his is another instalment set in the creepy universe created by Gray Williams in which magic is real, demons exist, and practitioners and summoners have mostly been co-opted by organised crime.

Due to the fact that a wave of uncharacteristic liberalism has led to the automatic death penalty usually applied to those practising magic being commuted, there are now also, of course, special magic-resistant jails created to hold such people, the Strange Ways to which the title of this book alludes (Strangeways being an actual category “A” prison in Manchester).

The main plot of this novel is therefore a prison break, an attempt by the daughter of an incarcerated practitioner to liberate her mother, using her supernatural gifts to create new-fangled black-market magic-based drugs that directly impact the emotional state of the users to generate funds. All her plans are, naturally, rent asunder.
The world portrayed is an extremely seedy and depressing version of the UK convincingly bought to life. The writing is visceral, and the narrative is full of twists and turns with some impressive plot developments along the way.

I will definitely continue to read the books in this series.

A good second book in a series, I just think that the mix of real-life setting with magic isn't my kind of thing.
I really enjoy Amanda as the main character and through the mystery was brilliant.
Recommend to fans of magic realism.

I was given this book to read as an arc from Netgalley for an honest review.

I requested this book because the premise was unique and sounded amazing, in a nutshell, this is an alternate timeline fantasy book about what would happen if Magic were present in the world. It focuses on the use of Magic in the criminal underworld.
Strange Ways focusing mainly on two characters, Amanda Coleman, who is a criminal who has tried to get out of that life but keeps getting pulled back in. She is in prison because of the things she has done and is given a job to assassinate another inmate. On top this she is grieving and struggling to come to terms with the grief and fallout of the first book.
The other character is Michaela, Amanda’s daughter, trying to live her life in London and not repeat the mistakes her Mother made whilst being pulled into that world.
In order to review this story, I bought and read the first book and I must say this is a big improvement. I enjoyed the first book, it was fun action filled adventure story and this book builds on that, exploring the characters more whilst also keeping the fun plot moving forward.
Another strength of the book is the Magic system. It is well thought out and feels realistic in this world (well as realistic as Magic can be).
In summary this is a good fun filled story and the series is showing loads of potential and is improving with each book leaving me excited about what is to come.

A very modern and fast paced fantasy. Magic abounds in this story for good and evil. A great read for the young adult with an active imagination and the older adult who just loves a quick moving story with magic, a measure of aggression and a dystopian element. Love the title!

Strange Ways lacks the claustrophobic intensity of The End of the Line - this is a good thing as it also gallops along at a breakneck pace but allowed me to breathe at the same time.

Much like the first this book had no heroes, only desperate people willing to do whatever it takes to keep their loved ones safe, gain revenge or enrich themselves. Gray Williams has created a world distinct from others in the paranormal mystery sphere and it is one that I love visiting. You will too!

This mix of urban fantasy and thriller was a gripping and fascinating read.
I liked the well thought world building, the fleshed out characters and the plot that kept me hooked.
Can't wait to read the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Strange Ways is the second book in the Black Market Magic series and although I didn't enjoy the first instalment I wanted to give it another chance due to the refreshing originality of the author's ideas; I'm glad I did as this was a lot better in terms of execution and will have you enthralled throughout. A few years after her perilous journey through Siberia to kill a demon accidentally raised by an Abra hired by her criminal crew, Amanda is back in her native Britain with an even bigger mission to carry out; a personal mission that must be completed in order to keep her daughter, Michaela, safe. Gaining access to Coldwater, a British prison akin to Alcatraz in that it is almost impossible to escape, a place filled with dangerous mages, she must assassinate one of the slammers most notorious prisoners. Little does she know that there are many enemies from her past residing there making the assignment her most complex to date.

This is a powerful, dark and chilling supernatural thriller and makes a welcome change from straightforward crime thrillers as it allows you to escape to a different world for a few hours. What I particularly enjoyed about this second instalment is that the world was much more fleshed out than in the first book where it felt far too sparse and unfinished. It isn't necessary to have read the previous novel before this as they were written to stand well on their own. It's a fast-paced affair that captures your imagination right from the start and make no mistake this pull no punches plot is bloody and exhilarating with plenty of heart in your mouth moments to keep you captivated. It's chock full of excitement and action and the characters are much more developed than in the first book. Amanda is a fierce, strong woman who is easy to respect and relate to despite her being a criminal. Many thanks to Canelo for an ARC.

