This review feels a little odd to write. Not because of the book exactly but because of who it is written by. You see, The Shambling Guide to New York City is the mainstream debut of Mur Lafferty. She is the host of, amongst other things, the I Should Be Writing podcast and, at the time of writing, she’s released almost 300 episodes of writing advice. So knowing that, and listening to the podcast, there is this niggling question of can she practice what she preaches?
But talking about how to write a novel doesn’t help you actually write one and sitting in an office doesn’t make you an expert in making a guide to where coterie (monsters to you and me) hang out. And that is one aspect where Mur and her main character Zoë are alike. They are both learning by doing.
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