The Insides

This is Jeremy Bushnell's 2nd novel; I blogged about the first, The Weirdness, a few weeks back. I liked the first book but I like this one even more. The characters are fully realized and some are truly likeable, whereas others are empathy-worthy or detestable. In other words, they engage you. As Bushnell says on his web page, this is "about knives, meat, weird portals, witches, monsters, and racists."
Ollie is a highly accomplished butcher, in the most ordinary sense of the word, working for a high-end NYC restaurant called Carnage that stakes claim to unusual preparations of a wide variety of meats. All day long, she wields her knives taking apart carcasses in elegant fashion and finds the work satisfying. She is in an informal competition with Guychardson, who helps out on weekends, and while she is clearly the more accomplished butcher, he always seems to finish before she does. She thinks it might be because his knife is magical.  She would know because she used to be a street magician before she married, moved to an organic farm and had a kid. But that is all in the past and she has distanced herself from magic. However, a racist thug who delights in wearing a wooden pig mask, desperately wants Guychardson's knife--which may not be a knife at all but a piece of a legendary World Sword--and is happy to kill people to get it. Pig's partner in seeking the knife has engaged the services of a psychic, Maja, who can find anything. So now, wherever the knife goes, Maja and Pig are not far behind. This is an intriguing plot line, lots of fanciful magic elements and an alternate world thrown in for good measure. Absolutely enjoyable read. A review from Publishers Weekly and from The Washington Post.