BooksOfTheMoon

Zoe Norris has come back to her home town of New York and is in need of a job. She sees something interesting, and despite the attempts of several people to put her off, she applies for and gets it, as managing editor of a small publishing house that’s just starting up. It’s at this point she discovers that it’s a very niche publishing house, whose director is a vampire, and with co-workers including a death goddess, some zombies, a water sprite and an incubus. With a new world of monsters coterie opened up to her, she tries to get a travel guide to New York published while at the same time trying to deal with what she’s learned and getting over her last relationship.

I really enjoyed this novel. I first became aware of Mur Lafferty when she used to read occasionally for the short story podcast, Escape Pod, later becoming its editor. She’s created a great character in Zoe and the people around her, whether human or coterie. Her New York, that most of its inhabitants are completely unaware of, is sparkling and vibrant and the little excerpts from the eponymous Guide deepen the world and make you curious to find out more. I’ll certainly look forward to the sequel.