Agents of Winter

Agents of Winter (2022) Ada Maria Soto (The Agency)

I was slightly worried I wasn’t going to enjoy this anywhere near as much as His Quiet Agent, which I adore.

It is different from the first story, His Quiet Agent, and also from the short story Merlin in the Library.

But it is definitely the characters I remember and love.

Martin is still struggling with the aftermath of his The Incident and his concussion.

He needed to focus, and then he could get to the pills and maybe knock himself out before the pain left him curled up on the bathroom floor. The doctors assured him that his brain was healing. That he could get through even a few pages of text without a debilitating headache was a positive sign, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d never had a migraine in his life until his second week back at the office when he found himself vomiting in pain and unable to open his eyes due to the light.

Arthur is preparing to head home for Christmas, so his mother doesn’t have the spend it alone–and also so he can see his half-sisters.

The two are still also coming to terms with their relationship–as odd as it is to both them and to others.

“I’m sorry, which one is B-837?”

“Romantic or sexual involvement with another agency employee or contractor.”

“I… um…” Arthur felt his cheeks flush and didn’t know what to say. It had never crossed his mind to fill out the “Fucking Form” as it was referred to by the crasser employees. employees. His and Martin’s relationship had slid from friendship into something deeper and intertwined so smoothly that there was never a date he could point to on a calendar and say ‘Yes, here is where our relationship began and I will put that into box 14A.’

“So, who is this Arthur?”

“My friend.”

“Don’t lie to your lawyer.”

“He-” Is the name I put on form B-837.

“Is someone who accepts me exactly as I am and has my heart for it.”

We finally learn Martin’s history, and although it was in places terrible, there were people who cared for him, and we meet some of those who knew him.

I already want to reread this, and has trouble stopping myself while perusing the book for the quotes I wanted to use.

Publisher: Rookery Publishing

Rating: 8.5/10

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