This has the classic Newford feel, even though I understand this is an attempt at more typical urban fantasy. The urban does come through, particularly in the action scenes. I could have lived without that, quite frankly.
I also thought there was too much of a parade of characters. I only read a handful of Newfords before, so some were familiar, but not all. And quite a few of them didn't seem to serve any purpose aside from recognition for loyal readers and emphasising it is a weird world. ( )

I’m a big fan of Charles de Lint and his Newford stories, most of which I’ve reread.
This new story, set in Newford, is the start of a new urban fantasy series. As de Lint himself states in the foreword, this is a much more conventional urban fantasy than his previous work - despite being hailed as the father of urban fantasy as a genre.
Unfortunately I found it a very meh read.
Starting with the good; the voice is unmistakably de Lint. And as a visit to Newford goes, it allows the reader a Quick view of almost all the characters from previous works and their happily ever after.
The issue to me is mostly that this reads like fan fiction, and Mary Sue fan fiction at that. I am not opposed to authors going fan fic in their own universes - Wen Spencers Project Elfhome is a great example of doing it right - but the Mary Sue qualities are not what I am appreciating in fan fiction. ( )

Really not his best. I'm already forgetting about it. It just didn't have that sense of magic-in-our-world that some of his other works have. Too bad; I love Newford. ( )

A wonderful visit to Newford

To be truthful, I was a little turned off by the title and the cover art. They don’t fit in with his other works — there’s no sense of fantasy or mystery.

Aside from that, I found it a very interesting story. Perhaps a little to light hearted and easy going but a must read if you are a fan of De Lint’s work or the genre. ( )

Visiting Newford time and time again is always a treat, but damn if I wasn’t excited to finally get a new book in my favourite urban fantasy town! As with all of the Newford stories, de Lint spins a tale of lightly magical adventure, populated by an eccentric cast of characters, but with Juniper Wiles we get something a bit different than the normal. The magic is still there (of course), and so are many of our favourite characters, but de Lint decides to give modernised (and magic-tinged) detective noir a spin alongside his new titular character. Juniper is an actress who made it big on a television show playing a feisty detective, before retiring from the Hollywood scene and returning to her hometown of Newford - reinventing herself as a dabbling artist after becoming friends with Jilly Coppercorn and company. But Juniper is missing out on what all of our Newford characters are all too aware of (magic!), and when an unexpected ghost comes looking for her tv-show detective alter ego she is thrown into the deep end trying to figure out who murdered him. I’m still not a big fan of detective/murder mysteries, but de Lint’s introduction of themes around fantasy worlds made real through belief (which obviously have much to do with the murder) keeps the story from straying too far from what we’ve come to expect of him, and it was a fun romp to see him explore a slightly different style of story. I don’t know if I’m really jonesing for any more stories about Coppercorn & Wiles, PIs, but Juniper and her brother Tam are some fun new cast to add to the Newford stage - and so is the mysteriously adorable bookshop keeper Nick! ( )