The Rook and
Stiletto
by Daniel O’Malley
“The
body you are wearing used to be mine.”
Thus the opening line of The Rook by Daniel O’Malley as he hooks you and
drags you into the world of Myfanwy Thomas
(pronounced Miffany) and the life
of a Chequy (pronounced shĕ-kay) operative.
O’Malley’s imagined world is filled with beings and creatures no one but
O’Malley could come up with. They are
fun, dark and Myfanwy is one spirited young lady that surprises everyone around
her, including herself. The Chequy is an
organization that protects the normal (that’s you and I) against the forces of
the supernatural that wish to harm us. You
think, ‘oh sure, another vampire book.’
Uh no. There are creatures within the pages that you are very glad are
within those pages and O’Malley’s mind. These
books are filled with dark, nasty creatures but you will find yourself laughing
out loud. The dialogue is catchy and you
feel like you are part of the group gathered around the coffee pot in the break
room. Trust me, Ms. Thomas can drop the
F bombs better than most! Stiletto
continues the woes of the Chequy and mixes in their major nemesis, The
Grafters. More chaos ensues but for the characters, O’Malley
give them the personalities of a good friend or neighbor. The personalities and dialogue make them very relatable, not so much their line of work.
I
listened to the audios for these and I can’t recommend them more. Susan Duerden narrates The Rook superbly and
Moira Quirk lends her narration talents to Stiletto. The audios are long but worth the time
devoted to their listen. The books top
out at over 400 pages, so that should give you an idea of the detail O’Malley gives
his plots. In the Rook, one drawback is
the lack of notice between the character’s thoughts and the letters that are
left for Myfanwy that are left for the former occupant of her body. In Stiletto, there are very long gaps between
the chapters that often make you think you hit the pause button. However, stick with these audios and you won’t
be disappointed. The emotions and frustrations of the characters is given front
stage with these narrators. Even when they are lying on a surgical table wondering if they are nude. So calm, so cool.
If
audios aren’t your forte, I highly recommend the books. These are great reads for fans who like their
supernatural and paranormal stories hinting at things that could be lurking
behind the day to day ‘normal’ life.
