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

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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. I also adored Merlin in both books. He’s a very colourful character, who might also be called downright weird, but he wears his quirkiness with pride and can charm even the most sceptical people. He is also very aware of his own shortcomings and is not afraid to admit his mistakes. But first and foremost, he is very warm and caring and always thinks about others before himself. If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal.” 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 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.

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. 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.While I love Merlin and Vivian, Susan has gotten significantly more irritating, overearnest and precious. I especially don’t care for characters in fantasy novels who get high and mighty about refusing to get their hands dirty when it comes to any sort of violence, while (of course!) being more than willing to let others take care of the tough stuff when they’re actually threatened. 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.

The pacing is really uneven, and that makes it difficult to invest in the action, particular in the middle of the book when things slow down considerably without any positive trade offs in terms of plot and structure. 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. If they do not stop her, she will soon kill again. And this time, her target is not an ordinary mortal. This probably wouldn’t work as a stand -alone as there are a lot of references to the previous adventures of Susan and Merlin so feel that you need to read the earlier book before this one. 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.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. I need less of Susan trying to fight EVERYTHING. (seriously, I get resisting your destiny but, christ she is exhausting.) It should really go without saying that for a voracious book reader (like myself!) books about books, or libraries, or bibliophiles should be an automatic win.