The Undying Legion (Crown & Key #2) by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffith

Steampunk/Urban Fantasy

From Goodreads:

A thrilling new Victorian-era urban fantasy for fans of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid Chronicles, the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and the Sherlock Holmes movies featuring Robert Downey, Jr.

With a flood of dark magic about to engulf Victorian London, can a handful of heroes vanquish a legion of the undead?

When monster-hunter Malcolm MacFarlane comes across the gruesome aftermath of a ritual murder in a London church, he enlists the help of magician-scribe Simon Archer and alchemist extraordinaire Kate Anstruther. Studying the macabre scene, they struggle to understand obscure clues in the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics carved into the victim’s heart—as well as bizarre mystical allusions to the romantic poetry of William Blake. One thing is clear: Some very potent black magic is at work.

But this human sacrifice is only the first in a series of ritualized slayings. Desperate to save lives while there is still time, Simon, Kate, and Malcolm—along with gadget geek Penny Carter and Charlotte, an adolescent werewolf—track down a necromancer who is reanimating the deceased. As the team battles an unrelenting army of undead, a powerful Egyptian mummy, and serpentine demons, the necromancer proves an elusive quarry. And when the true purpose of the ritual is revealed, the gifted allies must confront a destructive force that is positively apocalyptic.

Book two and the danger is still rolling along.  Charlotte, the werewolf who helped them in the last book, joins Simon, Kate, Malcolm, and Penny in the new fight.  Once again the forces of magic are loose in London and the human sacrifices are just the start of the evil.

The danger is different this time.  Powerful people who have been locked up for centuries are loose and trying to take back both power and control.  Malcolm makes a terrible discovery and goes to Simon, Kate and Penney for help.  Along the way they find some answers and many more questions.  Faced with some difficult choices the group moves to stop the evil they see coming into London.  As the story progresses they become more of a team.  Their decisions place them in danger but they each use their strengths to help win the fight.

Charlotte is a real problem for Malcolm as he feels that the only good werewolf is a dead werewolf and Kate has taken Charlotte under her protection.  One of the fun things in the book is watching how his interaction with Charlotte changes as the story progresses.

Watch for mysteries to be solved, some danger stopped and some magic to disappear.  There is tension, danger and adventure in The Undying Legion.  Everything is set up for the next book in the series, The Conquering Dark.

Del Rey published The Undying Legion by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffity in 2015.

I received an ARC of The Undying Legion from Netgalley in return for an honest review.