Green-Eyed Monster

Green-Eyed Monster is the fifth Widdershins book. Mal, Wolfe, and Ben return as the protagonists. The deadly sin is Envy. It introduces Dominik Voss, the antagonist of this book (who later becomes an ally in Curtain Call) and Wolfe's rival from their time in the Prussian army together. Voss strikes a deal with Envy to be able to steal the talents of anyone he looks at, in return for bringing it to Widdershins and helping it perform a human sacrifice to summon Wrath.

Blurb
Easy-going violinist Heinrich Wolfe is the last person you'd expect to have any sort of enemy. Unfortunately for him, his effortless charm and grace is almost too effortless for the liking of a former friend, Dominik Voss. Consumed by envy, Voss makes a deadly deal with a cunning spirit, and now far more than their friendship is at stake...

A monster is coming to Widdershins, and it's down to Wolfe and his colleagues - a fussy wizard and a grumpy yet gifted vagrant - to discover what it wants, and how to stop it.

Plot Summary
The book starts with a flashback to 1831, three years ago. Dominik Voss, a young Prussian man, is fired from yet another job and kicked out of home, leaving him no choice but to join the army. There he meets Heinrich Wolfe, who is also unhappy about being in the army but felt forced to join because of family tradition. They decide to be friends, but Voss soon becomes jealous of how easily Wolfe excels at everything, while he struggles.

When Wolfe is chosen for a special mission to identify the leader of some local rebels, Voss volunteers too. While staking out the town, they see the rebels capture Jack O’Malley, who stole some bread because he was hungry. Lowe appears to calm the rebels and free Mal, and the Sergeant orders Wolfe to take the opportunity to shoot her. Wolfe refuses, but Voss leaps at the chance to prove himself and takes the shot. Wolfe knocks his gun out of the way, causing him to narrowly miss Lowe but instead shoot Mal in the neck. Wolfe rescues Mal, deserting the army, and patches him up in the forest. Voss hunts them down and tricks Wolfe into returning despite Mal’s warnings. On return to the army camp, Wolfe is captured, but soon rescued by Lowe and Mal. They escape, and Wolfe and Mal begins their travels together.

As punishment for the whole fisasco, Voss is given the undesirable assignment of travelling to Chomolungma, the Mountain Anchor, to “assess” it. A woman (who is later revealed to be Arpana Sherpa, the Mountain Witch) warns him it isn’t safe for him to get close to the anchor which such strong emotions, but Voss ignores her. He immediately accidentally summons Envy, which takes the form of a fox. It taunts Voss about his lack of talent and promises it can help as long as Voss takes it to Widdershins. Voss agrees and Envy binds itself to a green gem pulled off a cushion before semi-possessing Voss, blinding him in one eye. Voss discovers he now has the ability to steal the talent of anyone just by looking at them.

Back in 1834, Benjamin Thackerey is busy trying to teach Mal summons, but it quickly ends in bickering. Part of the reason Ben is so anxious to teach him is because the malform removal business has been struggling lately, but Wolfe assures them both things will pick up soon. This is immediately proven wrong as Voss, now wealthy and famous due to his stolen talents, arrives in town. Envy demands Voss fulfil his end of the bargain and do what it wants, but Voss is distracted by noticing the advert for the malform removal service in the paper, including Wolfe’s name. He begs Envy for some time to deal with Wolfe, and Envy agrees, enjoying the jealousy Wolfe causes in Voss.

The malform removers visit Deosil Brewery for a job, but while dealing with it, they are interrupted by Voss who reveals he now owns the brewery. He pretends not to recognise Wolfe, and tries to show off his wealth and travel to him, but Wolfe is just pleased for his old friend. The malform tries to warn Mal about Envy, but it stays hidden in the shadows. Voss calls in his own team of malform removers who efficiently deal with equipment Voss invented (using stolen talent) and obscure Mal’s view with powder so he can’t see Envy. Wolfe wishes Voss well and they all leave.

Over the next few weeks, many of the malform removers’ jobs are taken by Voss’ men instead. They run into Captain Nicola Barber, who is investigating Voss, and Wolfe offers to bring her as his guest to Voss’ mansion to look around. Nicola discovers a newspaper clipping about Henry Barber in Voss’ office. Envy makes Voss invite both to his big party tonight.

Meanwhile, Mal and Ben break into the brewery to do their own investigation. They find plans for a big summons, but are interrupted by Voss. He tries to steal Mal’s Sight, but Ben tackles him and disrupts the spell. They’re both knocked unconscious, and Voss ties them up and leaves them in a barrel.

