Stark House puts out extremely interesting books. Just this year they’ve published Tracy Knight’s The Astonished Eye and Barry N. Malzberg’s Underlay, among many others. Last month they released the sequel to Catherine Butzen debut novel Thief of Midnight, featuring the return of the monster-hunting Society for the Security of Reality, which keeps the world safe from the nefarious plots of creatures such as werewolves, ghouls, faeries, and boogymen.

I completely missed Thief of Midnight when it was first released in 2010, so I’m pleased I have another chance to jump onto this series. Fell the Angels picks up the story a month after the previous novel, when Abby Marquise finds herself dealing with dark magic-wielding faeries who have invaded Chicago.

Here’s the description for Thief of Midnight:

The Monster Hunters…
Abby Marquise has been killing doppelgangers and other dark creatures with the Society for the Security of Reality for awhile now — ever since she’d been recruited after being attacked by a ghoul one dark night. Her son Jimmy thinks she’s losing it, but how do you explain monster hunting, much less the secret SSR, to a teenager? Now that children are disappearing all across the country, her partner John Sawyer wants to go after them, guns a-blazing. But how do you shoot something you can’t find? And how can you find something if you don’t believe it exists?

…and the Bogeymen
Likho, a Ukrainian-Russian spirit, and L’uomo Nero, one of the ancient bag men, have been summoned by El Cucuy, leader of the supernatural Family. The myths and stories that created the Family are slowly fading from modern memory, and El Cucuy knows their very existence is threatened. The bogeymen are beginning to vanish but the dead boy has a plan — spread fear in the world and restore themselves by taking the children! Likho, who has adopted some of the human ways, doesn’t like it. And L’uomo starts to act even stranger than usual by following the advice of an old human woman. Can they defy El Cucuy and exist? Who will believe in them then?

And here’s the description for Fell the Angels:

Abby and her team mates at the Society for the Security of Reality stand between mankind and the “other.” Faeries, selkies, werewolves, ghosts, ghouls… all of the creatures mankind refuses to admit exist. Abby knows firsthand that they are real. She fights her personal demons as she fights the “other” — with determination, hope, and spunk.

After solving the disappearance of hundreds of children only a month ago, Abby is suddenly thrust into fighting the unknown once again. This time, it’s the faeries who have invaded Chicago. And these are not the fae of your childhood stories. These are dark magic-wielders, capable of murder and committed to obtaining power over the mortal world. All Abby needs to do is find out who is helping them, solve the gruesome murders, and rebuild a relationship with her teenage son while keeping herself and her team mates alive. Catherine Butzen fills the streets of Chicago with fantasy and horror in this sequel to Thief of Midnight.

Thief of Midnight was published by Stark House in July 2010. It is 228 pages, priced at $15.95 in trade paperback. The cover is by gak.

Fell the Angels was published by Stark House Press on October 12, 2015. It is 250 pages, priced at $17.95 in trade paperback. The cover design is by JT Lindroos.

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