The Midnight Mayor by Kate Griffin

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

It's said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, then the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall.  Resurrected sorcerer Matthew Swift is about to discover that this isn't so far from the truth...

One by one, the protective magical wards that guard the city are falling: the London Wall defiled with cryptic graffiti, the ravens found dead at the Tower, the London Stone destroyed.  This is not good news.  This array of supernatural defenses - a mix of international tourist attractions and forgotten urban legends - formed a formidable magical shield, one that could protect London from the greatest threat it has ever know.  But what could be so dangerous as to threaten an entire city?

Against his better judgment, Matthew Swift is about to find out.  And if he's lucky, he might just live long enough to do something about it..

After about 27 months, I finally got around to reading the sequel to A Madness of Angels.  I wish I could tell you a valid reason why it seems to take me forever to read the next book in a series, but I can't.  I know most people, when the really enjoy the first book in a series, want to read the next one as soon as possible.  Now sometimes we have to wait if the next book isn't out yet, but for the most part, if the book is out, it will be the next book read.  That's not how I work for some strange reason, nope, not me.  I get distracted way too easily to ever do such a smart, logical thing.

Now that I've read The Midnight Mayor, I'm really hoping I don't take as long to read the third book in the series.  This one starts off much the same way A Madness of Angles did.  Matthew Swift is once again waking up from a trauma, not really aware of where he is.  He is forced to run though because he is being hunted down  entities consisting of hoodies and a thumping beat that is controlling them.  They won't stop coming, no matter how many electric cables he rips out of the ground to entangle them, they keep coming.  It's only once he is able to capture one in an empty beer bottle, that he seems to get a respite and be able to gather his thoughts.  He thinks somebody tried to kill him, but doesn't know why.  Little does he realize what's about to happen.

He seeks sanctuary from an old friend, only to have her killed and turned into a pile of paint.  Through some rather interesting twists and turns he discovers that the old Midnight Mayor has been killed.  Of course, The Midnight Mayor is supposed to be a myth.  A magical construct that protects London from those who want to destroy her.  What makes it even worse is those who worked for the old mayor, thinks Matthew is the one who killed him.  Add in the wrinkle that Matthew is not the new Midnight Mayor and must figure out what's threatening his city, before London is brought to it's knees.

I love the magic of this version of London.  It's gritty, mechanical, and the only way magic would actually exist in world such as ours.  It's a world where the congealed grease from restaurants will ooze out of the street grates, becoming a gelatinous blob able to engulf anything in it's wake.  It's a world where the idea of the street sweepers takes on mythic proportions.  It's a world where neon lights, telephone conversations, and graffiti hold power unlike anything else.  But it's also the magic of old London.  It's the dragon that guards the gates, it's the idea of what a city is and what the loss of that identity could cause.  It's the city that Matthew loves and will do anything to protect.

Other Books In The Series:

A Madness of Angels