A modern fairy story, with vampires and a medieval alchemist, all in todays New York.
Garet (a new twist on Margaret) is a talented jewellery designer and maker who lives with her Dad, an art dealer with a dodgy reputation for insurance fraud. The economic crash of 2008 has left them in poor financial shape and Garet is looking for ways out of their mounting debts when disaster strikes.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Garet becomes the owner of a beautiful silver box by somewhat mysterious means, and menacing things begin to happen. New York is under siege and, much against her better judgement, Garet has to believe that she is the latest in a long line of defences against a (somewhat incompetent, it has to be said) master of the dark arts.
It's always difficult to write a convincing fairy story set in a factual setting. Most tales like this work best in purely fairytale settings, even if they have a foundation in the real world, (Dr Who notwithstanding) think Gulliver's Travels and Harry Potter. Black Swan Rising just, somehow, misses out here. There are too many gaps for my liking. Still, it's a lively tale that moves along at a smart pace and, for readers who enjoy fairy stories with a bit of detective work thrown in with a rather kindly vampire, this is for you. Hope this hasn't spoilt the ending!
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