The Oversight by Charlie Fletcher (Oversight Trilogy #1)

10/10

When I first read the synopsis for this book I was intrigued about what kind of story I would find. I can say that I wasn’t disappointed from the prologue to the final page, which made me believe that this story has not yet come to its conclusion. But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself…

The Oversight is set in Victorian London and we are slowly introduced to the people who will guide us through this London where The Oversight protect humanity from the supranatural who would prey on them. The Oversight are people who have mixed blood, part natural and part supranatural, who have sworn to protect the natural from what lurks in the dark. The Oversight at this time consists of Sara Falk, Cook, Mr Sharp, The Smith and Hodge, all who have different powers. Their job is to maintain the balance between the worlds which has been thrown out of balance by the appearance of Lucy Harker, a girl who has large parts of her memory missing. It is Lucy’s journey of discovery that we follow here as she learns that there is more to the world she lives in than she could ever imagine. Is she purposely there to destroy The Oversight? Or are there stranger plans afoot?

In this world, if The Oversight are the good guys then there must also be opposition, who come in various different guises, all with their own nefarious plans to overthrow The Oversight, for varying reasons. Will they succeed? This is the story of whether this is The Oversight’s last stand, with the fate of London in their hands.

This is a book full of secrets and lies and each time we learn something new, we are also left with another mystery. I didn’t find this frustrating as the story is so full of wonder. The pace is good and you don’t feel that the many plot threads slow it down, in fact this broadens the scope of the novel, although there were some moments where time seemed to be happening for some characters much faster than it did for others, but again this didn’t seem like an issue whilst reading.

The story is not about good versus evil as there are many shades of grey which give the novel depth and room for characters to grow and be surprised, not only by their discoveries but what they are unable to admit to each other. If you live in a world of secrets and magic it must be hard to trust what is right in front of you.

I really loved the way The Oversight ended if there is a sequel to this then I shall be first in line to read it.