Hi Guys,
This past weekend, I finished the intimidatingly large Stiletto. Stiletto is a sequel to The Rook and a part of The Checquy Files. I loved the supernatural awesomeness of The Rook and the snarky sass of Myfanwy, so I thought I’d give the sequel a go.
Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley picks up a few months after The Rook ended. The Checquy are still as secretive as ever, fighting supernatural threats and keeping the British Isle safe. Now, on top of fighting mind altering gloop and crystal impaling hobos, the Checquy are working to broker an alliance with their longtime enemies: the Grafters.
A delegation of Grafters have arrived in London and are working to shore up a shaky peace but decades of fear and hatred are difficult to overcome. As part of the delegation the stylish, dedicated and slightly broken, Odette enters the scene and trouble isn’t far behind. Odette is a magnet for trouble and is soon saddled with a minder: Felicity.
Felicity is a Pawn and your typical Checquy employee. She was raised at the Estate to be a good soldier and a useful entity of the Checquy. She was also raised to hate and fear the Graters. But prejudices change when lives are at risk and pressure forges bonds.
Attempting to ruin the merger is a small group of rebel Grafters: the Antagonists. Will Myfanwy, Odette and Felicity be able to put a stop to the Antagonist threat? Or will these three women find themselves in the midst of international scandal and at the top of several hit lists?
Again, this book is so up my ally it is like it was made for me. I felt exactly the same way with The Rook. Monsters, a cornucopia of supernatural awesomeness, relationship building and strong, witty female characters all set in England. Yup. My. Kind. Of. Book. And yet… WHERE IS MYFANWY!!!
I loved Myfanwy in the first book. I didn’t love all of the letters to herself but amnesia ridden, wing-it, fly by the seat of her pants, kick ass Myfanwy of The Rook was such a great character and I was honestly looking forward to getting more of her. But she was (estimating here) in less then 15% of the book and the narrator of even less! Why O’Malley, why?! I mean, yes, Felicity and Odette were both strong, witty characters in their own ways but I wanted Myfanwy!–imagine a child stomping tiny feet in pouty frustration.
The book was good. Just like with the first one, there was a bit too much history but all of the present day scenes were awesome. The resolution was a bit out of left field and abrupt but the book was already almost 600 pages, it had to end sometime.
The world O’Malley recreates is a world that makes you go “what if.” What if all the stories were real? What if there is a secret organization out there, keeping us safe from our nightmares? It’s fun to think about. This one gets 3.5 from me. It was great but I just couldn’t get over the lack of Myfanwy.
Please write more Checquy Files!
That’s all for now!
-M-