London, December 1886. A woman is gruesomely murdered, a mysterious organ missing from her cracked-open chest. Investigating the case, Kensington’s top inspector, Hal Hawthorne, quickly discovers that the victim wasn’t human—and neither is her killer. When he saves the captivating wizard November from becoming the next target, Hal is thrust into a world of nightmarish creatures and dark magic. But the deeper Hal becomes entangled in the case, the more he comes to believe that November isn’t just a wizard with mind-bending powers, but also holds the key to unraveling the web of dark magic and murder.
Can Hal solve the case and protect November, or will the murderer claim him and destroy Hal’s life forever? And what will Hal have to sacrifice to stop the killings and save the man he’s come to love?
In The Wizard and the Welshman, Laura Rayndrop has created a magical world with compelling queer characters and a brilliant mystery. From the very beginning, the setup is intriguing and Hal is a riveting, conflicted character.
One of the reasons I connected so strongly to the world was that there were very rich historical aspects that brought to mind Sherlock Holmes and some of the detective novels I love. I also liked that the writing was authentic with regards to being gay in the 1800’s, that it was not acceptable to be in love with a person of the same gender in that time. Weaving that with the magical world was well written and extremely enjoyable. The secondary characters, in particular Donogue, were fun and I loved the resolution of the mystery. There are a lot of twists and turns as we learn the truth behind the killer.
If you like LGBTQ stories with magic and mystery, I really recommend this first in the series. Hal is compelling, November is full of mystery and the ending is full of twists and turns. The details of the magical world are full of depth and the relationship is authentic and beautiful. I can’t wait for the next book.
Rating: 5 out of 5 compass’