Glass Town was better than I thought it was going to be, but in a lot of ways, it still felt scattered and messy to me. I guess, ultimately, this wasn't the book I signed up for?

Josh Raines inherits a mystery from his grandfather - a mystery about a young woman beloved by his great-grandfather and his great-great-uncle. Eleanor Raines disappeared off the set of Hitchcock's unfinished Number 13 and was never seen again. So what happened to Eleanor? Something is rotten in the Rothery, and Joshua can't help but to be swept up in it all.

It was Eleanor Raines and the Glass Town I wanted out of this book. There was very little time spent with these two, although they were a constant part of conversation. With so many different POVs, it's easy to see why nobody really had a fleshed out story. Multiple POVs are fantastic when they're used to accentuate the story, but this is a relatively short book and there were some that didn't seem to add to the promised plot. The two cops, Taff and Julie, were caught up on the side but didn't do anything to really add to the world building or to Josh's search. I could have done without them.

As an adult mystery novel, Glass Town does just fine. But don't come in expecting a lot of fantasy. There's speculation and a tease, but not full immersion. I mean, come on! Projections of old movies that come to life? A movie set removed from time and used as a prison? There were so many promises of things that interested me on the other side of the mirror that, once it became clear I wasn't going to get them, I lost interest in what was left. ( )

Steve S has excelled even by his standards. A masterful piece of work that reminded me of Tim Powers filtered through a particularly British perspective. Memorable characters, a great premise, and as tightly plotted as we've come to expect from Steve.

Lovely stuff. ( )

3.5 out of 5 stars

During my last trip to the library a recent release I’d not heard much about caught my eye. Glass Town by Steven Savile is a novel that combines traditional noir mystery, the glamour of 1920s filmmaking, and fantasy in wonderful harmony.

The story begins on the day of Boone’s funeral, the beloved grandfather of Josh Raines. His death was unexpected, a fall down the stairs, but the note bequeathed to Josh is even more shocking. Originally a note from Boone’s father, Isaiah, it outlines the disappearance of Eleanor Raines, a young movie star who disappeared with no trace and Isaiah’s first, true love. Obsessed over her disappearance his entire life, Isaiah sought fruitlessly for answers, but he did see Eleanor once again, looking exactly the same as the day she disappeared. Now the mystery of the missing woman who hasn’t aged in more than 100 years is passed down to Josh. And, whether he wants it or not, he will become involved.

Glass Town is a noir mystery at heart, one steeped in magic and revenge. It is the story of Josh, a young man mourning his grandfather’s death, questioning the odd letter he’s bequeathed, and suddenly faced with cousins he never knew who come unannounced to the funeral. Suddenly, the Lockwood’s, the old time mobster family who ruled that part of the city for decades, are thrust into his life. And Seth Lockwood, a cousin separated by several generations doesn’t seem to like him, even as the main who claims to be his father ensures that whatever bad blood was once between them is long buried.

The stage is well set, the pawns in place. The story is pretty quickly paced, following Josh as he tries to unravel a mystery the Lockwood’s would do anything to keep buried. The narrative follows Josh very closely, though the point of view does switch to the villain every now and again.

The magic used in this novel is truly unique and a delight to read. Old movie reels are magic, literally. Terrifying, ghostly images are pulled right off the silver screen. The actors and actresses of early film flit in and out of the pages. The old magic shows and their larger than life magicians really do wield magic. I have never seen magic used in quite this way, nor so creatively. It was fun, different, and I loved second of it.

As much as this is a traditional mystery and an urban fantasy, it is also a story about family and revenge. Just how different is can branches of a family be? How do people change, or not change, from one generation to another. What is a person capable of? What lies buried beneath the surface? All of these are touched on within the story.

Like many noir mysteries, many of these characters are shown in shades of gray. Everyone has flaws, and major ones at that. Cowardice, fear, anger – all of these take a very real toll on the characters. People change throughout the course of the book. Josh is not the same young man at the end that he was in the beginning.

I would definitely suggest reading Glass Town by Steven Savile. If you like mysteries, old movies, noir, or fantasy set in the modern era this is a story you won’t want to miss. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more by this author.

This review and more can be found on Looking Glass Reads. ( )

On the day of his grandfather Boone’s funeral, Josh Rainer finds a letter left to Boone by Josh’s great-grandfather. It talks of the obsession of two brothers for an actress in the 1920s and about her disappearance. It also explains that Rainer is not their real last name and that they are, in fact, part of one of London’s biggest criminal families. Josh is mildly intrigued but, when an elderly member of this family shows up at the funeral and gives what is clearly a veiled threat to leave the past alone and then he finds his house being ransacked by an impossibly beautiful woman but one who doesn’t seem quite human, Josh first tries to run but, as it becomes clear that he can’t escape whomever or whatever is after him, he develops his own obsession with solving the seventy-year-old mystery.

I will say right off the top that I found both reading and reviewing Glass Town by author Steven Savile somewhat challenging. Not to say it wasn’t an interesting read but it took me a while to get into it. And I finished it a couple of weeks ago but have been struggling with how I felt about it since. I found it at times a bit confusing and very hard to categorize. It’s listed as an urban fantasy but there’s also a kind of homage to 1920s silent films and the hidden dark side of London as well as perhaps a nod to noir movies – or maybe I’m looking deeper into it than need be. At any rate, it is, at the very least, a dark, gritty and atmospheric fantasy and one that certainly made me think. To be honest though, it seems that, for me, I will need to read it again to fully appreciate it. In the meantime, I give it 4 stars because it is very well-written and smart and 3 because it is at times confusing and a bit slow. So 3.5 stars it is.

3.5

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )