This book starts as historical fiction and slides into magical realism so gently I questioned my browser as to what was real and what was not.

Set in Victorian London, the narrator, Thaniel Steepleton, is a telegraph clerk in the British Home Office who one day receives a bomb threat from Irish separatists. Returning home the night of the threat, he discovers an intricate gold pocket watch, which Thaniel is unable to open. The watch has no note or clue as to its origin. Then mysteriously on the morning of the impending Irish bomb, the watch suddenly clicks open. Thaniel is both intrigued and terrified when the watch suddenly emits a piercing alarm, which takes Thaniel away from the path of the bomb and saves his life.

Thaniel seeks out the watchmaker, and soon finds Keita Mori, a Japanese master craftsman with a love for making intricate mechanical creatures. A mechanical octopus attaches itself to Thaniel’s leg. Mechanical birds perch on the counter.

Mori’s magic with the mechanical is surpassed however by his ability to see the future. Mori casually mentions to Thaniel at the end of their first meeting that on his next date he should watch out for the waiter dropping his tray. Thaniel is ready when the waiter’s grip slips and avoids catastrophe.

Thaniel realizes that Mori’s uses his abilities to create elaborate ploys to change the future. An assassination plot is hatched by pouring liquid in the base of a tree he frequently passes, thus weakening its root system until one day it falls on an unsuspecting victim.

Watchmaker is full of elaborate constructions and intricate secrets and puzzles. But it also has moments of great tenderness and intimacy. I found this the most pleasurable book I’ve read in a long time and give it a 5👍 out of 5!

I am already on my third book by Natasha Pulley. All books contain the same mix of historical fiction and magic. Some of the characters, like Mori, make repeat appearances in the series. They all share this same sense of adventure and intrigue which is hard to put down!