The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

Synopsis: A fantasy novel of alternate 1880s London, where killers stalk the night and the ultimate power is naming.

This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings under a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.

Review: When I read the synopsis, I was immediately intrigued. It’s hard to resist the mix of fantastic creatures, London in 1880 and Jack the Ripper! I couldn’t wait to see what the author would come up with!

We follow more particularly two characters in this story, an angel named Crow and Doyle, an investigator. Both of them will embark on a story that goes beyond them to find the terrible killer in town. It won’t be easy, but they’ll be determined to find out what’s going on.

I was, as I said, very intrigued by this story, but I finally had a little trouble hanging on. It’s a pity because the universe was very interesting and I was curious to see the outcome.

Yes, it was a nice novel to discover, even if I thought I would connect more to the story.