I think of all the other side characters in the novel were great additions. They were good characters for Sully to bounce off. I enjoyed Eugene, the creepiest demon doll ever, and Raavi.. Probably of the the creepiest but kind hearted doctors ever. I do wish that <spoiler>Marie had a bigger role. I would have liked to know if she had any powers or special knowledge. Surely Marie could have helped Sully a bit more? </spoiler>

Here is the first line of the book:

"New Amsterdam was a city the way decapitation was a paper cut."

I mean, what a first line, right? If that doesn't grab your attention then I don't know what will.

I really enjoyed this book. A LOT. It starts from that stunning first line, grabs you and does not let you go. I could not put it down.

This is a fantasy mystery novel. So if you aren't into that sort of thing, then this might not be your bag. However, if you like Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell - then I think you will really enjoy this.

The story focuses on Agent "Sully" Sullivan, of Imperial Bureau of Investigation. She is basically trying to solve the mystery as to what is behind the mass killings known by 'The Year of the Knife". I am 100% underselling it here because I don't want to spoil it for you.

I am always in awe of authors who create a universe and build on things that already exist. This book focuses on magic - Sully is of the able to perform magic persuasion. In the book, the author makes it about math and formulas and not just something one is born with.

Sully is also a lesbian. I mention it because I think it actually makes the book more interesting. She is a complex character - who happens to be in a relationship with a vampire. This adds a layer to the book and makes it not your run-of-the-mill fantasy type story.

The author did a great job of keeping the suspense up. There are lots of twists and turns, and you really can't figure out 'whodunit'.

It was a highly enjoyable book, and I am very glad that I read it.

I rated this 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

Full disclosure: I received this eARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. (Thanks NetGalley!)

ARC from Netgalley

It was not what I expected but I still gave it a change but did not enjoy it.

To start off: While I've read a large number of lesbian fiction books (656), and a large number of fantasy books (667; 108 of which have been lesbian fiction), I've rarely read lesbian fiction that fell into the urban fantasy genre. And even less often have I read one that could fall into the alt history genre. Which this book happens to fall into - urban fantasy, alt history, plus mystery, and general fantasy.

The book is set in New Amsterdam (for the most part, though brief 'pop-ins' elsewhere, like Nashville).. Though I am not sure why the city is called 'New Amsterdam', since the city is in British control, and it got renamed in 'our' time line to New York in 1664 when the British got control of the place.

No matter, let's move on to the story part. Isobella 'Sully' Sullivan (and don't call her by her first name or she'll act all shocked you actually know it) is an Irish immigrant to 21st century New Amsterdam. New Amsterdam, in turn, is in the American Colonies, and a part of the British Empire. Sully is a Senior Agent with the IBI (think FBI, but with magic users, and agents dressing in whatever they want to dress in - so don't think FBI, since FBI agents out of a suit would probably be instantly fired) - the IBI being the Imperial Bureau of Investigation. Wait, I think Sully's title is Superior Agent? Well, whatever it is, Sully is a high level agent for the IBI.

Sully has been given a case to investigate suspicious deaths - deaths where it appears someone has taken over people, and had those people commit brutal and fatal crimes. The book then proceeds to tell an interesting story. Until about 75% to 85% (or was it 91%?) when the last part of the book became an information dump.

As alternate history, it's not clear what the 'pivot point' would be (since that's important in alternate history stories - pinpointing when a timeline diverged from our own), and there are certain odd things tossed in there that do not really make sense - see New Amsterdam's name (or, you know, above where I mentioned that New Amsterdam instantly became New York when taken over by the British in 1664). Sure, there's that information dump at the end of the book that 'helps' pinpoint the 'pivot point' but things were already different at that point in time.

As a mystery . . . well, if you are reading the book because you like mysteries, and only for that reason, you might not specifically like this book. There is a mystery, and it is interesting, and Sully does investigate it but . . . things kind of unravel in non-mystery book like ways.

