The Sinister Booksellers of Bath: A magical map leads to a dangerous adventure, written by international bestseller Garth Nix

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Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.

I love this world. There's a familiarity to it that's comforting. In my opinion, fantasy works best when there's a root that we can cling to. Then you can add the fantastical side without having to consult a map, (although I do like a map) or reread where on earth we are. Susan is a good character who in this book grows in statue. Merlin is still the wonderful oddball he was in the first installment. The old mystical world is still as enchanting. The humour is still there in spadefuls.The characters were great. They were developed well and relatable. I really liked the growing relationship between Merlin and Susan, the witty banter between the characters and seeing the type of magic used in this world. In comparison, whilst generally still quirky, the secondary characters are still a little nondescript, however, although the point is the need to focus on events around Susan.

And I need Merlin to just keep being his best self. (He is my sweet baby and he deserves good things, and honesty... his relationship with Susan is just not convincing me.) Although this is the second book in the series, I haven’t read the first one. This book is so well written though that I had no problems keeping up with the plot, especially because certain things from the first book were referenced to and included. All the characters are excellent especially our core group of three. Merlin is always fun with his outrageous dress sense, Vivian is calm, cool and collected, and Susan is developing her skills so fast she scares herself. She also seems to have an innate ability to know what to do when faced with these mythical beings. If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal.” The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.This is the sequel and while it maintains the good humor and charm of the first book, I found it to be largely disappointing. Someone pointed out to me that this series is actually YA - oops, not been one of them for many decades. I say bah to that - I'm in my 50s and I love it! Susan, Merlin, Vivien and the lot lead us through a busy schedule in their crusade against a murderous magical entity. Bath is beautifully depicted, with never enough tea and buns. And in the run Susan will find out a few things about herself, while Merlin outfits keep you awed, surprised and entertained.

Overall thoughts: a deeply complex world-building series with amazing characters. I especially appreciated that the characters ate, rested, and didn't forget about their more mundane responsibilities. If you love all things British enjoy it with a fresh pot of tea, china teaware and a generous portion of lemon drizzle cake. You will need sustenance just in case (likely) you cannot put it down. I'll still be around for whatever book comes next, but my expectations will be far lower, honestly I'm a bit disappointed with how different my experiences have been with book one and two. From the very first chapter there's danger and action which kept me so curious that I couldn't put this book down. The pacing was great and steady throughout the whole book too.Susan, our heroine, is drawn into trouble with Merlin and Vivien, when the girls follow him into a magical map and make a gruesome discovery of piles of dead bodies. There are 26 and since we’ve already seen the death of the last one, whose surname began with a Z, we know the cycle will begin again with an A, but not just any A - Susan Arkshaw. Susan is a demi-human, her father being the Old Man of Coniston. This gives her the power to commune with stone and metal: useful traits in dealing with the serial killer entity from the Old World, the Lady of Stone.

With at least a couple of Susan’s problems solved, for the time being, it’s not entirely clear if there will be a third volume. But surely there are yet more cities with more mysterious bookshops to be explored. Her reluctance in book one was believable and is why I was excited to see her grow into her role, but it takes too damn long, and when she finally has her big moment, it feels forced and unbelievable, because she tried to arm wrestle every twist and turn in her cowardly favor.

Featured Reviews

The pace of the story is relentless. After plunging Merlin into mortal danger in the first few chapters, there is no let up, apart from the eating of many slabs of cake. The world building is excellent. The storyline not too convoluted and yet enough to keep you guessing. I've seen this described as YA fiction. The original book I bought was from the fantasy section. I'd label it a crossover book, can be read by all ages. Unless you have a nervous disposition 😉 Besides the main characters, there are a whole host of minor characters, some from the previous book and many new ones who give the book real life. There are some great comic scenes involving cake as well as a very grumpy door man in the Admiralty Building in Bath. The comic scenes are an effective pause in the action which is very fast paced and involves a lot of travelling at high speed.