Shevdon, Mike -- Sixty-One Nails

Niall Petersen, out-of-shape middle-aged middle manager, discovers the folly of his non-exercising lifestyle when his heart flakes out in a London tube station. He is yanked back into the land of the living by an irascable old woman, who turns out to be an immortal fairy. Niall turns out to be an immortal fairy as well -- complete with rapid-onset iron allergy and inability to lie. Niall copes medium-poorly with these revelations, but managed not to be killed by the horde of dark fey coming after his ass.

This is a story of familiar outline, and it does a satisfactory job of it. Unfortunately the London urban-fantasy scene has a lot of competition these days, and this book doesn't do a whole lot to stand out. The use of the (too weird to be fictional) Quit Rents ceremony of London is a nice touch. The use of the "climactic legal challenge that all Fey are bound to" trope is a tediously cliched touch. In between are Niall's relationship with his ex-wife, his daughter, and the romance subplot -- those are decently done. The author is deft with secondary characters; in fact, I think I liked most of them more than the protagonists. So, a mixed recommendation.


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