Reviews

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire

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laurenjodi's review

4.0

A Local Habitation
3.5 Stars

Half-fae private investigator, October “Toby” Daye, is sent by her liege lord, Sylvester Duke of Shadowed Hills, to look into why his niece, January O’Leary, the countess of Tamed Lightening, has suddenly stopped communicating with him. Upon her arrival, Toby learns that several of January’s subjects have been murdered and all evidence points to someone on the inside. Can Toby uncover the truth before she becomes the next victim?

Intriguing world building, an appealing heroine and a compelling mystery that kept me guessing right up until the end.

McGuire has woven an elaborate world in which the fae live alongside humans whether as changelings (half-human, half fae offspring) or full-bloods within their own parallel realms. The various fae races all possess their own unique origins, traits and skills. Moreover, the different agendas and tensions between the different groups add extra nuance to the storyline.

The mystery is a variant on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None with characters being picked off one by one in an isolated warehouse facility. With the increase in body count, one would think that the smaller suspect pool would make it easier to identify the culprit, but McGuire skillfully forestalls the ultimate revelation with red herrings and misdirection.

While October’s detecting skills leave much to be desired, she is, nevertheless, an endearing mix of tough street smarts, stubborn tenacity and charming vulnerability. My one small nitpick concerns her taste in men. Connor is, unfortunately, far too Beta for my tastes and the fact that he is married, albeit to an insane princess, detracts from hims appeal. Tybalt is far more interesting both as a character and as a love interest for Toby, and their banter makes for some very entertaining scenes.

In terms of the audiobook, Mary Robinette Kowal's narration is immersive and she has a wonderful lilting accent for the Irish characters.

All in all, a solid sequel and I look forward to reading more of Toby’s adventures.

deirbear's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

lessa_riel's review

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

lynseyisreading's review

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4.0

It was great to be back with Toby Daye and her fabulous Fae world in A LOCAL HABITATION. This time the plot was very much a whodunnit storyline that kept me guessing right until the end.

The opening scene features a very tipsy October, and a chance encounter with Tybalt, King of Cats, whose character I am quickly becoming fascinated with. I don't know if it's just me trying to see something that isn't there with those two, but I'm half way convinced he likes Toby a lot more than he lets on. To which (if I'm correct) Toby is completely oblivious. It's a very subtle game McGuire's playing, but I think I like the teasing.

Sadly, since most of the rest of book takes place in the county of Tamed Lightening where Toby is sent by Sylvester to find out why the people there are dying, this meant leaving many of the secondary characters behind, including Tybalt. But we met some very interesting new ones and luckily, she got to take young Quentin with her (whom I just adore), so it wasn't so bad.

Seanan McGuire is very good leaving her readers little trails of breadcrumbs to follow in her writing. Perhaps in the form of a character exhibiting strange body language or behaviours, or making the odd ambiguous comment. This "show, don't tell" technique is driving me nuts with suspicions and theories. Needless to say, I'm heading straight for the next book to fins out more.

5 stars! ★★★★★