False Covenant

Today’s post is on “False Convenant” by Ari Marmell. It is the second in the Widdershins Adventures. It is 280 pages long and is published by Pyr Books. The cover has Widdershins leaning against a white wall, she is the only color with her dark leathers and her lovely red hair. The intended reader is Young Adult but if you enjoyed the first one this is not a disappointing second novel. There is no language, no sexuality in this book but there is graphic violence and the villain is pretty creepy. So parents be warned. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- A creature of the other world, an unnatural entity bent on chaos and carnage, has come to stalk the nighttime streets of the Galicien city of Davillion. There’s never a good time for murder and panic, but for a community already in the midst of its own inner turmoil, this couldn’t possibly have come at a worst one.
Not for Davillion, and not for a young thief who calls herself Widdershins.
It’s been over half a year since the brutal murder of Archbishop William de Laurent during this pilgrimage to Davillion. And in all that time, Widdershins has truly tried her best. She has tried to take care of Genevieve’s tavern and tried to make a semihonest living in a city slowly stagnating under the weight of an angry and disapproving Church. She has tried to keep out of trouble, away from the attentions of the Davillion Guard and above the secrets and schemes of the city’s new bishop.
But she’s in way over her head, with no idea which way to turn. The Guard doesn’t trust her. The Church doesn’t trust her. Her own Thieves’ Guild doesn’t trust her.
Too bad for everyone, then, that she and her personal god, Olgun, maybe their only real weapon against a new evil like nothing the has even seen.

Review- This is a brilliant second volume. The characters grow, interact, and then grow more. The plot is engaging, the villain is creepy, and the ending is tragic but leaves you wanting more. One warning- The opening is a little slow but if you can stick with it the rest of the book just flies by. The villain is a good one, he is magical, he eats people, and he rhymes. When he eats people, it is like the movie The Mummy where the villain just sucks the life out of people, only instead of hearing the sand and screams, you really feel it. Marmell gives us the picture with sound effects. I was like 'gross' when I read it but then I was impressed that he could get that out of me. Widdershins is still funny, clever, and very likeable but with the ending she has more sorrow and I am curious about where she is going after all this. I look forward to reading more whenever they come out. I want to own these novels; they just are that good.

I give this one Five out Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.