Stiletto

March 14, 2016
The promise of O’Malley’s supernatural thriller The Rook isn’t fulfilled in this lackluster sequel. The people of Britain are guarded by the Checquy Group, “the secret Government department that employed the supernatural to protect the populace from the supernatural.” Checquy operatives had been taught that a rival group, the Grafters, who were able to “twist and warp living flesh to suit their purposes,” had been exterminated; but, as the current book opens, the Checquy lower ranks receive double shocks: not only do the Grafters still exist, but they are to be integrated into the Checquy Group itself. The task of making the improbable alliance work falls to Myfanwy Thomas, a high-ranking Checquy who’s uniquely able to completely control others’ bodies. There are bizarre acts of violence—for example, a birthday cake consumes an entire family—but they don’t create a sense of menace. The highlights come from O’Malley’s dry humor, but readers unamused by lines such as “No situation is improved by the presence of a gigantic anus” will find this a rough slog. Agent: Mollie Glick, Creative Artists Agency.

April 1, 2016
The Brotherhood of the Checquy, England's "secret government organization that employed the supernatural to protect the populace from the supernatural," believes it's time to form an alliance with the Wetenschappeljik Broederschap van Natuurkundigen, known as the Grafters. Since a failed 17th-century invasion of the Isle of Wight, the Grafters, Belgian alchemists who have developed fantastical modifications for the human body, have been the Checquys' mortal enemies. That means there are dissenters to the merger, but influential Rook Myfanwy Thomas (Checquy agents are ranked as chess pieces) supports the alliance. But the diplomatic scenario becomes thorny when the Checquy learn that the Grafters haven't told them about the Antagonists, a terror group that's pursued the Grafter delegation to England. O'Malley (The Rook, 2012) weaves a complex, action-packed, cast-of-thousands narrative. Thomas becomes a target late, but Pawn Felicity Clements, one of the preternatural MI5-type agents, leads the action. With Myfanwy serving as the M to Felicity's Bond, both become appealing, nuanced characters. We first see Felicity target a killer whose victims have B-positive blood and confront the Oblong of Mystery--a huge fleshy entity occupying a house--but then Antagonist-inspired bad stuff threatens negotiations, and she's assigned to the Grafter delegation as security for Odette Leliefeld, scion of Grafter royalty, allowing O'Malley to riff on the buddy-comedy genre while continuing to add paranormal frosting to the spy-thriller genre. A craftily imaginative mashup of spies and the supernatural, but it's a tad too long for all but the most ardent fans.

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April 15, 2016
Has it really been four years since O'Malley's debut, The Rook (2012), introduced us to Myfanwy Thomas, a top-ranking executive in the Chequy, a top-secret British organization dedicated to fending off supernatural attacks on the country? At last, finally, here's the sequel, in which Myfanwy's got a tough job to do: bring together two archrivals, the Chequy and the Graftersperhaps Britain's most evil supernatural menacebefore their ancient enmity tears the country apart. A series of bizarre incidents scattered across London, all of them appearing to involve recent organ-transplant recipients with the same blood type, has both organizations stymied. To solve the mystery, and to keep the fragile peace between the Chequy and the Grafters from shattering, two women who should be mortal enemies force an alliance. The author maintains the first book's intriguing tone, balanced on the line separating satire from sf/fantasy, and opens up the environment he established in The Rook, permitting us to peer deeper into the world of the Chequy. A much-anticipated sequel that is completely worth the wait.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015

In O'Malley's 2012 debut, The Rook, which sold 60,000 copies, Myfanwy Thomas learns that she is a high-up member of Chequy, which secretly battles supernatural forces. Here, the negotiations she's handling between the Chequy and an ancient evil start falling apart.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016

Once enemies, two secret organizations with extraordinary powers are set to join forces. The Checquy, based in Britain, fills its ranks with agents of supernatural power. The Grafters, who call Belgium home, use science to modify their bodies to unnatural degrees. Together they will become a nearly indestructible entity--that is, if they can put aside past grievances. Felicity is a pawn in the Checquy organization. Odette is a direct descendent of the head Grafter. The women have different agendas--one is trying to conceal the existence of a splinter cell that could threaten the alliance, while the other is secretly spying on her counterpart. VERDICT In this sequel to his debut novel, Rook, O'Malley strikes a skillful balance between irreverent humor and adventure. His narratives move back and forth, providing detail but without becoming cumbersome. This X-Men meets X-Files-style adventure will appeal to fans of superhero comics and adventure novels such as Brandon Sanderson's "The Reckoner" series. [See Prepub Alert, 7/20/15.]--Vicki Briner, Westminster, CO

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015

Originally scheduled for June 2015, this follow-up to O'Malley's 2012 successful debut, The Rook, again features Myfanwy Thomas. Here she's called on to handle tense negotiations between the Chequy and an ancient evil called the Grafters. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.