Petunia 'Pete' Caldecott has never expected life to be easy, but now that she is raising her daughter Lily with her love Jack her priorities have shifted from simple survival to hoping the world her daughter lives in will have just a little less shite than it currently dishes out.

She and Jack make a basic living solving unnatural problems that crawl the streets of London, problems caused by the Black, problems the vast majority of people refuse to see. Still, when a bit of black magic or a wraith that won't stay truly dead impacts the lives of the normally oblivious, Pete and Jack are the ones called.

That relatively stable life is an illusion, though. Jack's time is ticking down, he cheated death and damnation once but the Morrigan waits in the wings to draw him to her service. Pete is a rare Weir, with powers she barely understands but those rare powers seem to be in high demand to the upper echelons of those who manipulate the Dark.

Representatives of one such group present Pete with an invitation she cannot refuse to the tenth full gathering of the Prometheus Club. Like most things in the world of magic, the invitation is a veil to what the Club truly wants, and in the vulnerable person of Lily, Pete's child, they have a threat that ensures their desires will be met. Jack and Pete are pulled into an incursion into the world beyond the known threats, plunging them into parts of Jack's past he never speaks of, amid harsh reminders of those Pete could not save.

In SOUL TRADE, the fifth in Caitlin Kittredge's Black London series she brings us back to the Black, the dark and seamy, eerie and horrifying side of England that is almost an additional character. Unlike the other books the majority of the action takes place outside of London in the bucolic countryside adding to the ominous and threatening tone of the book.

Kittredge has a gift for drawing us into horror slowly and seductively without using shock tactics. As you turn the pages you become engulfed in the world Pete inhabits, somehow heightening the sense of danger and fully engaging you in the journey.

The Black London series contains dark tales filled with Pete's battles against almost impossible odds. There are seldom clear and true 'happy-ever-afters' but at least some of the battles are won and Kittredge always provides us a solid resolution. They are among the best dark Urban Fantasy has to offer.