Literary Elixirs - Justine's pairing whilst planning pt 2
My recommendation for you today was also published in 2012, like my last one and is also by an Australian author, but there I think the similarities end - except for the fact that they are both cracking good reads of course!
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley open with Myfanwy Thomas waking up in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves and holding a letter with the opening line:
"The body you are wearing used to be mine."
With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.
She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.
In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.
This is a richly imagined world, a creative and complex urban fantasy with British Spies, monsters and a super dry, badass female protagonist, it is richly inventive, suspenseful and it’s an absolute page turner!
I’d pair this book with a rich and intense red wine, something with depth that is fruit-driven, acidic and has a jammy-ness to it, a moreish-ness. Probably a Shiraz from the Heathcote area in Victoria. And much like drinking a good shiraz, you won’t want to stop reading this book once you start!