Since this is the eightieth review of this book I can surmise that you have probably looked at quite a few other reviews here on Amazon about this introduction to Simon Green's Nightside. A short synopsis of this tale is that London has a diabolical and devious twin that is always shrouded in night and is filled with twisted and perverse magics, wonders beyond recogning and people like John Taylor, a man shrouded in mystery, with a father who was human and a mother who was something else. He has a gift, a talent, like so many others in the Nightside, but he has chosen to leave that world behind for the more benign trappings of our world's London, where he has become a private investigator.
When Joanna Barrett comes to him asking for his help finding her daughter, who has run away into the Nightside, John decides to go back to the place he abandoned five years previous, where there are those who would kill him and others who believe that one day he will come into great power.

Outside of the Garrett files, I have not read much in the way of fantasy/noir. I have enjoyed the Garrett files tremendously and while this series has a few slight similarities it is distinctly different. I am interested in diving deeper into this genre and will be reading more of Green's Nightside series. I found this story to be interesting and fun, with some intriguing characters that we stumble upon in John's quest for Joanna's daughter. Razor Eddy and Shotgun Suzie brought some spice to the story. The places, sights, and sounds were vivid and the author did a solid job of pulling you into this new realm.

I did grow weary of the constant refrain of "in the Nightside" which John and other's repeat incessantly when stating how incredibly different it is than our world. I can almost hear the overly melodramatic music in the background every time it is said. After a while I wanted to just nod my head and tell the author "I get it, this is a dark and wonderous place where our normal rules don't apply. Why don't you let the story reveal some of its magic on its own?" I do realize that we are coming in off the street as it were and a bit of narration from a Nightside native certainly helps but that element just seemed a bit over done.

The story here is fairly simple with some twisty elements at the end which I enjoyed but newcomers to this series should understand that this story serves mainly as a introduction to the Nightside and the mysterious past of John Taylor rather than a meaty, indepth mystery.