I stumbled on McCammon last summer and really enjoy his novels. I have read for or five of them now and whether reading or listening to the audible I am always entertained. I look forward to reading more and will continue to turn to him, especially on those lazy summer days when a fast fun read is warranted.

When I was younger I really enjoyed a few of Mr. McCammon's books. Swan Song and Boys Life being the two I remember enjoying the most. Then I moved on to other things but kept my eyes peeled for more of his work, but nothing caught my eye enough for me to purchase it. I must have picked up Speaks the Night Bird 5 or 6 times, always putting it down for something I thought would be better. And they were all enjoyable as far as books go, fast forward to a few weeks ago as I was meandering through Powell's and Lo and behold I found this beauty. Granted I started in the middle of the series, which, by and large, I really hate to do but this book really grabbed me from page 1 and did not let me go.

I have said this before and I will say it again I am sure, but I love books that grab you from the get go and never really let you go. The ones you think about long after you have closed it for the day. The ones that make you have dreams about the time period and characters within. This is one of those books. In this book there are many such characters. Matthew Corbett is one, but there are so many others, Hudson Greathouse and the strong and enigmatic Mrs Herrald. For a bit of comedy relief we have Marmaduke Grigsby and the list could go on and on. That is what drew me to McCammon's writing in the first place I think, he give real thought and life blood to the characters in all of his books, well, at least the ones I have read.The detail that he puts into his work is also very realistic, it must be hard to write HIstorical fiction because, well, we weren't there and we can only really guess as to what alot of the every day grind might have been for someone in the 17th or 18th century. This book is highly believable in that respect as well. So, in a sense, I am happy to have read this book a bit out of order because this is the one that got me started on a great adventure with great friends, it seems now I have to catch up and get the other two soon so that I continue the journey I have begun. I have not decided yet if I will go forward and read Mr. Slaughter ( the third book in the series) or if I will go back and read about Matthew's humble beginnings as an Orphan in New York and the Carolina Colony in Speaks the Nightbird(the first book in the series). One thing is certain, and that is the fact that I can not wait to see what great adventure awaits me in either.

Set in Manhattan in 1703, this spellbinding sequel to Speaks the Nightbird (2002) from bestseller McCammon finds Matthew Corbett, a 23-year-old magistrate’s clerk, on the trail of the Masker, a killer who stalks prominent businessmen.
Liked this - will read the next one too, some time

I really enjoyed the first book, "Speaks the Nightbird", but this was even better. The cast of characters is excellent. I particularly liked Greathouse, the laundress, and the lawyer Kipperling. The name "Professor Fell" is possibly the best villain name in a long while.

"In this town of soon to be more than five thousand persons there was a governor who wore a dress, a reverend who loved a prostitute, a printmaster who could crack walnuts on his forehead, a high constable who had killed a boy, a magistrate who was once a tennis champion, a laundress who collected secrets, and a coroner who collected bones. There was a barber who owned a squirrel named Sassafras, a tailor who could identify a dead man from a suit’s watch pocket, and a black giantess who would put aside her gittern just long enough to kill you."

McCammon's writing is top-notch. The plot moves along very well and he at times drops in very humorous moments. I'm looking forward to moving on to the next book.

Full review up!
Absolutely amazing!! All the stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hot damn, I love this series. It’s the perfect formula of historical fiction, mystery, horror and humor that's all thrown together in an amazing book.
I am itching to start the next book in the series because the books are just that good!

Matthew Corbett is becoming one of my favorite characters.
He’s complex, smart, level headed, not full of himself, understands his shortcomings, etc.
I could go on and on. I’m totally fangirling on Corbett y'all.

Entertaining, more so that the first one in my opinion.

That was a pretty wild ride! There are so many moving pieces in this book that it's hard to keep track of everything. But Matthew Corbett, a very intelligent (dare we say cerebral) bloodhound does a great job connecting all those pieces, even if he berates himself from time to time for missing something that suddenly seems obvious. Note, I didn't think it was obvious. A little time has passed since the events in the first book, although we're still in 1702. In fact, I think the rest of the books take place in 1702 as well. Matthew is in the growing city of New York and is working as a law clerk for Magistrate Powers. He's at a crossroads because to become a lawyer, he would have to return to England to attend an expensive law school. Since he barely has two coins to rub together, this is not very practical. As he tries to figure out his next steps, he is inadvertently drawn into the mysterious murder of a prominent doctor. Matthew, as you may recall from the first book, has a very strong sense of justice and regardless of whatever else anyone says, he can't let it go. At the same time, he's trying to figure out how to bring the head of his orphanage to justice to both avenge the abused boys and to prevent further abuse. He also crosses paths with the Herrald Agency, a London-based investigative agency that is trying to set up an office in NY because they feel NY will be the future, even if it is just a nowhere town right now. As an aside, Matthew "coins" the term "detective" in this book, which I thought was funny. Oh, did I mention that Matthew helps the town publisher print their newsletter and eventually is asked to squire around his granddaughter Berry, who has been called a "bad luck charm" by many, including herself. Anything else? Well, at this point, I'd rather not spoil the book for anyone because I think it's a great series (yes, I know I've only read 2 of them so far) and it is worth working your way through the series without any surprises or thrills being ruined by knowing too much. I think I liked Nightbird a little bit more, partly because it felt like there was some "bloat" in this book that could have benefited from extra editing. But I still enjoyed it very much and once again, Edoardo Ballerini did a fantastic job with the narration. This is such a good series I can see myself revisiting the series in the future! It's a good thing I'm planning on buying the series so that I can reread/listen as much as I want!