Book Two of the Marionette Series (New Release!)
As he steps into The Capitol headquarters, now an unlikely consultant to investigator (and childhood sweetheart) Holland Lyle, Fitch Farrow’s newfound freedom after his recent trial is short lived. While he’s officially tasked to help fight crime and his own gang the Bloody Hex, Capitol’s leader Maximus (in name and in deed) has other plans for him, to ensure his political vision for the city’s future comes to fruition. Fitch is given the seemingly impossible task to murder eight people in four weeks: despite his attempt to project a cleaner, crime-free image, he is still Marionette after all, he used to kill for a living… Swearing allegiance to The Capitol while still being involved with his gang is no mean feat and, as it turns out, his former boss Grimm would like to keep those eight people alive, involving Fitch and his brother Donovan in a cunning kidnapping plan inevitably doomed to fail. With too many strings to pull simultaneously and too many secrets to hide – especially from Holland Lyle – Fitch’s endurance will be put to the test, as he comes to terms with the fact that he cannot escape who he’s become…
Marionette was born here. An identity carved out of terror and pain so deep and dark it swallowed everything that came before.
‘Capitol Matters’ is as well written as its preceding instalment ‘Pulling Strings’, in Cameron’s direct, frill-free style, with characters voices consistently maintained throughout. When it comes to Cameron’s writing, there is a roughness and honesty to it that is as recognisable as a signature on paper. The story itself flows seamlessly and at a natural and consistent pace: while there are no major plot twists, events keep coming at you in a perfect mix of action, reflection and revelations.
We absolutely loved how the author has developed her main character Fitch Farrow, of whom we see the increasingly ‘human’ nature (he is a witch with telekinetic powers), as he slowly comes to realise that, while he cannot escape the life he lives, it is one he hasn’t chosen for himself. In this context, the love/hate relationship with his ‘spiritual’ father Grimm – a description that is hardly fitting given Grimm was the one introducing Fitch to a life of crime and murder – is particularly well developed, as Fitch is torn between wanting to free himself from this cruel man’s grip while also acknowledging that Grimm essentially made him. You cannot help but root for Fitch once again, and be as bitterly disappointed as he is when he suddenly realises he’s always been a pawn in someone else’s chess game. The best part of all this is – and it is down to Cameron’s skilful writing – that the author never tells us all these things directly, but they do come out organically through masterfully written dialogues.
We thoroughly enjoyed the book and read it in a few days, although we cannot help but wonder where the story is actually going… with two books published and two more to go, we feel that even if a series of actions take place within each book (there would not be a plot otherwise) not much is actually happening, making it a little hard to engage with the wider story and see where Cameron could take us next, or if two more books are even enough to complete the story arc.
However, this is not a good enough reason to abandon the journey Cameron is taking us on and we look forward to reading the remainder of the series.
On a parting note: to fully understand the story in all its nuances, we advise you to read Book One first. Check out our review of ‘Pulling Strings’ here.
‘Capitol Matters’ is available for purchase at: https://amzn.to/3RaszLs.
