A review by paulmoore
All These Subtle Deceits by C.S. Humble

fast-paced

4.5

Have you ever read a book and then suddenly realised that you have finally found that story you never knew you had wanted to read for ages? Because that is exactly what this one did for me!

For someone that really isn't religious, I eat up tales of Heaven Vs Hell, Angels and Demons and the occult. Exorcism is way up there with the best of these tropes. 

As for the characters, this book is like Constantine (DC Comics) in some places. The characters introduced in just this short first novel are varied and interesting leaving me wanting to read books about each of them too.

The most interesting character was that of the city of Black Wells itself. I want to know all its history, why these things are so normal there. There's a mechanic that doubles as a cryptid hunter, a huge library that holds books on the occult so old they are handled with tweezers and a librarian that will shoot you if he needs to. This city is just full of potential stories and I want to read them all! 

I wasn't even 60% through this book before I ordered book 2 in the series, it's that good. The only fault I could pick with it is that it left me wanting to know more about this place and its characters and I was sad when it ended.

Highly recommended to all fans of the occult and exorcisms.