Red Glove/Holly Black

Red Glove by Holly Black (Curse Workers, book 2); young adult, crime, urban fantasy; 336 pages.

I'm just going to start out this review with a warning: Don't read this if you haven't read the first book, White Cat. The best part about the first book is the twist at the end, and since that twist affects most of the plot of this book, there's no way I can write this review without giving away something. So if you plan to read this (and why wouldn't you? This is Holly Black we're talking about!), start with the first book, and save this review for later.

Okay, now that the newbies are gone, I just have to say that this book rocked. Not quite as much as the first book, but this book suffers from the middle child syndrome so common to the second book in a trilogy: all the characters have been introduced, but there's no real conclusion to the story; in fact, there can't be, since much of this book is just setting up for the third (I'm assuming this is a trilogy, since that makes the most sense; of course, I would love to see Black flesh out this world a little more with another story set here, but I'll take what I can get). Anyway, the plot: Cassel is back at school, and so is Lila, still reeling from the effects of the curse laid on her at the end of the White Cat. Meanwhile, Cassel is approached by federal agents with disturbing news, and an offer he can't refuse: help them track down is brother's killer, and they'll grant him protection from the mob families clamoring for his abilities. But Cassel was born and raised in a crime family--can he really sell out his own people?

The cons here weren't quite as spectacular as in the first book, or maybe I was just on my guard, so I saw them coming this time. Even so, I had a lot of fun watching a con artist at work (and "artist" is the right term for what Cassel and his family do). I just have to say that the wait for the next book is going to be way too long.