As a fantasy it is good. As an urban fantasy, ditto. As a romance . . . well, there is a romance, but there's a reason I haven't even mentioned it yet - it's an urban fantasy type romance - as in, the main character vaguely feels some attraction to one of the characters in the story, they are something of a couple, and . . . stuff, but there's no real romance between the two - it's just there as a sub-plot (there were hints that a real capital R romance might break out, but no, this is just a romance sub-plot, not a Romance book).

Despite what some of what I've written might suggest, I did rather enjoy this book, and if not for the information dump at the end, I'd probably have rated this a high 4.5 or so stars. Instead I rate it a solid . . . hmm . . . 3.88 stars.

Rating: 3.88

October 26 2017

With it being almost Halloween, I have been craving some paranormal stories. When I saw this ARC, I was instantly interested. This is available as a Read Now option on Netgalley, so I grabbed it immediately. I am not familiar with this author, so I was not sure what to expect. Luckily, he writes well and I enjoyed this more than I hoped.

Sully is a powerfully witch that works for the IBI (Imperial Bureau of investigation) for the British Empire. It is her job to deal with the worst paranormal attacks in the American colonies. When a string of mass murders continues to happen, it is up to Sully find and stop the killer. But soon Sully realizes she may be dealing with a magic never seen before. Can Sully crack the case before it is too late?

This book has a ton of supernaturals which I loved. Witches, vamps, skin walkers, demons, it was a great mix and they fit into this world in ways you would not expect. For one, vampires are considered very lowly. They are banished, killed, hunted and at best ignored, pending what part of the world you are in. Humans know they are living with things that go bump in the night but the witches and other magic users keep them in line. I really got immersed in this world and thought it was well done. I don’t remember ever quite reading a book like this before, and considering all the paranormal books I have read, I’m pretty impressed.

Sully has to be the biggest badass witch I have ever read about. I just loved her character. She is awesomely powerful but she is not invincible. I liked that even with all her power, her life was still on the line, it made the story more exciting.

There is not really a romance in this book. Sully’s ex-girlfriend is still in the picture. They have a very complicate relationship after her ex left her at the aisle for a man. Now that Sully’s ex has “changed” they are back in each other’s life. Feelings are still involved but hurts run deep, will they be able work it out? I do have to mention one small complaint; we don’t know why Sully’s ex “changed”. It is glossed over but never explained, I hope if there is a sequel, we can find out why and how it happened.

This book had a ton of paranormal action, and I ate it up. I also liked how the mystery of who the killer was evolved. Talk about a big twist. I did not ever expect who was behind all the killing. I loved how the story played out, thought it was great. This book absolutely leaves an opening for a sequel. It does not end on a cliffhanger, but you want and need to know what happens to Sully next.

I am pleasantly surprised and happy how much I enjoyed this book. I easily recommend it to paranormal and urban fantasy fans. Also, there is a giveaway for this book until Nov 20, if you are in the USA. Penman, if you are reading this review, please write a book 2. I don’t want this story to be over and I need more with Sully.

An ARC was given to me by Netgalley, for a honest review.

The Year of the Knife is by G D Penman - who I assumed was going to be a woman, but actually is a bloke with a very impressive beard. It's a joyful romp - one to pick up in the middle of the night when you're worried about something, or to read in a waiting room - enough action to engage, but a sense of being in safe hands.

Sully is the protagonist. She's great. A tough woman doing a man's job in a man's world. Its alternative reality time - a version of our world, where magic is real, organised, and built in to the system; the British Empire is alive and well and keeping its boot on the throat of all those pesky foreigners; Europe is cut off because of severe Demon infestation, and sexism is alive and well. Even more alive and well than in our reality. Sully works for the IBI (Imperial, not Federal...) and she has magic in her very bones.

Now, I like a bit of supernatural policing (Rivers of London! John Connolly!!) and I like an alternate reality, but I wasn't sure if this was going to work. It did coax me in, though, and once there I stuck with it for the ride. Like I said, it's a romp, there's some real humour in there, and it has a few jabs at prejudice and racism (always satisfying). There were some moments of violence that I might have found disturbing if we hadn't been galloping on to the next scene. And I will never look a macaws in quite the same way again. 

I'm wondering if he's left room to make this the start of a series? The ending felt like it had the potential to be the beginning of something new.