Amunet by Robert Harkess

Amunet has a unique talent; she can talk to the dead. She had been told all her life that this is the key to rescuing her mother, who has been taken by mysterious and powerful forces. To unlock her mother’s prison, all she has to do is find the Locksmith. Posing as a Medium, she scours Europe for the one person who can help her.

Harry and his father are investigators, employed by the Church to hunt down Mediums and hand them over to the mercies of the Inquisition. Harry has always believed he, and the Church, were doing the right thing. Until now.

Refusing to believe the Inquisition’s claim that Amunet is evil, Harry risks his own life, and his relationship with his father, to keep her from the clutches of the Church, even as she guides him on a journey to prevent a terrible evil being set loose in the world.

Disclaimer: my novellas are published by the same publisher, Grimbold Books, and I have met Robert several times. That said, I obtained a copy of Amunet in my capacity as a book reviewer, and I’m going to give my honest opinion!

I enjoyed Amunet; it’s an easy adventure with a light tone and a subtle touch. The book is a stand-alone (so no cliffhangers!) with interesting characters, a central duo who work very well together, and a world – and plot – that draws you in and keeps you turning the pages without realising it.

Amunet has been raised knowing that one day, she’ll have to find something; she’s guided by a voice in her head that promises Amunet she’ll find her missing mother. And Harry works with his father in England, searching out mediums who might not be fakes – and then turning them over to the Inquisition. But when someone tries to kill Amunet, Harry realises that her journey to find something might work better with him – and that he might need to find her destination too.

The story switches between Amunet and Harry, even after they have joined forces, which gives a nice perspective on both points of view. The plot has enough twists to be gripping, and even the right course may be wrong – for none of those chasing Amunet are quite as they seem, and they all have hidden agendas. The surrounding cast are excellently done, all with their own motivations and – sometimes rather horrible – characters; the voice in Amunet’s head is particularly excellent (no spoilers – go and read it to find out!)

The world is just different enough from our own to be interesting – mediums? Ghosts? Automatic cabs? An Inquisition? – but everything is slid naturally into the story, and information is never dumped to bore us. The plot darts from Constantinople and France to an alternate Victorian England, with music-halls and grimy London streets, lingering pickpockets with sharp eyes and gristle-filled bowls of stew. Amunet is a teenager guided by a mysterious voice, struggling to make her own decisions – and Harry is growing up, choosing the things that he thinks are important in the world, even if they do conflict with the decisions the adults around him have made.

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