WINTER OF THE GODS

A follow-up to The Immortals (2016) in which ancient Greek gods assume 21st-century identities and band together to fight a threat to their millennia-old existence.

The last time we saw Selene DiSilva—or, to call her by her ancient name, Artemis—she and her sidekick, classics professor Theo Schultz, were trying to get to the bottom of who was sacrificing women in a series of murders copycatting ancient Greek rituals in New York City. Now, a scant three months later, there is another murder—this time, a man has been found atop the Charging Bull sculpture in the Financial District, his heart removed and a series of animal corpses encircling him. The police call on the expertise of Selene and Theo, thinking perhaps the same mystery cult has resumed killing its followers. But Selene and Theo know better. The newest victim isn’t a mortal at all—someone is targeting Selene’s family, the gods themselves (whose immortality technically deserves air quotes). And readers who may have been rooting for a romance to develop between Selene and her brainy sidekick will get their wish, though Selene struggles with Artemis’ rigid devotion to her reputation as a virgin goddess. As before, Brodsky demonstrates an impressive knowledge of ancient history and religion, balancing arcane details with a plot that rivals any blockbuster action flick. Her clumsy reliance on stereotype can grate, though—the book’s Latina character speaks Spanglish and has an apartment that “smelled like chiles” while a “fey” character has breath that smelled “just a little like semen.” But for those capable of putting this to the side, the novel can be campy fun, especially for lovers of Greek myth or of Brodsky’s other area of expertise: New York City.

A preposterous page-turner.