Nikita, a professional from the neighborhood – review of the book “Affair for a dozen lynxes”

Nikita and company

After the Nikita trilogy ended, the former exemplary Order of the Shadows soldier has gone on her way. She wandered a bit, finally settled in her own house in the suburbs, one with a lawn and even a terrace. She still accepts assignments, usually professionally. When the Affair begins , he is now healing the physical and psychological damage from the previous action. She barely recovered enough not to frown as she stood up, and a new drake appeared on the horizon.

Someone has disappeared Nikita’s neighbors, and not just any, because lynxes with military training. Specifically, Michaś’s dad and uncles, whom you probably know from stories from the world of Thorn and Wars. Yes, this little cub that some time ago, like a novice Mr. Wolf, cleaned up the corpses from a certain assassin’s yard. And which falls to her whenever he gets something good from the kitchen. It is this kid who will hire a specialist in wet work, after all, no one else can help his family.

Nikita’s neighbors are not your average petty bourgeoisie, unless you take into account the specifics of Wars. Which, unfortunately, does not make things any better – since they fell into a trap and now the rest of their relatives are unable to help them, the matter is serious. Something in her also clearly stinks, not only with burns and myrrh, but also with the stench of black magic … Nikita will have to renew contacts and ask around the city about losses and suspects. Our tough girl will return to the Miracle District, where rumors about her love life are full of rumors. Robin will also be by her side, and the witches – Michaś’s mother and aunties will also play a very important role in the whole affair.

Neighborhood chronicles

The Dozen Lynx Affair is not the story you would expect from a ruthless, lonely warrior we met in the first volume of Nikita’s adventures. And at the same time, it is a consistent development of everything that happened to her through subsequent novels and short stories. People, friends, acquaintances and generally kind people swarmed around her, for whom she would never have had the time and the desire to do. Her relationship with Brynjar has completely changed, although in this episode he will not be in the center of attention. Her world will never be as cute as the Green Jar, there aren’t even Koźlaczek in it, but more and more witches and other neighbors appear.

The latter is the key word of the Affair and the closely related collection Tests of Fire and Water , because together they form the framework of a new series, Neighborly Chronicles . You can read the novel without knowing the stories, the other way will be more difficult. Try alternately, starting with Trials and then going back to looking for lynxes, this seems to be the optimal solution. I even think that it would be great in Jadowska’s next novel to see one story from several points of view, parallel or not necessarily, without dividing it into separate texts.

The scandal for a dozen lynxes is, on the one hand, a rather dark urban fantasy and an action-packed crime story, and on the other, an unexpectedly warm (for this darkness) story about a girl with a past and the people around her. It is becoming more and more reminiscent of the Hexalogy and later, more serious matters of Dora, but also of her Exorcisms . The fact that some plots are developed in the stories slightly disturbs the dynamics of the story, especially the ending itself may seem too easy to you if you do not know the “Stella case”. Besides, it is an interesting, light detective story, a successful return to the world of Nikita in a novel.

If you fancy a family cinema with a claw, Wars and Sawa shrouded in the darkness, full of monsters – this book is for you. Even if you have no idea who Nikita is or where he lives, Neighborhood Chronicles can take you into a story full of contrasts, tender and brutal, after which you may taste the previous three novels. And for the regulars of the cities behind the gates, it is something like a blanket for an autumn evening, and maybe even hot chocolate with an insert …