The Mapmaker’s Apprentice, by C.J, Archer, 3 stars

[NancyJ]

This is book 2 in the Glass and Steele series Mathew Glass and India Steele, set in Victorian London. Matt has a connection in law enforcement who needs help finding his illegitimate son who is a Mapmaker’s apprentice. We learn more about how magic works in this world, which is different from most fantasy books. Just as the Watchmaker’s Guild was afraid of India’s magical abilities (it’s still not clear how they knew she had this ability before she did), it seems that someone in the Mapmaker’s Guild may have wanted to get rid of a magical apprentice. As part of the investigation, Matt and his friends go undercover, with he and India posing as a married couple. The plot was a little convoluted, and a lot of things go wrong. (They knew they were about to walk into a trap, but did it anyway.). There was an archeological element in the story related to Roman treasure.