Book Review: Catchpenny by Charlie Huston
Posted on October 8, 2024 at 6:27 am by Gene Ambaum
Catchpenny by Charlie Huston. Vintage, 2024. 978059385082. 401pp.
“…If Elmore Leonard had ever written a fantasy novel, this would be it.” – Stephen King (in the cover blurb)
That blurb convinced me to buy this book, and the Gaimanesque “hidden” magical world in and around Los Angeles kept me reading it.
Sid Catchpenny is a thief who can use mojo to travel through the nothing of mirrors. He’s not doing well, though; he’s obsessed with getting revenge on his wife’s murderer, and he’s given up everything in pursuit of that goal. An acquaintance comes to him for help anyway, to ask him to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. Mojo is involved, as is a bunch of creepy, cruel folks with different magical talents. There’s a lot of violence, the threat of more (not least of all from a suicide cult and its followers), and a cast of characters that I felt like I met on my last trip to L.A.
If you ever enjoyed Sinead O’Conner’s music, loved Gaiman’s Neverwhere, or even once felt like the reflection looking back at you in a mirror had its own thoughts, this book is for you.
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This one was a lot of fun. Fun setting that I’d like to see more of and some interesting twists that I didn’t see coming.