A Case of Possession

Not quite as satisfying as the first book but still a great story about magic and mayhem.
There was a little bit of drama between Crane and Stephen that was a bit annoying but I suppose it was the author's attempt at making the characters more realistic and relatable so I can understand its purpose. I also found the mystery here to not be as interesting (perhaps because it was less magical until the very end), and was a little uncomfortable with the Chinese imagery being shoehorned into this very Victorian English POV.
While it was nice to see more of Stephen's work and colleagues, I would like to see more of what it is exactly Crane does. It seems that everyone white he worked with in China also finds themselves now back in London and it's a bit odd and convenient to the plot here.
Overall a solid read but is really only for those who find themselves invested in these characters after the first book, because that can be read as a standalone.

Like the first book in the series I flew through this book. The K.J. Charles did an excellent job of balancing the characters in this book and allowing them room to more fully develop. The crime they were trying to solve in this book came to a much more satisfactory conclusion than the first one, in my opinion. Look forward to reading more by K.J. Charles.