A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin

A Madness of Angels

Kate Griffin

Vibrant and exhilarating urban fantasy: there's an undercurrent of sheer joy to Matthew Swift's quest for the shadow that hunts him. Kate Griffin has the sorcerer's gift of seeing life in overlooked places. I'll never feel the same way about pigeons and automatic telephone menus again! And, I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, 'The Midnight Mayor'.

Extract
I ducked. I can respect a formidable magical talent when I meet it, and Old Madam Dorie, the grey bag lady who smelt of curry powder and car fumes, had it in spades. She exuded skilful manipulation of primal force just like her bags gave off the smell of mould, and if she'd said hop, I would have hopped. She, like my gran, had the look of a woman who talked to the pigeons, and in the city no one sees more than the pigeons.
I ducked, which is why the bullet from the sniper's rifle shattered the skull of the horse-faced man, who'd just been standing, rather than mine.
Parallels
  • Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
  • Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Slapstick