When Ben Macallan finally left home, it was a relief for everyone. "I'm disinvesting" he told them, and did not plan to return. Ben is the odd man out in his family, the only one with no recognizable "talent." A clan that runs a city and beyond using an arsenal of magical "talents" (think small scale Mafia) doesn't need any dead weight cluttering up the scenery.
But then one of Ben's cousins is murdered, ruthlessly and painfully. Evidence suggests that the murderer also possesses magic - powerful, corrosive magic. Ben has been a decent student at university, but the chief lesson here is, you can't turn your back on family. As the murders continue, Ben notices that it is those perceived as weakest who are being picked off first. And if he doesn't figure out what's going on fast, odds are good he'll soon be a corpse himself.
This was my first book by Chaz Brenchley, but it won't be my last. The writer has enormous depth, giving us a searing portrait of a young man who has never lived among normal people, and has no idea how relationships are carried out. His family ties are shaky at best, and when breakthrough is finally achieved, and he discovers that he has an unknown form of talent, he scarcely knows what to do with it.
It's possible that a skilled reader of suspense will see where the book is going earlier than I did, but I was so caught up in the protagonist's POV I arrived at the answer when he did. This book also has horror aspects - the deaths are not soft-pedaled, and I confess to jumping over some of the details. But if you like your fantasy mixed with strong characterization and suspense, with a dollop of genuine horror (and the magic may be the least of the horror, in the end) then you must try a Brenchley novel!
I discovered this as an ebook at Book View Café.