The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin

The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




Jacket Blurb:  It's said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, then the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. Resurrected sorcerer Matthew Swift is about to discover that this isn't so far from the truth...

One by one, the protective magical wards that guard the city are falling: the London Wall defiled with cryptic graffiti, the ravens found dead at the Tower, the London Stone destroyed. This is not good news. This array of supernatural defenses - a mix of international tourist attractions and forgotten urban legends - formed a formidable magical shield, one that could protect London from the greatest threat it has ever known. But what could be so dangerous as to threaten an entire city?

Against his better judgment, Matthew Swift is about to find out. And if he's lucky, he might just live long enough to do something about it


Matthew is trying to keep his head down and out of trouble as London's sole surviving sorcerer.  A phone rings, they answer, and now he's a wanted man with a brand on his hand that says he's the Midnight Mayor.  He is also the only person who can save London from a fate on par with Hiroshima, Dresden, or the Blitz....if he survives. There are a lot of people who really want him dead.

I thoroughly enjoyed book two.  I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the oh! so true! insights into human nature as seen from the eyes of the blue electric angels.  I loved them as well, watching their fascination and horror at humanity through Matthew's eyes.

My favorite part of this book was watching Matthew talk to Mr Fox, cajoling him to reveal what he saw on a fateful night, the act of leaving some kebabs for the urban animal was just wonderful.


My main complaint with the story was how I felt the plot became bogged down in wordy repetitiveness.  How to describe? The words, like the clicking of a train on the track, would convey a concept through repetition, would illustrate how the electric angels were perceiving things, humanity, life, emotions - but at a point in this book it became over done and I found myself glossing over paragraphs to get back to the meat of the story. 

Understanding that yes, this is a fantasy book through and through, a person getting shot through the abdomen leaking blood in copious amounts, probably isn't going to be running the length and width of London.  Just sayin'. 

Complaints aside, a delightful follow-up to A Madness of Angels.  Recommended.



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