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Claire Harris
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THE ROOK

Daniel O'Malley

A quick witted thriller in the tradition of THE EYRE AFFAIR and THE RAW SHARK TEXTS.
Myfanwy Thomas awakes in a London park surrounded by dead bodies. With her memory gone, her only hope of survival is to trust the instructions left in her pocket by her former self. She quickly learns that she is a Rook, a high-level operative in a secret agency that protects the world from supernatural threats. But there is a mole inside the organization and this person wants her dead.

As Myfanwy battles to save herself, she encounters a person with four bodies, a woman who can enter her dreams, children transformed into deadly fighters, and an unimaginably vast conspiracy. Suspenseful and hilarious, THE ROOK is an outrageously inventive debut for readers who like their espionage with a dollop of purple slime.

Dan 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.
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Book

Published 2012-01-01 by Little, Brown & Company

Book

Published 2012-01-01 by Little, Brown & Company

Comments

Once I picked up THE ROOK, my weekend reading plans were totally derailed, so my congratulations to Mr. O'Malley. I'm always waiting for the book that crosses fantasy and reality in the right way, and this was it for me - great world-building, totally charming, and finally addresses a truth we had all long suspected: that modeling your secret organization after a chess board sounds cool but gets really awkward after a while.

The Rook is just outrageously good. It gives us a rich secret world to play in, and a sympathetic, superpowered and frequently hilarious heroine to play in it with. What more can you ask from a novel? Reader, The Rook will capture you.

Myfanwy (rhymes with "Tiffany") Thomas wakes up in a London park surrounded by dead men, all wearing latex gloves. She has no idea who she is or how she got there. She finds two letters in the pocket of her jacket from her body's former owner. The first tells her the body is now hers and warns of danger. Myfanwy is a Rook, a high-level operative in a clandestine security force charged with protecting Britain from supernatural forces, and there's a mole in the organization who's trying to kill her. Possessed of her own supernatural powers, underestimated until now, Myfanwy proves unexpectedly resourceful and is soon kicking butt with the best of them. The pace never lets up in this entertaining high-action read. VERDICT: First-time novelist O'Malley has fashioned a near-perfect supernatural thriller. The heroine is appealing, the villains all monsters or freaks, and something unexpected happens on almost every page. Don't start this book unlessyou've got lots of time, because you won't want to put it down.It's that good.

Lionsgate purchased film rights to and is now producing a TV show based on THE ROOK by Daniel O’Malley! The show will begin broadcast on the network STARZ next year. Lionsgate is handling distribution worldwide; so far we know the show will air on BBC in the UK. Stephanie Meyer (Twilight) and Stephen Garrett (The Night Manager) are executive producing. Read more...

Brazil (Leya Editora), Taiwan (Azoth Books), China (Beijing Pengfeiyili), the Czech Republic (Baronet), Holland (De Boekerij), France (Editions Sonatine), Hungary (Konyvmolykepzo), Italy (Piemme), Poland (Papierowy), and Turkey (April Books Publishing Co.)