Susan Arkshaw is trying very, very hard to be normal, while her father wants her to embrace his part of her heritage and meanwhile a map draws Merlin into danger and the only person who could probably help him is Susan and his sister Vivien. Only helping Merlin brings them into a complex serial killer situation and it's only getting more complicated by the day.

It's an interesting read with characters who came across as very real and had issues I could understand, having been a teenager at that time. I enjoyed the read, not as much as the first book in the series but still it was a good read. ( )

This is a stronger book than The Left-handed booksellers of London, and develops on the first story in a way that dragged me in and kept me riveted. It didn't matter that I'd mostly forgotten the finer details, and that the character names had slipped away, because they were all deftly reintroduced, without a hint of 'As You Know, Bob'.

The characters were stronger -- more present on the page -- than I remember from the first one. The mystery plot was beautifully realised, with fascinating nuance. And the world-building, the details that set it firmly in time and place, was very well done. I got earwormed more than once from the playful joking about music, and references to pop songs. ( )

Susan and Merlin are trying to figure out their relationship, largely because Susan wants to remain as “normal” as it is possible for the offspring of an Ancient Entity to be and Merlin’s status as a left-handed bookseller charged with maintaining boundaries between the human and magical worlds means that she will be dragged into more magical realms than she would like. However, it isn’t long before an Ancient Entity previously unknown to the booksellers creates havoc: the rock-based entity must sustain an out-of-time home for her half-human daughter if that person is to survive and the way to do that is to sacrifice a human every six years. Or, better yet, to sacrifice a demi-deity - and who better for that than Susan?.... This is the sequel to “The Left-Handed Booksellers of London,” a book that I enjoyed very much; this sequel is a little less thrilling, but that’s probably because now I’m more familiar with the characters so their activities aren’t so surprising as in the first book. I was reminded of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series, which I liked a lot until it became too repetitive (around book 6 or 8, if I recall); Mr. Nix’s work is classified as YA but is perfectly suited to this 60-something year old as well, and his world-building is solid and feasible (as long as one accepts the premise in the first place). A very good fantasy duo, perhaps to become a series? In any event, recommended - but read “The Left-Handed Booksellers of London” first so that you can better follow the events in this book! ( )

Oof. Got very tired of this by the end. Dislike most of the characters, especially the booksellers. Extended descriptions of clothing, cars and guns also tiring. ( )

Someone once said that teen and young adult novels are just books that are good to read, and this latest from Garth Nix is no exception. The left- (and right-) handed booksellers are in Bath sorting through some old books when Merlin gets trapped by a mystical map. The ensuing rescue brings to light a previously unknown supernatural serial killer, and begins to waken Susan's latent powers. Read this in a day, it was that fun to read!

Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley. ( )