Aurealis Award nominee 2012.
"The body you are wearing used to be mine." So begins the letter Myfanwy Thomas is holding when she awakes in a London park surrounded by bodies all wearing latex gloves. With no recollection of who she is, Myfanwy must follow the instructions her former self left behind to discover her identity and track down the agents who want to destroy her.
She soon learns that she is a Rook, a high-ranking member of a secret organization called the Chequy that battles the many supernatural forces at work in Britain. She also discovers that she possesses a rare, potentially deadly supernatural ability of her own.
In her quest to uncover which member of the Chequy betrayed her and why, Myfanwy encounters a person with four bodies, an aristocratic woman who can enter her dreams, a secret training facility where children are transformed into deadly fighters, and a conspiracy more vast than she ever could have imagined.
Filled with characters both fascinating and fantastical, THE ROOK is a richly inventive, suspenseful, and often wry thriller that marks an ambitious debut from a promising young writer.
The series
Most urban fantasy hides its magic in the shadows. The Checquy Files hides it inside government offices, buried beneath layers of paperwork, classified reports, and centuries of institutional secrecy. What begins as a world of strange powers and supernatural threats quickly reveals itself as something far more unusual: a sprawling bureaucracy tasked with protecting ordinary people from horrors they will never know exist.
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The series opens with a mystery that immediately turns reality sideways. Memories vanish, identities become uncertain, and readers are drawn into an invisible war unfolding behind the familiar surface of modern Britain. From that point forward, every locked archive, forgotten corridor, and official memorandum carries the possibility of uncovering something impossible.
At the heart of the story is an organization unlike any other in fantasy fiction. Its agents possess extraordinary abilities, but they are also civil servants, administrators, investigators, and reluctant guardians of secrets too dangerous to reveal. The contrast creates much of the series' unique atmosphere. Meetings can be as tense as battles. Internal politics can be as threatening as supernatural enemies. The fate of nations may hinge on decisions made in offices hidden from public view.
What makes these novels particularly memorable is their balance of tone. Dark mysteries and unsettling creatures share space with sharp humor and moments of genuine absurdity. Ancient conspiracies unfold alongside bureaucratic frustrations. Characters face terrifying dangers, yet their humanity remains intact through wit, resilience, and the occasional exasperated response to circumstances no one could reasonably prepare for.
As the world expands, readers encounter secret histories, rival organizations, bizarre powers, and increasingly complex questions about identity and responsibility. The supernatural elements are imaginative and often unsettling, but they never overshadow the people forced to live with them. Character growth remains central, allowing emotional stakes to carry as much weight as the larger conspiracies surrounding them.
The influence of espionage fiction can be felt throughout the series, though it is filtered through a distinctly fantastical lens. Hidden networks, classified operations, and covert struggles blend seamlessly with urban fantasy, supernatural thriller, and mystery elements. The result is a world that feels both extraordinary and strangely believable.
For readers who enjoy secret societies, paranormal investigations, intricate world-building, and intelligent fantasy with a strong sense of humor, The Checquy Files offers something genuinely distinctive. It is a series where monsters may lurk behind closed doors, where every official document might conceal a dangerous truth, and where the greatest mystery is often how ordinary people continue functioning in a world that is anything but ordinary.
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