The Rook (The Checquy Files, Book 1)
Stiletto (The Checquy Files, Book 2)
Blitz (The Checquy Files, Book 3)
By: Daniel O’Malley
My Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS
Best for: 18 and up

X-Men meets X-Files meets 007

If you hate having fun while you read, let me just stop you now. The Checquy Files aren’t for you.

For everyone else–that is, those who love the books that make you laugh, smile, and wish they would never end–you’ve found your next favorite book! (But do check out the content notes below…)

Familiar with the Checquay? Start here:
You’ve read both The Rook and Stiletto and want to know if Blitz lives up to the high standards they set? You want to know if I liked Blitz? You want to know if YOU should read Blitz? Here you go:

Yes. Yes. Yes!

Blitz was a different reading experience than the first two books, though. There are two stories told concurrently. The first takes place in World War II London as the city lived a war-rationed life during the day and the Luftwaffe rained bombs during the night. The second takes place in our modern day, chronologically after the events of Stiletto. Each story unfolds as the pages turn, and part of the fun of Blitz is discovering how the story of the past and the story of today connect in the end–cuz you know they’re gonna.

Both stories had the same believe-it-or-not attitude towards the often random and always curious powers and threats hidden in place site I was expecting, but I also found things a bit more serious this time around. There’s a lot of Checquy lore and history to unpack, but if you’re like me I predict you’ll enjoy the detours and nuance. This world of Daniel O’Malley’s continues to impress, and I can’t wait for the next installment!

Are you new to The Checquy? This parts for you!

Here’s what you need to know:

The Checquy (pronounced “SHEK-ay”) is a secret arm of the British government that protects all the regular Fish and Chips eating, Tube riding Brits from the very, VERY many supernatural threats they face every day.

Wait…you don’t know about all the supernatural threats?

Of course you don’t.

You can thank the Checquy for that.

They deal with all the deadly and life-threatening slimy, oozing, and otherwise disgusting, gross, sometimes smelly, often ridiculous, and always crazy threats so we don’t have to. They’re an off-the-books, government-sponsored, department of 007’s with X-Men skills…and they are very, very good at what they do.

The fun starts from page one of book one, The Rook, when a women opens her eyes in the dark and pouring rain, surrounded by dead people wearing latex gloves and having no memory of who she is or how she got there. Her only clue? A letter–written by the person who USED to live in her body–that gives her enough hints that she can start putting together the mystery of…well…her. The crazy continues in book two, Stiletto, when the greatest enemy the Checquy ever faced suddenly re-appears after decades of assumed extinction. Is the end of the Checquy? Or the beginning of a new partnership? Blitz, book three, carries on the tradition. This series is unexpected, creative, unique, and so, SO much fun!

Unfortunately you’ll need to watch out for a several instances of the F-word through all three books, and plenty of slimy (and occasionally greasy) violence. No sexual content.

If you’re okay with that, there’s a TON of fun to be had in The Checquy Files!. While the three books can each be read as a stand alone, I recommend reading them in order anyway as books 2 and 3 assume an understanding of the books that came before.

I recommend The Checquy Files as best for adults because of the language.

Boring people–don’t even bother.

Get your copy here

Happy Reading!