"[T]he focus on meticulous worldbuilding and highly detailed backstory as well as the cast of fully developed and memorable characters are unarguable strengths....The first installment of an effortlessly readable series that could be the illegitimate love child of Terry Pratchett and Dashiell Hammett."--Kirkus
"A marvelous noir voice; Arnold has captured the spirit of the genre perfectly and wrapped it around a fantasy setting with consummate skill."--Peter McLean, author of Priest of Bones
"A richly imagined world...Winningly combining the grit of Chinatown with the quirky charm of Harry Potter, this series opener is sure to have readers coming back for more."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This off-piste detective story set in a magical world, now in meltdown, has verve and charm in abundance and a rough diamond hero with quite a story to tell."--Andrew Caldecott, author of Rotherweird