The Blurb On The Back:

Cop, drunkard and low-grade magic user Gideon Tau is starting from scratch with only his undead boss and his foul-mouthed sidekick dog to help him find his daughter’s killer.

There they’ll have to contend with Fae gangs fighting for territory, the murder-suicide of two Delphic agents and the Seven Deadly Sins … 

You can order CLOCKWORK CITY by Paul Crilley from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

The Review (Cut For Spoilers):

It’s a month since POISON CITY and someone is still kidnapping young children in South Africa.  Forced to give up the name of the person who took his daughter Callie in order to save the world, Gideon Tau is convinced that whoever is taking the other children can reunite him with his daughter.  His boss, Armitage, has sent two members of Durban’s branch of the Delphic Division to chase a possible lead but Tau’s convinced the answer lies in Cape Town – only to discover more questions than answers.

When Armitage hears that her agents are dead (together with a British civil servant) in an apparent murder suicide, she and Tau (together with the Dog) decamp to London to try and find out what’s happened.  But London’s branch of the Delphic Division is losing the war to uphold the Accords and the Orisha are everywhere with the city in the grip of an underworld gang war between various groups of Fae.  The last thing they need is the emergence of a new Fae cult with sinister plans for the human world and the reappearance of the Seven Deadly Sins – oh or for the Delphic Oracle who’s been kept locked beneath the Durban Delphic Division offices to escape and offer an apocalyptic vision of the future …

The second in Paul Crilley’s urban fantasy DELPHIC DIVISION SERIES is an action packed, violent, foul-mouthed and completely fun sequel with a Shane Black vibe that moves the action from South Africa to London while advancing the series arc, introducing new characters and bringing back old ones and ending in a gut punch that makes me desperate to read the next book.

There’s such a lot of plot in the book that it’s very difficult to summarise – not least because everything unveils at a breakneck pace and there are call backs and developments for events from POISON CITY while Crilley also opens up new plot strands (notably the hint at an apocalyptic future) that promise much for the future books.  There is a resolution here to the Callie storyline and although I’d seen the twist coming much too early the ending is an absolute gut punch that really leaves you unsure about what will happen next.

I really enjoyed the development of Tau’s character in this book – both his desperation and his selfishness and the effect that has on his relationship with the Dog (who turns out to be a massive Christmas fan, which offers some moments of hilarity as they four letter vibes) and Armitage is also a lot of fun, especially as there are hints that her undead status may have some side effects and we get more on what drove her to South Africa in the first place.  Newcomer Cal Winters is a welcome addition – dry-witted and a bit of a conspiracy nut – and the end to his storyline promises interesting things in the future.

There’s a lot of very violent action and I enjoyed the portrayal of Fae gangs as much as the digs Crilley makes about austerity and the effect it’s had on the London Delphic Division.  I also enjoyed the return of the Seven Deadly Sins and the introduction of a Fae cult with sinister aims (although I did wish the antagonist was a little more rounded than they came across on the page).

All in all, I think this is a worthy sequel that definitely left me wanting more and I am anxiously waiting for the release of book 3.

CLOCKWORK CITY was released in the United Kingdom on 14^th December 2017.  Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.