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Daniel O'Malley
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Blitz: A Novel (The Rook Files) Kindle Edition

by Daniel O'Malley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,180 ratings
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In this historical fantasy, a new recruit to the most powerful supernatural intelligence agency on Earth is accused of going rogue—and must go on the run to clear her name.

September, 1940. Three women of the Checquy, the secret organization tasked with protecting Britain from supernatural threats, stand in the sky above London and see German aircraft approach. Forbidden by law to interfere, all they can do is watch as their city is bombed. Until Pamela, the most sensible of them, breaks all the rules and brings down a Nazi bomber with her bare hands. The three resolve to tell no one about it, but they soon learn that a crew member is missing from the downed bomber. Charred corpses are discovered in nearby houses and it becomes apparent that the women have unwittingly unleashed a monster.
 
Through a city torn by the Blitz, the friends must hunt the enemy before he kills again. Their task will take them from the tunnels of the Underground to the halls of power, where they will discover the secrets that a secret organization must keep even from itself.
 
Today. Lynette Binns, a librarian with a husband and child, is a late recruit to the Checquy, having discovered only as an adult her ability to electrify everyday objects with her touch. After completing her training, she is assigned to examine a string of brutal murders and quickly realizes that all bear the unmistakable hallmark of her own unique power. Unable to provide an alibi and determined to prove her innocence, she flees, venturing into the London underworld to find answers. But now she is prey, being tracked by her own frighteningly capable comrades.
 
As Lyn fights off powered thugs and her own vengeful colleagues, she will find that the solution to the murders and to the mystery of her own past lies in the events of World War II, and the covert actions of three young women during the Blitz.
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  1. Book 3 of 3
    The Rook Files
  2. Print length
    689 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Little, Brown and Company
  6. Publication date
    October 18, 2022
  7. File size
    1732 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Blitz:

“With a relaxed style and array of fun characters, including an agent who makes people who look at him see their mother and a baby goat that turns into a little boy, O’Malley's latest will appeal to his many followers.”―Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Daniel O’Malley and the Rook Files series:

"Laugh-out-loud funny, occasionally bawdy, and paced like a spy thriller replete with chases, betrayals, and tragedies. There is slime, there is heartbreak, and there are wardrobe malfunctions... Fear not, dear reader: Daniel O'Malley's in charge, and the Checquy Files are in masterful hands."―Joyce Sáenz Harris, Dallas Morning News

“Satisfying and spellbinding.”―Charlaine Harris

"Utterly convincing and engrossing—totally thought-through and frequently hilarious. The writing is confident and fully fledged. Even this aging, jaded, attention-deficit-disordered critic was blown away."―Lev Grossman, Time

“Devilishly funny… O'Malley raises the action, monsters and witticisms to new levels… This ambitious romp reads like X-Men meets Supernatural as narrated by Jasper Fforde, only funnier.”―Jaclyn Fulwood, Shelf Awareness

“The pace never lets up in this entertaining high-action read… O’Malley has fashioned a near-perfect supernatural thriller… Something unexpected happens on almost every page. Don’t start this book unless you’ve got lots of time, because you won’t want to put it down. It’s that good.”―David Keymer, Library Journal

About the Author

Moira Quirk, a British actress and Earphones Award-winning narrator, co-narrated Ben Bova's Mercury and has narrated other popular audiobooks for which she received Audie Award nominations. She is a successful comedian and can be heard on Nickelodeon's cartoon My Life as a Teenage Robot as well as in The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd, The Wild Thornberrys Feature, and Serendipity, among others. She has also lent her voice to several video games, including Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction and Haunting Ground.



Daniel O'Malley graduated from Michigan State University and earned a master's degree in medieval history from Ohio State University. He then returned to his childhood home, Australia. He now works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, writing press releases for government investigations of plane crashes and runaway boats.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09HQLMKMZ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company (October 18, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 18, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1732 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 689 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,180 ratings

About the author

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Daniel O'Malley

Daniel O'Malley

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Daniel O'Malley is an Australian science fiction writer.

A graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in medieval history from Ohio State University. He works for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. His first novel, The Rook (novel), was released in 2012 and was a winner of the 2012 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,180 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully joined stories from two different times
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
Started reading directly after work on Thursday and couldn’t stop until a really embarrassing late/early hour. This is really two separate books with interweaving themes. It is beautifully put together and has great action but the key is the beautifully wrought and congruent personalities of the protagonists. As Usha reminds us “people are people”, and the author nails that.

