CATCHPENNY, by Charlie Huston, is the story of Sidney Catchpenny, a thief who has learned the magical art of travelling places through mirrors and who specializes in stealing items imbued with mojo, a magical and powerful essence. Sid is offered a job too good to be true where he can right his debts and make some money, but quickly and adeptly Sid starts to figure out the job he is offered is not the job that he is really supposed to do. Old friends and foes come out of the shadows and Sid can't trust anyone. When simple theft becomes cataclysmic stakes, Sid struggles with doing the right thing for humanity and the right thing to do for Sid.
Wrought with flaws and full of skepticism, Sid is a likeable character who has a dry wit and a good heart. He is being used and/or played the entire book, but somehow keeps besting his opponents. The supportive cast of characters are colorful, unique, and dastardly in all the best ways. The mystery unfolds and everything starts to connect to everything else is an excited way and tension builds as the book moved forward. The mirror travelling and use of mojo is mystifying and confusing to the world the reader is introduced too but also is confusing to the reader. It's a palpable vibe and yet unable to be captured, more like it can be coerced and manipulated. I wanted to understand it better as I was reading, but even without my grasp of it, I still enjoyed the book very much.
I would call CATCHPENNY a mystery/thriller with a sci-fi component. It's uniqueness leaves an impression on the reader and the book ends with a satisfying conclusion.

A clever, stylish urban fantasy with a crackling magic system and nuanced take on the complicated nature of love, family, and facing difficult self-truths. The protagonist, Sid, is a pessimistic, down-on-his luck Nick Miller type with the ability to harness a magical energy known as "mojo" to travel through mirrors. An enormous tragedy from his past has him in in deep with the magical crime world and clawing his way out of paralyzing depression. Huston does a thoughtful job of portraying the ugly, honest realities of living with the illness without letting it define Sid's character. Sid himself is darkly humorous narrator with a streak of unreliability that drive the compelling mysteries of his own past and parallel his quest to locate a missing teenage girl.

I loved most the small details of the story, especially the side characters: an 80's obsessed crime boss, an evil talent manager on a mission to throw a non-stop party, a doomsday video game creator, a host of glass doppelgänger's pulled from mirrors. With echoes of Neil Gaiman and Stephen King, this modern magical thriller is equal parts humor, horror, and heart. It is also a fun homage to Los Angeles and its chaotic clash of glitter and violence, as magical social media influencers clash with old-fashioned suicide cults. My only complaint is I wish the women in the story had been given a little more emotional depth: Circe comes across as an embittered teenager & Abigail serves the classic Dead Wife trope, though this is slightly circumvented at the end she nevertheless remains primarily a catalyst for Sid's own realizations and development.