This is the second book from Gray Williams set in his world where magic use is common, and expands really nicely from the first one. After The End of The Line I wasn't sure where a sequel would go, but this was a great read. Unlike the first one, which was a mystery that unravelled as you read, switching from past to present and vice versa, this is a linear story but the structure allows for much more detail to be added to the world and situation in general, making it feel like a much more realised setting. There are two main plot strands that are closely linked together, and this changes the focus of the story from a mystery to an out and out thriller. The author also does a great job at building a sense of what the wider world is like, but stays very focused on the stories of the two main protagonists. The returning character of Amanda is written very much as a continuation of where we left her in the last book, but she also has gone through, and continues to go through, character growth in this story.

I enjoyed this a lot, and see there is tons of scope for more stories in this world, I look forward to reading more.

I enjoyed the first book but felt a bit disconnected by the authors style. This one was better but I still ran aground on the style issue. Can't put my finger on what it was but some ingredient I personally needed was missing. I would like to say how much I love the magic system though - there are always consequences and I love this type of magic which straddles a line between science and innate occult ability.

Strange Ways is a story of guilt and grief, and how you deal with them in an unjust world. It's about personal choices and political choices and taking the higher ground... or not... in a dark, gritty London full of illegal magic.

In some ways, Strange Ways can be read metaphorically. Amidst the Coleman family drama is the underlying question of justice for the oppressed; in this case, magic users. Karina Khurana appears in The End of the Line, but I don't remember much about her there. Here, she's much more central to the story--her political fight to legalise magic forms one of the core themes of this thriller.

In her fight for magic users' rights, Karina ends up having to act as a sort of "model minority" (model politician?), living under the scrutiny of the nation to prove that magic users are not inherently evil; magic can and is being used for good. As fiction, it's easy to skim over. Magic isn't real, after all. But there's always truth to fiction.

In our current living dystopia, the tension is real: when the laws (written or unwritten, constitutional or societal) are unjust and violence erupts (no matter who starts it or how it starts), where do you draw the line between continuing to claim the moral high ground (you must never give them grounds to accuse you) and retaliating to protect yourself (staying alive vs being a martyr)? Where's that turning point that says now it's okay for you to fight back, not just in words but in action? And once violence has started, who stops it? What's the best way to fight for a right? Do you keep playing by the rules? When do you throw the rules away and agitate for new ones?

In the midst of these charged times, these are especially important and pertinent questions. Violence isn't the answer, but sometimes violence can bring you to an answer. How this looks like in real life is what everyone needs to decide for themselves.

Williams explores this in how Amanda, Karina, Michaela and Steph react to the situations they find themselves in. There's no clear-cut right or wrong; like life, such decisions are messy and ambiguous--and often full of compromise. There's a divide between how the older generation react versus how the younger ones do. Yet the clearest chasm comes in Karina's accusation: 'You were willing to kill for what's important to you. Well, I'm willing to die for what's important to me.'

I'm probably overthinking this thriller, but that's what books are for. At any rate, I liked Strange Ways so much better than The End of the Line mostly because it's dealing solely with magic, and not the demonic aspect that was the core of the first book. Or so I tell myself.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Canelo via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A worthy successor continuing the story started by Gray William's book "The End of the Line". The author has created an imaginative and novel alternate world where magic is widespread and dangerous. The characters, many first met in the original book, are well drawn and the originality of the narrative is fed by the complexity of the human response to deadly peril. The use of magic is dealt with as though it were a cross between a science and an occult ability but the use of it always has consequences. The struggle to contain the personal cost to herself and those she loves gives this adventure depth as well as excitement.