Don’t expect a lot of Myfanwy or Odette - the pop up but that’s about all. You won’t miss them though, there are plenty of characters to keep you entertained. And the sly humour is still subtle - you read a sentence then stop reread and realise just how ridiculous it actually was.

Great work, really hope there are further planned - I feel like there’s enough material to go on for ages. And I want to know what happened with Bridget and Gerald, and Tilly, and Georgina and Pawn Seager…
5 people found this helpful
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H. Armstrong
4.0 out of 5 stars Two intriguing stories woven together
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2022
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I’ve read quite a few present day/WWII parallel storylines lately, and this one balances that divide well, with sympathetic and interesting characters and storylines on both ends. Fair warning: it’s a while before they converge, so just go with it. Also, it’s definitely a sequel. If you haven’t yet read Rook and Stiletto, read those first.

Blitz may not quite reach the level of Rook (though I admit to having a unreasonable love for Rook!), it is an engaging and fun addition to the world of the Cheque. I really enjoyed it, although I think I would rather have seen the two stories stand on their own, as a separate standalone story and it’s sequel (or prequel…you really could do it either way). But that may also just be my desire for more Daniel O’Malley books!

After starting the book on my Kindle, I found I didn’t want to put it down, so I bought the Audible version as well. As always, I adore the Whispersync functionality. The narration was superb. Moira Quirk managed to make each character feel unique and real, and I had no problem telling them apart, or feeling like she was “putting on an accent” as sometimes happens when a book has this many characters.

In short, Daniel O’Malley has another entry on my list of “books I will definitely read again.” I can’t wait for the next one.
2 people found this helpful
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T. Jolly
5.0 out of 5 stars Like two books in one.
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2023
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I really enjoyed the book, and if I had any complaint, it would be that it read as though there were two books merged together into one with alternating chapters (one in 1940 and one in modern times). The link between the two storylines wasn't really causal, and Blitz could have easily been published as two books, although now you can get two books for the price of one, so that's a good deal. It has the same intensity and action as Stiletto and Rook, so you won't be disappointed.
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RM in Tx
3.0 out of 5 stars 2 good stories that should have been published as separate novellas.
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
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These were two well written and absorbing stories, with intriguing and attractive protagonists, and well structured plots. I can see why they were published as a single, interleaved novel. But they shouldn't have been. The connection between them, while obvious from the start, was ultimately irrelevant to the plot of the earlier story, and only tenuously related to the plot of the latter story. The result is that the reader is forced to jump back and forth between stories, significantly disrupting the flow in both, but with no payoff for the disruption. Both stories are quite good, but the reading experience was much less so.
One person found this helpful
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kindle_addict53
5.0 out of 5 stars Best so far in an outstanding series
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
I love the two storylines alternating between present day and WW2 London. Normally I steer clear of WW2 plots because I am just sick of them, but this is done from such a unique perspective that I enjoyed it immensely. I really enjoyed the history of the Checquey and the insights into its inner workings. And as in the previous two, the characters are compelling and utterly believable. It's easy to believe that the Checquey exists, and that if it did, it would be exactly as described. A truly wonderful read. If you enjoy the supernatural, you will love this!
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Mags
4.0 out of 5 stars Takes a l-o-n-g time to kick the throttle.....but it gets there
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2022
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There are two stories to this book. First one, takes place during the Blitz, and concerns a team of three young women - all of whom have magical talents. Second one, is set in current times, and concerns a youngish (35) woman struggling to come to terms with her late-developing magical talent that can send bolts of killing electricity into anything metal. There is a connection between the two stories, but it comes quite late (at 85%) in the story and doesn't suddenly make everything clear.

As another reviewer says "hang in there". I almost didn't - the first 1/3 or so was a bit boring. I kept putting the book down, and going and doing much-loathed chores and was seriously considering a 2-3 star review for an author I loved. Why boring? - well, there was a prolonged lead-in to the 'meat' of the stories, plus tedious info dumps and the author kept wandering off piste and telling side-tales which allowed him to expand on the magical/monstrous creatures his fertile imagination came up with, but which didn't actually advance the two stories. Could have done with a stricter editor here.

