BOOK INFO
Released: June 2, 2009
Series: Black London #1
Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks
Pages: 326
Format: Paperback
Pete Caldecott was 16 when she thought Jack Winter died. She unwittingly helped him summon something best left dead and he died from it and she has been denying what she saw that day every day and night since. Ten years later she is a Police Inspector working on a case where children are getting snatched. This leads her to Jack, who says he can tell her where the missing children are. But the supposedly long dead Jack is not how she remembers, he is ten years older, a heroin addict and living on the streets. But he does help her bringing her into the world of the Black, where the line between the normal and the magical is thin and the dark things in the corner of your eyes are waiting for a chance to ensnare you.
I can’t state how much I loved this book. It was dark and gritty and nothing was ever quite as it seemed. The world of the Black was a nightmarish place, things were always on the look out to rip your throat out and take your power. In Jack Winters world it was kill or be killed. The whole book had a sense of foreboding and darkness about it that made it a fast paced and exciting read.
I have seen Jack Winter described like Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And I think maybe appearance wise that may be the case, but I think Spike would be a pale shadow next to Jack. Jack was an interesting and absorbing character, he was selfish, remorseless, and utterly charming, but also a complete bastard at the same time. He was neither truly good, nor truly bad, he isn’t the kind of character that would always do the right thing, but rather the right thing for Jack Winter. Having said that you could see especially towards the end that he cared for Pete a lot, she gave him a reason to live. Pete was also a good character, although she didn’t have Jacks twists, turns and contradictions, she was still interesting. We saw the book through her eyes, and so was introduced to the different elements of the Black through her. What I liked about their relationship was that in most cases it was Pete, the female protagonist, coming to Jacks rescue. She was a fierce protector, even when trying to save Jack from himself. Although there isn’t really a romance per se between the two, you can see that Pete loves Jack, and probably has since she was 16, but it isn’t said out right, it is more a feeling you get from the actions and thoughts that she has, as for Jack I think he also felt the same. I imagine that the romance element will grow through out the series.
The writing style might not be to everyone’s taste, I thought it quite lyrical, it uses a lot of metaphors and can be quite abstract, but for me how she wrote this was wonderful and absorbing. I think that it adds to the air of being somewhere out side the normal world and helps to create this shroud of darkness and ambivalence that surround not only the Black, but also Jack’s life.
So I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and for those who like their books dark. Also people who like dangerous heroes will also find someone truly dangerous in Jack Winters.
I actually got this book from the library but it is one that I am going to buy as for me it is definitely a keeper.
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About Caitlin Kittredge
Caitlin started writing novels at age 13. Her first was a Star Wars tie-in. Fortunately, she branched out from there and after a few years trying to be a screenwriter, a comic book writer and the author of copious amounts of fanfiction, she tried to write a novel again. Her epic dark fantasy (thankfully) never saw the light of day but while she was struggling with elves and sorcerers she got the idea of writing a story about a werewolf who fought crime.
Two years and many, many drafts later, she pitched Night Life to a bevy of agents and one of them, Rachel Vater, sold the series to St. Martin’s.
Caitlin collects comic books, print books, vintage clothes, and bad habits. She loves tea, loud music, the color black (especially mixed with the color pink) and ghost stories. She can drive a stick shift, play the violin and knows more English curses than American ones.
Caitlin lives in Olympia, WA with two pushy cats.
Annnnnd I will stop myself there, before I start waxing lyrical about my love of historical romance and fantasy as well; no one needs to know about my elf fantasies. As you can tell, I adore and day dream about most romance genres, and my three big loves are 1) reading about romance 2) writing about romance and 3) talking about romance with my gals. Which, is why I love Under the Covers so much, I get all my bookish needs satisfied and don’t get judged when I talk about my favourite characters like they are real people. Which they are right?
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