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This is the sequel to Robert McCammon's "Speaks the Nightbird". Matthew Corbett, erstwhile witch-saver is now in New York trying to find the identity of a serial killer. McCammon does wonderfully in describing the period and the setting of the story; however some parts now become slightly implausible, and not in a McCammon-like way.
This might be the second book of a series of the detective exploits of Matthew Corbett, and will therefore garner much readership because of it's relation to the first book, but I find the story more cobbled together and the characters less believable.
Not a good sequel, though some may disagree.
I first started by reading "Queen of Bedlam" which I stopped reading because it seemed to be a sequel. After browsing online, I found that "Speaks the Nightbird" was the first book in which the protagonist, Matthew Corbett made his first appearance. Speaks the Nightbird has quite a few similarities to Boy's Life, which is one of McCammon's most well-known books. Each of them deals with a boy coming of age and gaining maturity, though Corbett is a few years older.
This was a book I enjoyed reading. The author can create a great sense of atmosphere, and I found myself with a wonderful mental image of Fount Royal and it's surroundings. The characters are believable and have depth, and the book has it's moments of horror which are offset by scenes which had me laughing.
Some reviewers say the book is too long, and could have been condensed to fewer pages, but I disagree. This book is 900 plus pages long, and I enjoyed every single page. I look forward to reading The Queen of Bedlam, which starts from where this book finishes off.