It's not all female characters - male characters have parts to play as well, but their roles are subordinate to the women. The author's facility with the English language is on show (I had to look up a couple of his words) as is his sly humour - e.g. whilst examining a person with known magical powers that could rot any natural cloth, the doctors were wearing polyester, except for one doctor who had skipped the briefing memo and had to "abruptly excuse himself".

Then, the stories take off - lots of action, fighting, mayhem. The book became un-put-downable and so much more like its two predecessors. From then on, I really enjoyed the book and was sorry when it ended.
16 people found this helpful
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A.R. Dowling
5.0 out of 5 stars More, Please
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2023
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Excellent addition to the series. Very complex plot, superb characters, easily believable world superimposed on reality/history. Red herrings, surprises, twists and turns, this novel had a treasure trove of surprises. I enjoyed it very much.

After reading the first book, I bought the second, and this one, as soon as I knew the publication date. I’ll buy the fourth and any other books in this series to come just as quickly.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

S. MacNiven
4.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the first two
Reviewed in Canada on November 9, 2023
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This was two stories in one book, with the chapters alternating between one MC in WW2 Britain and the other MC in present-day Britain. That made it a little confusing to follow at first, but it smoothed out as it went on. The plot wasn't as easy to follow as the first two because of the two storylines.
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H T M Kenward
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the third book in a magnificent trilogy. (The Rook / Stiletto / Blitz) A masterpiece.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2023
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This is the third book in a magnificent trilogy. (The Rook / Stiletto / Blitz) A masterpiece. Read it ! This deals (among other things) with the WW2 Blitz on London; the nature of friendship and betrayal; and how "history" foreshadows later events. Yes, it has science fiction elements (secret government organisation; people with "powers"; a "secret war" that most are unaware of; and, of course, a parallel history to our own. I have NEVER anticipated the release of a new novel as much as I did "Blitz" !
2 people found this helpful
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Terry Nisbet
5.0 out of 5 stars Book
Reviewed in Australia on January 10, 2024
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Fantastic Product.
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Ken Jill
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait.
Reviewed in Australia on December 9, 2022
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A protracted wait between Books 2 and 3 of The Rook Files, but well worth the wait.
Daniel has the ability to build a great fantasy/paranormal world and people it with engaging characters. The parallel stories of Bridget and Lyn--each living in a different time period: the 1940 blitz and the present day respectively--and who have similarities which become more and more apparent as you get closer to the climax of the book. Without giving away spoilers, Daniel has enhanced his personnel of the Checquy with more outlandish and therefore useful supernatural abilities than in the two previous novels.
If I had to find fault, it was clear that the author is not English, for quite a few American terms crept into the 1940 chapters (such as truck instead of lorry, etc.); also, the criminal world in London in the 1940s would have made greater use of English slang (especially Cockney) amongst their gang members.
On a different note: I ordered copies of both the print and Kindle editions. Sadly, there were many typos in the Kindle edition not found in the print copy.
In spite of the minor flaws mentioned above, it was a wonderful book. More please!
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Ken Jill
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the wait.
Reviewed in Australia on December 9, 2022
A protracted wait between Books 2 and 3 of The Rook Files, but well worth the wait.
Daniel has the ability to build a great fantasy/paranormal world and people it with engaging characters. The parallel stories of Bridget and Lyn--each living in a different time period: the 1940 blitz and the present day respectively--and who have similarities which become more and more apparent as you get closer to the climax of the book. Without giving away spoilers, Daniel has enhanced his personnel of the Checquy with more outlandish and therefore useful supernatural abilities than in the two previous novels.
If I had to find fault, it was clear that the author is not English, for quite a few American terms crept into the 1940 chapters (such as truck instead of lorry, etc.); also, the criminal world in London in the 1940s would have made greater use of English slang (especially Cockney) amongst their gang members.
On a different note: I ordered copies of both the print and Kindle editions. Sadly, there were many typos in the Kindle edition not found in the print copy.
In spite of the minor flaws mentioned above, it was a wonderful book. More please!
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Anders
3.0 out of 5 stars Sentry Duty
Reviewed in Australia on July 15, 2023
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Long passages of waffle punctuated by frantic searing action. The Rook was fantastic, Stiletto was good and Blitz is original, fun but far too long. The connection between the parallel stories was tenuous, and Mr O’Malley might have done better to separate the stories into 2 much shorter, punchier novels.
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