A Sleuth & a Charlatan (Counterfeit Contessa Book 2)

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a break-out star of indie published fiction, must be in want of an equally astounding follow-up. It is also a truth to say that this book – this tome of nearly 700 pages – is not found wanting. It is quite frankly one of those books that nabs you and refuses to let you go until the last, breathless, terrifying, exhilarating word.

Wildly inappropriate barely touches the sides of describing just how addictive this series is. Rabid sabrecats couldn’t drag me away. Did I mention this was indie published? You would scarcely believe it. How on earth do I do it justice?

After the frightful business of murder and mystery, Quin and Atesh are finally allowed a little time to themselves. Or each other. You know, young wildly inappropriate love. But there’s a snag, the same snag that’s always been there: Quin was supposed to con and get gone. When rumours start swirling in high society about the nature of Contessa Sabia, surely it’s time to leave Arianople. But with her heart tied in knots over the handsome Pasha, Quin’s not so sure about her next move. Atesh cannot know the truth, that much is clear.

Then comes the news: murder. Women of the Gutter Streets have been mutilated before, but now it seems there’s a serial killer on the loose. The crimes edge a little too close to Quin’s contacts for comfort, so perhaps she can stay long enough to solve the mystery and save a few more lives. Of course, that she’ll be able to see Atesh all the while is of little consequence. But there are worse things in the darkness of the City of Cities than blades and whispered lies. Things like revenge…

It is long. Oh goodness, it is long. I read into the night. I read throughout the day. Every snatched moment, I read. Because this is a compelling mystery that teases, playing with your expectations. It never once treats you like an idiot, nor is it so convoluted that it’s impossible to follow. I’ve never made a dramatis personae/family tree of a book before to keep track of my theories, but this one drew me in so much I just had to know the ins and outs of the cast. I felt like the sleuth! Honestly, the foreshadowing is a thing of rare beauty – were it a jewel Quin would have nabbed it by now. I wish I’d had time to re-read book one before starting here because of just how much context you piece together. Threads from book one are interwoven with such neat literary dexterity; some tied up while others are only just brought to light (for book 3, one hopes).

It is delicious.

Now my friends, the romance. I said when I read the first book, romance is not my thing. All that Sarah J. Mass scenes of Porn Without a Point, or YA swooning/gushing/”ooh, look at his glistening torso” business: No.

That is not this book. There’s fluff, there’s sensuality, there’s – let’s not beat around the bush – sexuality, but it’s is so astoundingly well done I cared nought that it’s outside of my usual interests. Relationships, between whoever, are believable. Sex scenes are geared more towards mature readers, but there’s nothing graphic or explicit as such. Nor are we subject to gratuitous PWaP – it feels natural and elaborates on the character relationships rather than being used as a lazy way of defining it.

Like Quin’s fan-blade, this book may seem frilly, yet you cannot deny it’s got bite. There is nastiness of course; the plot involves murder alongside courtly machinations. There’s a whole deep, dark, and utterly remarkable amount of history to the story, be it about the world or the individual characters. Europa and it’s magic is brought to life by those little details, from a stray personal anecdote here to the description of servers offering spiced koftas there. Add in action sequences which are so well-written it hurts combined with sleuthing and sneaking aplenty. The pace is so darn perfect.

The characters again are amazing. Quin and Atesh caught in their circular thinking as they try to figure each other out, Derry dealing with her demons, Ariston the strength behind the team. There is so much sympathy created for Livia, the lady with a mysterious past and an illness that takes ever more away from her as time progresses. The villains are horribly well-rounded (and I mean that in the best character development sort of way). Side characters are never short-changed. They will break your heart.

Don’t think I’m letting such an amazing book of entirely though. There’s always going to be something that niggles and here it was a bit of a Sarah J. Maas writing tick: “[their] throat bobbed” (go on, count the times, you cannot unsee). There are also tiny little glimpses of past events that are fairly important that only got hinted at later on ((view spoiler)do I sense a companion novella in there somewhere?)

But alas, if you think those trifles damage this series your are severely mistaken. Having dedicated over 8 hours of my life (or so my Kindle tells me) to reading this book, I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for fantasy that is a whirlwind ride of romance, mystery and adventure. If that doesn’t sell it for you: sabrecats. They ride round an alt-reality Mediterranean/Turkish Renaissance land on giant cats while calling on the magic of their Hundred Gods using sorta-Tarot cards and solving murders (aaaand maybe being wildly inappropriate).

Go. Read this. Right now.

(After book one, of course.)

Gorgeous writing. Darkly twisted plotting. A great cast of fascinating characters. A swoon-worthy romance. And above all, a kick-butt heroine who positively LEAPS off the page.

Yes, A Sleuth & a Charlatan is a worthy sequel to book 1 of the Counterfeit Contessa series. In fact . . . it might actually be the better book! (It’s hard for me to judge clearly since I loved book 1 so hard.) At nearly 700 pages it is a massive, tour de force of a creation that never once lags in pacing or intrigue. In fact, I sped through this adventure faster than many a shorter novel, so eagerly was I turning the pages!