Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.
Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?
Review *I haven't included any spoilers for this book but this is the fifth and final instalment in a series so there WILL be some for earlier books - sorry!*
I've been staring at a blinking cursor for quite some time now (over the course of many evenings) trying to work out how to write a review to this that isn't a re-hashing of everything I've already said about the earlier instalments, which was when it occurred to me that, as much as I've enjoyed it, I'm actually kind of glad that this is the last. The series manages to end on a high note, before the style and structure of the stories that we've come to know and love became too familiar. I don't think that there's much more that an author can hope for when tying up the loose ends for the characters readers have come to love and I do hate it when a series goes on so long that I've lost all interest in it by the time it comes to a close.