters are intricate and well developed, and a pleasure to read.
susieqmillsacoustics avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 1062 more book reviews
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!
AZmom875 avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 624 more book reviews
This book has the most boring name and the most boring cover, that it is sure to be ignored on your to be read shelf. It just goes to show you can NOT judge a book by its cover.

This book is so amazing. You can read about all the stuff in the other blurbs, what you need to know is why this book is so great that you want to read it next.

The author has created the most creative and intense story. I would say this book up there with The Invisible Library series. No time travel, but a secret society protecting humanity, like that in the St Mary's Chronicles. It is the James Bond meets xmen but even better.

You will not be bored for a minute. You will want to keep reading to see what happens next.
AND even though there is a book 2, you are not left with a big cliffhanger.

The author is a man, who has a main character that is female, and he gets it right. Not only does she kick butt, and get answers, but she is human, and has friends, and feelings. I liked her, and all of her other co workers. I
esjro avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 911 more book reviews
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.
ophelia99 avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 2527 more book reviews
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.
gamaw avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 99 more book reviews
This book was a fun read, it caught me right from the start. Fast paced and funny and engrossing. I really liked it.
kcrouth avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on
I found the concept of this story compelling; a "new" person waking up in someone else's body and life situation. The modeling of amnesia in this way was pretty cool. But to me, the telling of the story felt contrived and shallow. There were a few times it almost grabbed me - the reunion with a family member for example. And there was no shortage of plot turns, action, and suspense. I did not expect it to wrap up in the way it did. But in the end, it felt two dimensional, and oddly enough, familiar. The message and method of the story seemed to me like a combination of a bunch of stories i already knew: X-Men, Harry Potter, The Hitchhikers Guide, Clue, Ghostbusters, MIB - as if they were all thrown together into a big box and shaken vigorously. In the end, the story felt too familiar to grab me afresh, although it must have been great fun to write. I really wanted to love this book, two of my Goodreads friends loved it, but i just couldn't pull it off. It's a fun read.
tzelasko avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on
Loved this story! It's got mystery, mayhem, memory loss, magick, monsters, and magistrates and more!
virago avatar reviewed The Rook (Checquy Files, Bk 1) on + 267 more book reviews
The story follows Myfanwy Thomas, who wakes up surrounded by bodies and blood and absolutely no memory of who she is and unknown persons trying to kill her. Lucky for her, her previous self knew this was coming and left instructions via a series of letters. The new Myfanwy wants to run and start a new life of leisure, but ends up getting caught up in the intrigue mystery of who stole her memories, and why they were trying to kill her.

This is definitely a suspense-thriller, which is not exactly my favorite genre, but it kept me interested throughout. And the touch of supernatural definitely added excitement to the story. Myfanwy deals with secret societies that work within (and without) the British government, supernatural powers and happenings, further attempts on her life. And all the while, she never really knows who she can trust within the organization, and who is/are the ones who betrayed her.

Everything is seen from Myfanwy's point of view, either present day, or her letters to herself. The story is original, well paced and beautifully written. Definitely looking forward to the sequel, which I now have to bug hubby to buy for me. It's his own fault for getting me something that is part of a series.