This is the second book in a companion series, which serves as a prequel to the Charlie Bone books, giving readers the back story on who the Red King was and where he came from.  The characters are likable, the plot is engaging, and the book manages to avoid one of my pet peeves with series books: in a brief prologue and snippets explained as they pop up in the story, the author manages to explain enough of what happened in the first book in the series so that this story manages to stand alone: readers (like myself) who pick up this book without having read the first book in the series will still be able to enjoy the story independently — though they may find themselves intrigued enough to want to seek out the other book, they won’t be lost reading this one.