Fell the Angels

Butzen's solid sequel to Thief of Midnight follows Abby Marquise and the members of the Society for the Security of Reality (SSR) on an entertaining, if hardly groundbreaking, urban fantasy adventure that nicely evokes and works with its Chicago setting. Abby and her colleague, British former punk John Sawyer, are drawn into a battle with a vicious selkie. This leads them to a series of murders, with the victims all having magical connections. Meanwhile, Abby is dealing with her rebellious teenage son Jimmy, whose life she's trying (and often failing) to keep separate from her magical day job. Butzen keeps the action moving quickly, with plenty of fights distracting Abby and John from their search for the killer, but also tosses in some delightfully grim humor (a dark joke around seven league boots lands particularly well, as does the notion that one can always discuss supernatural and violent deaths in a Starbucks because "people would just assume you were writing a screenplay"). The story follows the well-worn urban fantasy track, but fans of the formula will enjoy the ride. (Oct.)