By Chuck Wendig

Saga, out now

There’s a serial killer out there who seems to be Miriam’s double…

There comes a time in a series of books – particularly when it’s clear that the author has had an endgame in sight for some time – that they cease to be really standalone stories, but are building in a crescendo towards the conclusion. John Connolly’s Charlie Parker books are just entering that phase; Chuck Wendig’s Miriam Black sequence has definitely arrived there with this book – particularly with the killer final reveal. Don’t start with this one – go back to the start and follow her twisted journey through all its stages.

The cliffhanger comes at the end of a book in which Wendig once again puts both Miriam and the reader through the wringer, as various things that she and we may have assumed based on earlier events are proved to be wrong. Characters and situations aren’t as they seemed, and the new reality is disturbing, all the more so because something that usually signifies some degree of hope may actually be the worst thing that can happen.

It’s a very hard book to review without spoiling it – it’s been a week since I finished reading it, and there’s so much I’d like to say about it to those who have been on that journey alongside Miriam but can’t unless you’ve got that back-knowledge. Suffice it to say that Wendig writes with an economy of description and dialogue that keeps you front and centre with Miriam. It’s nasty and vicious in places and Miriam is her usual profane self as her abilities grow and she is forced to face facts about herself and those she loves.

Verdict: The final confrontation promises to be epic, and this book deftly sets Miriam and us up – or so it appears… 9/10

Paul Simpson