"‘Hold on. Are you suggesting that there are places in the world that don’t actually exist?’ Cabal looked at him coldly. ‘If you say, “Like Norwich,” or similar, I shall not be responsible for my actions.’"

I so rarely feel like finishing an entire series in one go. What an excellent read. I believe this is the final instalment, and it does provide some resolution, but there’s certainly more story to tell. 

The book starts off right after the previous one. It’s funny how books 1 and 3 were quite self-contained and the overarching storyline starts in book 2 and continues in 4 and 5. I love that the series doesn’t reach unnecessarily epic proportions of the world-saving variety - that wouldn’t fit the vibe. The main players are all people we’ve met before, albeit one from a short story I hadn’t read yet. 

I absolutely adored this gang. This was the perfect combination of Cabal + all the likeable characters from his life: Horst, Leonie, Miss Smith (!) and Madam Zarenyia. We got to enjoy various dynamics within the group as they were split up into different pairings/threes. I mentioned in book 3 that I was sad we only met Miss Smith briefly - another criticism addressed! Her love for foul language and chaotic magical murder made me very happy. What a babe. "‘I am the Witch Queen of the Necropolis!’ She looked around with satisfaction at the gawping sea of demoniacal faces ranged upon her. ‘You fuckers,’ she concluded, still smiling." 

Before I finished this book, I hadn’t read A Long Spoon, where Madam Zareniya was first introduced. It was a little mystifying not having the full context beforehand, but I ended up reading that straight after finishing the main series, I just needed more Zarenyia! For a half-woman half-spider devil, she is just lovely. "‘We could all learn a lot from her,’ said Horst. ‘She has wonderful joie de vivre, don’t you think?’ ‘She is far and away the homicidal maniac with whom I most enjoy spending time,’ agreed Cabal." It's actually so cute that she considers Johannes her best friend. And she genuinely cares for him, despite…everything. 

I must admit, I found the whole Five Ways concept a little confusing. While the motive of what he wanted from this was clear, I did end up skimming a few paragraphs of extremely specific lore. And I don't feel I missed much in those paragraphs, so maybe some better editing here. It only really came together near the end. Regardless, there was a good sense of adventure. It wasn’t a dramatic attempt to save the world or anything, it was still Johannes on his quest to conquer death, and deal with an old enemy along the way. 

The unreality of the Five Ways made for some nicely creative settings too. I, of course, very much enjoyed the London setting, even though it was post-apocalyptic. It was a nice coincidence that as I reached the scene where they enter at Trafalgar Square, I happened to be sitting in a park not five minutes away, enjoying a sunny evening of reading.
 

So there's a surprising amount of sexy banter in this one. While mostly funny, sometimes it got weird. I think the author needs to improve on that. The tone was off occasionally - it came off as inappropriate rather than good natured jokes/flirting. 

Regarding the ending, it’s definitely a mixed one. There is resolution for Johannes’s character growth and the relationships in his life, most importantly the one with Horst. It was honestly heart-warming. The rest of it is left fairly open-ended, which I didn’t expect. There’s room here for more (a resolution for the Leonie situation please!). Also, not even going to comment on the title of this book, apart from shooting a glare in the author's direction. I note from his Twitter that the series has been optioned for an adaptation, so hopefully that a) goes well and b) provides a little more ending! 4.5 stars for this book and for the series as a whole.