I normally try to not read books that are too similar close together, but this is the second full novel in a row with a secret society of supernatural beings hiding in plain sight from humanity and called the Kin.
However, that's where any similarity ends between this and the Alan Baxter novel. The difference in treatment between the two storylines could not be much starker.
Angela Gough lives a happy life with her boyfriend Vince in London. When he goes to work but fails to message her one morning, and doesn't respond to her messages, she starts to worry. When she finds a mysterious note from him telling her not to go looking for him, the worry turns to panic.
She uses her talents as an investigative journalist to do exactly the opposite of what the note said, and her happy little world falls apart and expands in directions she never dreamed possible. Vince had a double life, trading in the remains of supposedly mythical creatures. Now his world has turned dangerous and Angela gets dragged into the terrifying underworld alongside him.
It's a lot more down to earth than Bound was with the similar plot details. It's much more of a horror novel than the James Bond with magic treatment in Alan's excellent novel. This is just as good.
When we meet the happy couple in chapter one, theirs is a relationship we can believe in, So when it all seems to fall apart with his disappearance, Angela's search and panic ring true.
Frequently, leaving plotlines open for the sequel can feel cheap and cheesy. However, the ending of this book is so well handled it leaves me wanting more. This was just the introduction to a new fantasy world existing alongside our own. and it's a world I want to visit again sooner rather than later. We've just scratched the surface in this first volume of the trilogy.
This was my first Tim Lebbon novel, and he's easily joined the scarily long list of writers I need to get the whole back catalogue of.
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