Meticulous Jones and the Skull Tattoo (Inkbound #1)

Leathley, Philippa. Meticulous Jones and the Skull Tattoo (Inkbound #1)
January 28, 2025 by HarperCollins

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Meticulous Jones (Metty) and her father, Captain Moral Jones, are traveling on the London Underground, but Metty doesn't see their stop,  Darkwell. They are heading to visit Madame LeBeau, who for Metty's tenth birthday is supposed to reveal her fate. Everyone gets one, even though magic has been strictly controlled in London for decades. The train doesn't stop at the end of the line, and the two soon find themselves in an underground part of London that feels very Gothic. At LeBeau's, Metty's mother, Daphne Wollf, shows up, but isn't really the warm and supportive mother one would want. Metty meets another ten year old, Benedict Finch, who ends up with what looks like a money bag on his wrist. Metty, however, ends up with a skull being held by a gloved hand, which she interprets to mean (with the help of the guidebook she keeps by her side) that she will be a murderer, and probably have to spend her days among the ill-fated. Her father feels the same way, and moves the household to Wales. Her father goes missing, and since the housekeeper Mrs. Pope won't give her any information, Metty keeps working on her list of people she might kill, and the reasons they might be first on the list. She also steals Mrs. Pope's tether, a magical glove that can connect children to a magical network of ink through their tattoo. This has an interesting effect, and Metty manages to conjure quite a storm, and also call her Aunt Magnificent to the house. Mag decides to take Metty with her, but won't answer any questions about her father. Before she knows it, Metty is on the flying, magical city of New London, where her Aunt lives in Highfate at Winter's Knock. Her aunt is not very forthcoming with any information at all, but gets Metty settled in to the house, along with Pumpkin, Metty's gargoyle that she brought from Wales but who is illegal in New London because it's illegal to bring inanimate objects to life! Metty meets Sahar, a ghost, who teaches her how to use the Snack Pocket but does not tell her how much all of the food it provides costs! Everything in New London runs on magic ink, and the place is not without problems. For years, the Black Moth organization has been fighting against the system, angry that magic is expensive and not available as easily to everyone. Aunt Mag still won't help Metty with finding her father, which leads to Metty running off frequently. She does get her own tether, but when she steps outside the shop with it, it's stolen. She hunts down the thief, who is a girl her age names Faith who comes in handy on other adventures. Metty is still also convinced that her fate is to be a murderer, and no one disabuses her of this notion. After several ill-fated attempts to find her father, she starts to realize that he is in the clutches of the Black Moths, most likely because of her rare fate. When a surprising member of the evil organization surfaces, Metty knows that she must find her father and find against the Black Moths, with or without the help of her aunt. This looks to be the first book in a series of at least two. 

Strengths: This had many traditional elements of middle grade fantasy; Metty is aware of her powers of a certain age, magic is restricted and problematic, she has to fight the forces of evil, and she has a familiar in the animated gargoyle Pumpkin. There are some fun things, like the Snack Pocket, but this has a fairly dark feel to it that will appeal to fans of Aldridge's Deephaven or Alexander's Gallowgate. Metty is very headstrong, and determined to do what she wants to do, which will be very appealing to young readers. 
Weaknesses: So many of Metty's problems could have been resolved if her aunt had just talked to her, especially about her tattoo. It was VERY concerning that Metty is shown making a list of people she would kill and the reasons they should die; if a student had something like that at school, the police would be involved. This is just something that cannot be done in today's climate. 
What I really think: If your library has insatiable fantasy readers who can't get enough of titles like Townsend's The Trials of Morrigan Crow, Nichol's The Apprentice Witch, Bell's The Crooked Sixpence, or Hannibal's The Lost Property Office, this is an excellent choice to keep them reading. I just don't have the audience for this one.