In Strange Ways the story of Amanda Coleman continues but instead of Russia, the story takes the reader to the United Kingdom, to a prison called Coldwater. It’s been two years since Amanda came back from Russia but she hasn’t changed one bit. She got in prison in the first place because she stayed being a criminal. And now she has to go on being one to save her daughter: she has to assassinate someone in Coldwater. And to complicate things she meets there people from her past she never thought she would see again.

When I read the first book I didn’t like Amanda at all or any other characters for that matter. But Strange Ways changed that. The last couple of chapters did. Amanda is a strong-headed woman, someone who is willing to go through hell to right the wrongs she did or caused in the first book. She is a criminal, yes, but as the story goes and Amanda tries to negotiate her way through her new life in Coldwater I came to respect her and even relate to her. She is also a mother, a grieving wife and mother who lost two out of her three children.

The story also focuses on Michaela, Amanda’s teenage daughter. She is in London, trying to have a life, alone. She can do magic too, it’s in her blood so to speak. She desperately wants to not become like her mother but she ends up in the same business anyway. She turns out to be a strong and brave young woman who has principles.

The magic in Grey Williams’s book is spectacular. It is complex, bloody and comes with a price.

There isn’t a boring part in this book, it’s exciting, action-packed, has strong emotions and well-developed characters.

I’m curious what will happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for my copy.

Strange Ways by Gray Williams is a follow up to "The End of The Line" , his previous urban fantasy tale set in a London where magic has been banned and Abras or magicians operate outside the law , often as part of a criminal enterprise. If you haven't already read The End of The Line , I would definitely recommend picking it up first, as not only does it provide good background and world building which will enhance your enjoyment of this book, it is also where we meet for the first time some of the characters that are the focus of this book.
We are reunited with Amanda, a con artist who hates magicians enough to be known as an Abra killer, something that will prove to be an impediment when she is blackmailed into getting into an Abra prison, "Coldwater", where she must assassinate one of its most famous residents if she wants to save her daughter. Set on a remote island and hosting only magical prisoners, this experimental prison is impossible to escape , and Amanda knows her welcome is bound to be frosty given her past, If she cannot figure out who to trust in time, she may end up trapped and her daughter may end up dead.
Amanda is still the fun and sharp character we met in the first book, and now we see more of her protective maternal side. The plot is multilayered ,and like Amanda, at times the reader does not know who to trust. I absolutely loved the idea of the prison setting and I think the author does a good job with it. The constrained setting focuses the action, but at times it still felt a little confusing with the various factions within the prison.
Overall another good book from Mr Williams as he continues to expand his world,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

I struggled with Strange Ways. The blurb sounded exciting but the story didn't pan out that way. As a reader, I felt I was missing something, you know like the way if you jump into a series halfway through? There was no connection with the characters, no reason to like or hate them. The story starts with a chapter from Miranda's point of view which was quite interesting but the next few chapters are from a different character, Amanda, and take place inside a prison. The character names are confusing too. We get Amanda and Anderson in the prison, then a while later we get Duncan and Drummond, and as a reader this ended up getting confusing. The fact that there was no backstory or connection with any of the characters didn't help. Then we had Harry and when he was introduced into the story it was as if the reader already knew why Amanda and him were enemies even though the reader wasn't privy to the information. By 40% I had not idea why Amanda was doing what she was doing, what her motivations were, and I struggled to continue with the story. What could have been a really great story ended up being barely readable because of the lack of connection. I really did think this was book 2 or 3 of a series and had to double check. It's a shame because the premise for the story is great.

Strange Ways by Gray Williams is an interesting book with a new magical system with properties that I’d not read about before, so that, in itself was intriguing and interesting, but I found myself struggling to connect with the characters, which really annoyed me, as I LOVE prison-based stories.the cliques, The gangs, the guards. The behaviour choices of those in confinement and how it becomes a new way of life. A new normal.
I’d had such high hopes for this book, but perhaps they were too high as I just felt that. It didn’t deliver for me.
However, the writing was good and it moved me along at a pace and it might just be the perfect book for someone else.

Fast moving thriller that grips you from the start a outstanding characters hardhiting novel that is fast paced one of the best books I've read this year