After the events in Coldbay where they sealed the hell hole, Lucy is trying to learn more about it and how to save Murzzzz from eternal damnation. Yes, he's a demon and all, but he's also a part of the family. Lucy's turned to her diocese for guidance but they've gone strangely quiet so she persuades the Rooks to drive there so they can sort this out.
On the way, they realise something is incredibly wrong with a motorway service station - it's empty except for lingering, sad ghosts and... oh no, another hell hole has opened up and sucked in a load of people. They know they need to stay until they can rescue them and close it down, but not before they've done everything in their collective power to rescue Murzzzz. After all, one man's hellhole is a family of ghost-hunter's opportunity to save their demon friend. That's the expression, right?
First of all; this is part two of three, so don't start with this one. Start with Wish you Weren't Here instead, otherwise you won't really be following what's going on. Gabby drops you right in the middle of the story and while there is a certain amount of exposition in the story, it's not enough to catch you up if you don't already know it.
The Rook series is a bit more grown up than Gabby's Darkwood series, and that's very obvious here, with some very grim ghost stories, a lot of discussions of alcoholism, and not as many laughs as that series. (It's still howlingly funny, but in a different way.) I couldn't put it down once I'd started it, and I finished it very quickly. The middle book in a trilogy often feels like wheels spinning in place; things happen, but none of it has any effect on the overall story. Not the case in this one, where revelation piles on revelation. And it still feels like there's plenty to discover in the third book!
PTerry left a huge hole in the world of comic fantasty, one Gabby is doing her very best to fill. I can't wait to finish this series and hopefully read plenty more. Absolutely one of my favourite contemporary authors.
(Side note: I feel like the blurbs for these books were written before the books were - they both misname a character! The first one had Linda instead of Brenda, this one has Lucy instead of Grace. Who knows, maybe it'll turn out to be relevant in Book 3!)
Out of Service is available now. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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