It was Ok, but not terribly memorable. I never was able to get involved with either of the main characters... or the plot.

Actual rating: 4.5/5

Lionel Page has made a name for himself digging into hoaxes, frauds, and con artists. As an investigative reporter, he’s busted psychics, faith healers and miracle men, exposing their powers for nothing more but parlour tricks.

He’s proved repeatedly that magic didn’t exist. Craig Schaefer’s proved him wrong.

Lionel’s new case gets weird fast. He must believe in the unbelievable or die. Simple.

Schaefer is one of my favourite storytellers. His insane plotting skills impress me more than his utilitarian prose. That said, I appreciate the way he wrote Ghosts of Gotham. It’s easy to read and easy to understand.

Schaefer sets his story in a grim and noisy New York. You don’t have to look far to experience the dark side of humanity The Modern Gomorrah. Rumour has it that Hecate, an arch-manipulator, chose NY as her base. The narrative tallies closely with the Macbeth play though there are a few additions which start things off with an appropriate bang.

For the most part, this story is split between two main characters:

Lionel Page(t) an investigative reporter irresistibly drawn to mysteries. He hasn’t recovered from a childhood trauma (a psycho has killed his mother and people unfortunate enough to host her). He’s a workaholic whose life turns around exposing fake miracles.

Maddie has years of experience and violent past she tries to run away from. Her relationships with other humans are troubled and determined by her self-loathing. But make no mistake. Don’t even try to push her around. Unless you have a death wish.

Characterisation is great and much deeper than in Craig’s other books. I loved getting into Maddie’s chapters. Especially as it becomes obvious that you should never toy with her. Lionel’s chapters are equally good. Maybe even more poignant. He has no choice but to abandon his skepticism and plunge head-on in the world of dark magic and monsters.

I loved all the directions that the story went. I enjoyed foreshadowing that lead to surprising but inevitable twists. Schaefer does them remarkably well. In essence, it’s a simple story about revenge, loneliness, and life. Very Greek. Very emotional, but also fast and furious.

You’ll get to see demons, goblins, witches, semi-goddesses, and others I don’t want to spoil for you. The ending made me excited and satisfied. I wish it wasn’t a standalone book. I loved every minute of it and wouldn’t mind following Lionel’s future endeavours

I don't usually cross over from science fiction to horror but I do have fond memories of the days when I would read Lovecraft, Machen, et al so when I'm caught up with science fiction I might take a chance on a horror novel or collection. This one appeared in the science fiction and fantasy category so figured it would have enough otherworldliness to satisfy but that ended up not being the case. It''s more like a Scooby Doo where the monsters are finally real. The opening scene is a debunking of a TV healer, which comes across as a pet peeve of the author's. The right reader might go for this but it wasn't "weird" enough for me.