The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
This novel adds an element of fantasy to our own world. The time is 1983 and Susan Arkshaw, who has lived in the country with her mother has decided to take the time before she starts at art school to look for her father. She doesn't have much to go on. She has a few names, including one who sent holiday cards to her mom and her regularly. She starts with this, a man named Frank Thringley in London. She senses right off that he isn't her father and that things are quite right and determines to leave after staying the night. But during the night she wakes to find that someone has turned Frank to dust by the prick of a silver hairpin. She surprises the man, Merlin and threatens him with the police, but soon finds herself following him out the window as they both flee something else that threatens.
As she learns of strange creatures such the Shuck, as the two walk through the night, they share their stories. She learns about the booksellers and the differences between the right-handed and the left-handed in skill set, and how they police the interaction between the mythic levels of the Old World and the reality of the human world. They are soon rescued by the police, and Susan is provided with a room in a safe house and finds herself a job.
As she renews her acquaintance with Merlin, and meets his twin sister, she gradually gets to learn more about the strange elements of the world she hadn't been aware of before and finds herself involved to an extent she didn't expect.
I really enjoy Garth Nix and his stories, and this one not only has great fantasy elements, but also lots of humour. There is also an attraction between Susan and Merlin and others also notice. I definitely found this novel hard to put down, and I'm interested in reading more of this series.
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