The Shattered Vigil by Patrick W. Carr

  After reading a lot of non-fiction lately, it was a nice change of pace to pick up this fantasy by Patrick W. Carr. The Shattered Vigil is the second book in this series. I reviewed the first book, The Shock of Night about a year ago.

I really enjoyed the first book and was excited to read what would happen the Willet and the Vigil.
Even though they had pulled through, there were so many mysteries and loose ends.

This book starts in the wake of the daring and nearly disastrous save on Bas-solas. They are trying to put right all of the wrong and hoping that the situation is contained. It quickly becomes obvious that there is a lot more to the indecent and the evil that lurks in the darkwater is expanding and active.

Willet gets involved in solving the mysterious death of a nobleman's daughter. His investigation leads him close to home and the vigil. The vigil is in danger from unseen assassins and the church itself. As they set off in different directions, they attempt to figure out what they are facing and just stay alive.

The beginning of the book felt painfully slow to me. I couldn't set the first book down, but this one lived on my nightstand for a while. I would pick it up and then lose interest and put it down. I didn't want to give up on the series altogether so I pushed through. By the time I had made it near half-way, I was genuinely intrigued and interested again.

The book finally gets going and the characters hit their stride. The addition of the urchins as apprentices added some fresh voices to the mix. I felt like their characters were among the most intriguing.  This book also features more of Gail, Willet's love interest. Her character felt very flat to me in the first book and I had hoped she would be left behind here. She is eventually added into the story line instead of just feeling like a loose-end though.

Overall this book just didn't feel as strong to me as Carr's previous works. It expands the story but it felt like it lost a lot of the first books momentum. Fans of the first book will appreciate learning more of the story, but be prepared for a slow beginning.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Bethany House.