When I read Copper Script, I posted about it on BlueSky, and a bunch of my GO friends thought it sounded like it could be GO fanfic. Ironic, given that I see that in a lot of the tradpub queer books I read, but not that one. But then one friend asked me if I’d read Slippery Creatures by the same author, saying it was extremely GO-coded, and obviously I had to check that out. She wasn’t wrong. Will Darling has just inherited an antiquarian bookshop packed with disorganized shelves from an uncle who didn’t like to sell books. Kim Secretan is a posh, disgraced aristocrat currently involved in shady dealings that may or may not be legitimate. There are a bunch of catchphrases that mirror the book/show and the characters, and a lot of little touchstones. Couldn’t say if it’s deliberate or a coincidence, but it tickled me, and I ended up reading all three of the books back to back.

Slippery Creatures
In this first book, Will Darling has just inherited his bookshop when he starts receiving threats from both a shady organization and the war office. He refuses to cooperate with either, because he doesn’t have the information they seek – it died with his uncle. When a thug shows up to trash his shop, looking for the information that Will supposedly has, he’s rescued by a passerby – Kim Secretan, a well-dressed, posh man who is intrigued by the puzzle Will has found himself a part of. Only Kim isn’t who he says he is, and this game of intrigue, sex, and Shakespeare turns into lies, betrayal, kidnapping, and murder. While I didn’t like this book as much as Copper Script, I really enjoyed it, and I think the only reason I didn’t like it more was because it was all from Will’s POV rather than alternating. Of course, that was necessary for all of Kim’s shady nebulous dealings.

The Sugared Game
This story picks up a few months after Slippery Creatures. Kim has disappeared again, leaving Will annoyed and frustrated. And bored. He goes out for a night with his friend Maisie, only to find himself at a very shady nightclub…and then Kim shows up again, asking for his help in taking the club down. As usual, Kim isn’t telling the full truth, but as the two of them get closer and Kim’s personal life begins to unravel, Will finally starts to discover just how deep this mystery runs, and how much it’ll hurt the people he loves. I loved this book so much, far more than the first one, and didn’t hesitate for a moment before I snatched up the third book in the series and began to read again. Seeing the vulnerable side of Kim, seeing him truly open up, was absolutely the best, as well as to watch Will go into feral-protective mode. *melt*

Subtle Blood
Okay, I’m going to whine a lot now because this series is over and I want ten more books of it. I have not been so obsessed with a series of books in AGES and these are just phenomenal! In this book, Will and Kim are trying to lay low, but Kim’s brother is accused of murder and then Will is framed for another, so they’re all dragged back into shadowy cat-and-mouse games with aristocrats and/or psychopaths. It’s rather exciting and there still wasn’t nearly enough by the end. Sigh.

To note: There are a couple little mini-stories that the author put out at one point, but I have no idea if they’re still available and I’m going to do everything I can to get my hands on them. [Update: I went looking, and they’re all available on the author’s website, hurrah!] And I might end up diving into fanfic that isn’t just Good Omens… While I originally said that I liked Copper Script better than Slippery Creatures, the trilogy won me over completely, and I might just slip back into re-listening to them for a bit…

Performance: All three books were read by Cornell Collins. I did enjoy his narration, though I had to listen to it a lot slower than usual because he mumbles in places and I find it difficult to follow at times, especially when the prose is dialog-heavy. He does a great job at all the accents though.