This is a sequel to The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, which I loved, and follows the same characters, but this time, instead of a Steampunk Victorian London, the action takes place in an historical Japanese setting with the backdrop of growing Japan/Russian tensions and threats of war. I loved the Japanese elements, since while my son Danny is home preparing for his move to Japan as soon as lockdown allows, we have be immersed in Japanese tv and film and so I was familiar with many of the issues raised.
This book has so many things to recommend it – the writing is clever and both literary and extremely readable, there is mystery and intrigue, mysticism and magical realism, romance and the whole miscommunication and social sidestepping that makes the will they/won’t they scenario so deliciously precarious. I really liked it!
Sarah Wray Writer 