LONG PAST DUES - James J. Butcher

Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby has become the newest Auditor for Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. He will be enforcing the laws of magic - which sounds exciting, but for Grimshaw, who struggled with his Auditor tests, it's pretty dull work. He is routinely passed over for the interesting jobs and sent to handle the common magical mishaps.

To get out of his daily grind, Grimshaw finagles a job away from a friend to discover the origin of a strange, unfinished ritual. He enlists the help of Leslie Mayflower, a once retired Huntsman now working again because this current situation is similar to something Mayflower dealt with two decades prior.

If the ritual is completed it would be disastrous, but getting to the root of the problem will not be easy for Grimsby and Mayflower.

Much like the first book in this series (Dead Man's Hand), the characters of Grimsby and Mayflower are what makes this worth reading.  Their give and take, trust and distrust, and the yin and yang of needing one another, coming from a job in different ways, is what makes this fun.

The magic and the world building is still a bit pedestrian. This feels too much like a spin off of The Dresden Files (that comparison is bound to be made, given that this author James J Butcher is the son of Dresden Files author Jim Butcher). The city, the magic, even Grimsby himself seem like early versions of Dresden's Chicago. I had hoped that we'd see more growth and uniqueness in successive books, but that separation from Dresden Chicago has quite happened yet.

This was fun but it definitely feels like a young (in writing/publishing experience) writer still finding his own voice, intentionally enjoying the shadow of his father, rather than coming out from it.

Looking for a good book? Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher is the second novel in an urban fantasy series. It still shows promise and there is much to like, but it hasn't quite captured the magic (pun intended) of some of the more popular books in the same genre.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Long Past Dues

author: James J. Butcher

series: The Unorthodox Chronicles #2

publisher: Ace

ISBN: 9780593440438

hardcover, 401 pages

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