The Year of the Knife
G.D. Penman
Published by: Meerkat Press
Publication date: November 28th 2017
Genres: Adult, Thriller, Urban Fantasy
G.D. Penman
Published by: Meerkat Press
Publication date: November 28th 2017
Genres: Adult, Thriller, Urban Fantasy
Agent -Sully- Sullivan is one of the top cops in the Imperial Bureau of Investigation. A veteran witch of the British Empire who isn’t afraid to use her magical skills to crack a case. But Sully might need more than a good education and raw power to stop the string of grisly murders that have been springing up across the American Colonies. Every one of them marked by the same chilling calling card, a warning in the form of a legion of voices screaming out through the killers’ mouths: -It IS tHe YEAr oF the KNife.-
Sully’s investigation will drag her away from the comforts of home in New Amsterdam, the beautiful but useless hyacinth macaw that used to be her boss, and the loving arms of her undead girlfriend, in a thrilling race against time, demonic forces and a shadowy conspiracy that will do anything to keep its hold on power and ensure that Sully takes their secrets to her grave, as soon as possible.
G.D. Penman’s imaginative The Year of the Knife is a fun, fast-paced urban fantasy mystery with an engaging set of characters, most notably Agent Sully of the Imperial Bureau of Investigation.
Excerpt
Sully
left her apartment, headed for the subway and another day of the relentless
grind. When she stopped at a group seagulls on the sidewalk, they parted in
front of her. All except one, which stepped forward and looked up at her. That
was not your regular bird behaviour. Sully glanced back at the men in uniforms
over by the flood wall. Not one of them was paying the blindest bit of
attention, so she met the seagull's gaze and nodded across at an alleyway. The
gull fluttered off and she followed at a discreet distance, shaking her head at
the sorry state of affairs she found herself in. In the alleyway, the seagull
waddled around behind some bins, and Sully politely looked away when she heard
the tell-tale sound of tearing skin. A perfect golden-skinned woman rose up
from behind the bins, completely nude—untroubled by the sea breeze, and absent
of anything resembling shame. The woman nodded to Sully and held up a hand in
greeting.
Sully
groaned. “You know that you people have an embassy. You don't have to keep
turning into animals and sneaking over here every time you want to share
information.”
The
woman shrugged, the movement setting things into motion on her toned body.
Sully had to quickly correct her drifting eyes. In all of Sully’s limited
dealings with the Native Americans, she had never met one that wasn't
beautiful. Maybe aesthetics were how they picked their police and spies, as
those had been the only interactions Sully had with their neighbours to the
west.
When
the woman spoke, her accent was soft, almost musical. “If we use the channels
that your Empire demands, then it is obvious that we are the ones telling you
things. This is unacceptable to our own people, so we must make these compromises.
I must fly across the land you stole from us as a filthy scavenger bird. You
must have meetings between buildings with women who wear no clothes.” Noticing
Sully's blush, the American woman tutted. “Look before you strain something. I
do not know why your people have such a strange fascination. They are for
feeding babies.”
Sully
grumbled but still didn't look down. “What are you here to tell me that you
aren’t really telling me then?”
The
woman bent to pick up the tattered skin of the seagull lying on the ground and
folded it over her hand before coming closer and lowering her voice. “Your
manitou has attacked our people, too. Your body thief. It took one of our
people near to the border. It killed many people and we could not understand
its words. A translator who had dealings with your kind came and told us what
it spoke of. A year of knives. A return from a place of exile. When it became
aware that we were not of your Empire, it left. It killed the one that it rode.
My people thought it justice to keep this from you. I think that your troubles
always overflow your borders.”
Author Bio:
G D Penman writes Speculative Fiction. He lives in Scotland with his partner and children, some of whom are human. He is a firm believer in the axiom that any story is made better by dragons. His beard has won an award. If you have ever read a story with Kaiju and queer people, it was probably one of his. In those few precious moments that he isn’t parenting or writing he likes to watch cartoons, play video and tabletop games, read more books than are entirely feasible and continue his quest to eat the flesh of every living species.
Thanks for being on the tour! :)
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