Blurb:

In the city of Agatos, nothing stays buried forever.

Only an idiot would ignore his debt to a high mage, and Mennik Thorn is not an idiot, no matter what anyone might say. He's just been ... distracted. But now he's left it too late, and if he doesn't obey the high mage's commands within the day, his best friends' lives will be forfeit. So it's hardly the time to take on an impossible case: proving a woman who murdered a stranger in full view is innocent.

Unfortunately, Mennik can't resist doing the right thing - and now he's caught in a deadly rivalry between warring high mages, his witnesses are dying, and something ancient has turned its eyes upon him.

The fate of the city is once again in the hands of a second-rate mage. Mennik Thorn should have stayed in hiding.

Review:

In the Nectar for the God, the second iteration of Mennik Thorn’s adventures, our mage for hire continues to surprise and delight. As before, the story continues to move forward at a fun, rapid pace that makes it impossible to put down the book. 

As to be expected, our likeable protagonist mage keeps falling in trouble. And for Mennik, trouble is usually accompanied by bigger, more dangerous troubles. He has accrued serious debts, and now the crime lord comes calling. 

‘I was flailing here, lost and out of my depth, and every time I tried to pull myself out, something new came along and dragged me back down by the legs.’

From the events of the first book we might anticipate that the Wren’s demands would only lead to the realm of esoteric and dangerous. And of course, they do. In addition, in this book we get a bit more insight into Mennik’s real family, his past and the decisions that led to him being what he is now. And, we see him confront the greatest source of distress in his life - his mother, the countess.

‘You walked into your mother’s palace. If you can do that, what’s an old, forgotten god?’

All of that comes a bit later, though. The book opens with a fantastic hook - a dual murder crime, where a woman slits the throat of a stranger, followed by her own, while smiling. The corrupt and incompetent city watch is not particularly interested in the wild goose chase that this investigation would entail, so that responsibility falls on the shoulders of our mage for hire. He may not be the most powerful wizard, but he is second to none when it comes to observation, deduction and finer esoteric applications of magic. 

‘You are a rat with a scrap of food, are you not, Mr. Thorn?’

The investigation also leads to secrets buried underneath the layers of Agatos, and in this book we begin to really see Patrick’s world building shine. Yes, gods get involved. No, they aren’t benevolent. 

‘Lord of the waters. Watcher in the dark. Cold-bringer. Dream-haunter. Hunter of the void. Deathless. Sleeping. To awake.’

It was also interesting to see Mennik’s relationship with the captain evolve (at least in Mennik’s mind). While I am not usually one to speculate or prophesize, if that romance leads to a happily ever after, I would willingly subject myself to a lifetime of drinking sweetened coffee spiced with cardamom that Mennik so loves. I mean, seriously?

‘She was way out of my class, but I couldn’t deny that between the implicit threat of deadly violence, her unwillingness to put up with my goat shit, and the figure that I could see hinted at by her outfit, she did something for me that not many other people did. To put it simply, I fancied her.’

The story does end with a few open tangents that will leave you wanting for more. And fortunately, the sequel doesn’t disappoint either. But, more on that in a future post. .