Almost 5 months into the year I realised I have read 60+ books and have written here about 2. Would I ever catch up to the backlog? No promises. But I will definitely try and write about the books I am currently reading. The lure of the next book has been too strong, I have just been too caught up in all the amazing books that have come my way this year.

And that takes me to “Deep Dark”, a middle-grade fantasy novel, that was better than I had any expectation for it to be.

First of all, I think middle-grade books are for everyone and this one only proves that further. It has an absolutely captivating adventure through the hidden tunnels under London where a secret cult is operating. This cult is protecting The Great Bargain and a kraken-esque creature by housing it in the hidden river Fleet. The dark twist of the tale — the creature needs children to feed on.

Guess which children the guardians of this beast are taking?

The victims are unhoused, poor, often without any family and sometimes, immigrants. All of these are not the beast’s criteria for food.

The bargain helps the erstwhile London remain the center of trade and business and more importantly, prevents new businesses from taking center stage. The “how” is very interesting and I will leave it to you to read about.

This book is the introduction to Cassia Thorne mystery series and sheds light on who Cassia Thorne is, an Indian-British young girl born to an Indian mother, now dead, and a British father, now disgraced from society. Her early life in Lucknow is something she looks back on fondly and often. She is now living in the Fleet prison with her father imprisoned there and no relatives in the country that she knows of. She earns her keep singing, selling and writing ballads and teaching children from great houses to play the piano.

She finds friendship in their shared goal of uncovering the mystery of missing children in Felix Bradshaw and Teo. Felix belonging from a nouveau riche house, Teo being an Italian orphan smuggled into London to beg on the streets and Cassia having fallen from financial security to ruin due to her father’s ships lost at sea make up for an interesting trio. The social commentary across class and societal hierarchy colours all their interactions with each other. From their clothes to their mannerisms, even though they belong from the same city and live quite close by, the distinction is too great for any of them to bridge.

The injustices of the system that is only looking out for its own gain is heavily critiqued in this book. This was surprising for a middle-grade book but Zohra Nabi’s narrative style perfectly blends the exciting adventure with the more serious topics of social injustices in a Dickensian manner. This view of two Londons where one lives very aware of the other but out of touch of each other and the vanishing river Fleet flowing in the tunnels beneath the main city paints an intriguing picture of the city that was absolutely riveting to read about.

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I am on a middle-grade fantasy fiction binge and this just solidified my inclination. Have you read this one already? What other middle-grade fantasy fiction would you recommend?