Narrated by Cornell Collins
In an effort to prevent withdrawal symptoms after finishing K.J. Charles’ A Charm of Magpies trilogy, I jumped eagerly into listening to Jackdaw, which is set in the same universe and which tells the story of Jonah Pastern, who appeared as an important secondary character in book three, Flight of Magpies. Jonah – a type of practitioner (magician) known as a Windwalker because of his ability to manipulate air currents and to literally walk on air – was instrumental in the revenge planned by an evil warlock against Lucien, Lord Crane, and Stephen Day. Jonah came across as amoral, charming and irresponsible; he may have been coerced into co-operating with the warlock, but he had his own agenda and didn’t care who got hurt in the crossfire as long as it wasn’t him.
Jackdaw opens with disgraced former policeman, Ben Spenser (using an assumed name), trying to find his erstwhile lover, the man who upended and destroyed his life. Meeting the handsome force of nature that was Jonah Pastern some six months or so earlier, and falling in love, secure in the knowledge that the feeling was returned, had been the happiest time of Ben’s life – until it all fell apart when he witnessed Jonah in the midst of a burglary at a local museum. Jonah escaped, leaving a confused, furious and brokenhearted Ben to face the consequences, not only of having shared a home with a thief, but of having had an illegal relationship (i.e. a homosexual one) with him.
Newly released from prison where he’d served ten weeks hard labour, Ben has nothing. His parents disowned him, he was thrown out of the police force and with no reputation and no references, he can’t get a decent job. The only thing sustaining him is his desire for revenge against the man who betrayed him – but first, he has to find him.
Jackdaw is somewhat different in tone from the A Charm of Magpies books in that it’s mostly a love story and the supernatural elements are kept to a minimum, but it’s a compelling listen nonetheless. It’s a story of love lost and found, of redemption, forgiveness and second chances; it’s angsty, heartbreaking and utterly beautiful in places and the central relationship is brilliantly drawn and developed. In a series of flashbacks, we witness Ben and Jonah’s first meeting, and then a number of vignettes from various stages in their life together, Jonah teasing Ben about his love of Rugby, Ben reading aloud to Jonah (who is unable to read) in the evenings… the author paints a lovely picture of domesticity and conveys a deep and strong bond between these two very different men – solid, dependable Ben and the charismatic bundle of energy that is Jonah.
Ben’s search for Jonah has led him to cross paths with the Justiciary – in particular, the five-feet of menacing power that is Stephen Day – who are also out to bring the wayward practitioner to justice. Ben agrees to help bring Jonah in if he finds him – and when Ben does eventually catch up with Jonah again, it’s not pretty. Ben doesn’t want to hear any explanations or excuses, all he wants is to lash out, to hurt and humiliate Jonah as he has been hurt and humiliated. The angry sex that follows is consensual (just about) but it proves to be something of a sort of wake-up call for Ben, who realises he’s degraded himself as much as he’s degraded Jonah by his actions. But before the pair can talk or think through the ramifications, the molly house they’re in is raided, which spells disaster for both of them. Knowing what lies in store if he’s captured by the Justiciary, Jonah prepares to run, but this time, he’s not leaving Ben behind. Against his better judgement – and unable to face the prospect of being brought up on another indecency charge – Ben flees with Jonah.
“So, we’re now on the run from the justiciary, the Metropolitan Police, a rich and ruthless man that you tried to kill, and the extremely dangerous fiancé of the woman that I tried to kill. Is that right?”
Jonah and Ben end up in a remote village on the Cornish coast, where they slowly begin to repair and rebuild what was broken between them while gradually making a place for themselves amongst the villagers. It’s not an easy fix; Ben was crushed by Jonah’s betrayal and Jonah wants desperately to make things right and doesn’t know how to – but over time, Ben allows himself to rediscover Jonah all over again and to remember exactly why he fell in love with him, while Jonah works hard to change and become the man Ben deserves.
The love story is beautifully developed and while neither Ben nor Jonah is perfect, they’re perfect for each other, which is, after all, the important thing.
“… all I want to do is to be with you. I want to walk the wind with you and come home to our bed. I want you to read to me and play rugby. I want to make you proud of me. I don’t need anything else. I don’t see why that’s so much to ask, that I could just be with you.”
I also adored catching up with Crane, Stephen and the recently-married Mr. and Mrs. Merrick – and I was impressed with the way the author turns the tables somewhat and paints them in rather an unflattering light as she shows them to us through someone else’s eyes. To Jonah, Stephen is a dangerous, unsympathetic bastard who is intent on revenge (for something Jonah did at the end of Flight of Magpies); Crane is a ruthless, uncaring aristocrat and Merrick is “his pet murderer.” Fortunately, however, towards the end of the story, Jonah and Ben get to see the sides of these characters that readers and listeners have come to love…
I enjoyed listening to Cornell Collins in the A Charm of Magpies series very much, and he’s pretty much right on the money in Jackdaw, too. He’s a talented and skilled performer who is able to bring to life a wide variety of characters and hit the right emotional notes in his narrations, and he delivers another very accomplished and nuanced performance here. Both central characters are portrayed with insight and perception – Ben’s despair and the inner darkness that’s driving him to find and punish Jonah are captured perfectly while Jonah’s desire for Ben and his need to prove his worthiness are palpable. Mr Collins’ pacing is just right, all the characters are skilfully delineated and effectively differentiated and I may have emitted a happy sigh at the reappearance of Crane and the gang, all of whom sound exactly as they did in the earlier books. The one criticism I can make of the narration is that the vocal characterisation of Jonah isn’t always consistent with his portrayal in Flight of Magpies; it’s pitched a little lower and the timbre is a little more resonant. Both those things work well to differentiate between Jonah and Ben, and, had I not listened to the audios back-to-back, I might not even have noticed it; in any case, it’s not something that spoiled my enjoyment of the listen overall.
Jackdaw boasts a glorious second-chance romance, a pair of thoroughly engaging principals and excellent narration. It’ll come as no surprise when I say it’s very highly recommended.
Caz
Buy Jackdaw by K. J. Charles on Amazon
