A Local Habitation focuses on the story of October Daye, also known as 'Toby', private detective and a changeling half-breed; half human and half Daoine Sidhe. Due to her dual nature she's been an outsider all her life -- finding herself in both worlds but a part of neither. She seems to have recovered well from the clandestine events of the prior novel. We rejoin her as she gets in from a night out only to find her liege, Sylvester, wishes her to travel to the County of Tamed Lightning to check on his wayward niece. Thus off goes the grumbling knight errant along with Quentin; her new sidekick. She's not happy to say the least! What she finds when she reaches Tamed Lightning is a whole world of problems...
This book absolutely fantastic! I really really enjoyed it. I'd been finding it hard to get into books lately, so it was gratifying to find something so alive and readable. The mystery in this book is very well handled, and McGuire has improved a great deal since writing her first novel Rosemary and Rue. Toby does some clever investigating and deducting -- there's no easy out for her this time. There's a surprising amount of tension and atmosphere to A Local Habitation as things happen within the small confines of Tamed Lightning. It's an eerie, claustrophobic place and I thought the author evoked this quality rather well.
I felt that McGuire absolutely pinpointed Toby's voice in this book: she came through loud and clear which made the story all the more absorbing. Toby is tough and in less of a dark place since we left her -- she's getting her life back on track, and has made some allies. She's not alone anymore. Instead of being completely resistant to investigating this time around, she's actively happy to do it (well, mostly).
Most of the characters from the first book return here. Quentin gets fleshed out well, and I have to say I utterly adore him! He has some nice banter with Toby and we get a much better read on his character as a result. I hope he remains to the forefront of events in the future. We also get to see Connor, Sylvester, the Luidaeg albeit briefly, and of course, the irrepressible Tybalt. Tybalt is interesting, he positively exudes better than thou royalty. Plus he's funny. His relationship with Toby is layered and as yet somewhat undefined. The novel ends with some more questions and I love the touch of mystery that permeates every aspect of Toby's life. There's clearly miles to go before she sleeps.
I'm looking forward to the next book, which is out in september
An Artificial Night: An October Daye Novel.