Review: A Grimoire for Gamblers

A Grimoire for Gamblers by Amanda Creiglow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Elizabeth works for the mayor in her small town of Springfield, she's recently inherited her father's house after his suicide, something he's been attempting for the last eight years. Before he was committed, her father had been a creator and Elizabeth spent her childhood watching her father crafting things in his loft, particularly train sets, so she shouldn't be surprised when she finds a model railway in the loft. Except it seems to be running without any visible form of power, eight years after he left the house. Also, unlike his previous sets, this train set is an exact replica of Springfield. Unthinkingly Elizabeth flicks the train, knocking it off the tracks, and is horrified when the next day the papers are full of the story of how a train derailed in Springfield. Is she losing her mind like her father? Could the model railway be linked to the real thing? Elizabeth also finds a locket, together with a note from her father, imploring her to stay out of the loft, or at least wear the locket for protection.

Then a strange man claiming to be a wizard barges into the house shouting about humans and magic and threatening to wipe Elizabeth's memories. Only the locket seems to prevent him from doing anything to harm Elizabeth. Still unsure of whether what is happening is real or signs of impending mania, Elizabeth searches the loft and finds a locked box containing spell books and other paranormal paraphernalia, can it be real?

The box, the locket and the magical objects draw Elizabeth into a world of wizards and magical creatures hidden from normal humans and a series of bizarre suicides which seem to be linked to that of her father. Can she solve the mystery and prevent further human deaths?

OMG what a breath of fresh air. Elizabeth isn't (yet) a special snowflake growing into her powers. She's a mundane human with a magic book, and 21st century technology like a scanner and a printer to help her draw her spells accurately. The magical creatures are not the usual shifters and vampires (something wiped out the Fae), the mystery is dark and Elizabeth has to make some terrible choices.

I really enjoyed this and I am curious to see where Amanda Creiglow is going to take the series. I hope she keeps it dark and twisty.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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