While Ben and Mal attempt to escape the barrel, Wolfe is surprised to find Voss show up on his doorstep. They go to a pub called The Hunter's Folly, and Wolfe attempts to help Voss, who is beginning to regret everything, saying he should make his own choices in life. Voss borrows the violins from the performers in the pub and challenges Wolfe to match his own (stolen) talent, but Wolfe declines, preferring a duet together.

After escaping the barrel, Mal and Ben realise the Sight has transferred to Ben. Mal appreciates seeing colour for the first time but finds it unsettling to see people without their spirits, while Ben is scared and overwhelmed by the spirits he sees. They find Wolfe in the pub but Ben is knocked unconscious by the crowd. Voss leaves, warning Wolfe not to come to the party, and Wolfe helps Mal carry Ben home.

After explaining things to Wolfe, the boys realise Voss and Envy are trying to summon Wrath, and need a Barber there. They make a plan and get ready for the party, cutting Ben’s hair which is tangled from the cider in the barrel. At the party, they split up. Mal gets Nicola to leave with him, while Ben and Wolfe search for Voss’ equipment. Wolfe is distracted by meeting Florence de Montfort, who he flirts and dances with.

On their way to the station, Nicola questions Mal about Voss and realises that he might have use for Florrie, who is still at the party. She tries to rush back to get her, but they are attacked by Voss’ men. Nicola is able to take them down, but they incapacitate her with powder. She sends Mal ahead and promises to catch up soon.

In the mansion, Ben follows Envy to a room and gets locked in. Mal finds him just as he’s climbing out the window. Wolfe and Florrie find Voss, but he pulls a gun on them and forces them to follow him into the gardens, where there is a large summoning circle for Wrath. Wolfe promises to help Voss avoid having to hurt anyone and almost gets through to him, when Envy takes possession of his body. It angers Florrie enough to start the summon of Wrath, who demands a sacrifice. Envy lights a fuse leading to the house. Ben and Mal are heading towards the summoning when they see the lit fuse. Ben asks The Purple Hippo of Happiness for help in extinguishing it, saving everyone inside.

With the sacrifice offering foiled, Envy attempts to beat Wolfe to death as an offering to Wrath instead, but Voss breaks through for a moment and tells Wolfe the gem is Envy’s anchor. Voss shoots the gem, releasing Envy and returning all the stolen talents. With the summoning interrupted, Wrath is on the verge of becoming a malform. Ben attempts to desummon it and Wolfe convinces Mal to help. Mal is reluctant but agrees and is able to use some of Wolfe’s serenity to bind Wrath again.

Wolfe checks on Voss, who is alive but regretful of his mistakes and willing to turn himself in to the gallows, but first has some information to give Wolfe about Widdershins and the Barber family. Nicola shows up to arrest Voss, but Wolfe explained he already slipped away, and he needs to pass on the information he was given. The book ends as Florrie tells Nicola it’s time for a family meeting.

Characters

 * Dominik Voss (antagonist)
 * Heinrich Wolfe (main character)
 * Jack O'Malley (main character)
 * Envy (deadly sin)
 * Benjamin Thackerey
 * Nicola Barber
 * Florence de Montfort
 * Wrath

Cameos / Minor Characters

 * Eliza Swift
 * Arpana Sherpa
 * The Sergeant
 * Lowe the rebel leader
 * The Purple Hippo of Happiness

Locations

 * Prussia
 * Chomolungma (The Mountain Anchor)
 * Offices for the Removal of Dangerous Malforms
 * Deosil Brewery
 * Swift's Apothecary
 * Voss's Mansion
 * The Hunter's Folly

Website
The bonus material on the website for this book is 4 pages of Character Q&As, a copy of the Barber family tree, and a map of Widdershins with several key locations labeled.

Book
The print and PDF releases include 4 pages of 'Notes on Encountered Malforms' transcribed by Ben and illustrated by Wolfe from Mal's descriptions.

Release
Green-Eyed Monster began on April 2nd 2014 and updated usually 3 times a week until it finished on February 3rd 2015.

The Kickstarter was launched on August 3rd, 2015 and was supported by 500 backers pledging £13,669. The highest tier reward was a plushie of The Purple Hippo of Happiness (which I am very sad to have missed out on).

Easter Eggs / Trivia

 * 'Voss' means fox in German, which is why Envy only takes the fox form after hearing Voss' name and has a different design in Find the Lady.
 * After the events of No Rest for the Wicked, Ben, Wolfe and Mal no longer work for the council. The sign on the outside of their office/house used to say 'Council Offices for the Removal of Dangerous Malforms' but they've stuck a piece of wood over the bit that says 'council'.
 * Wolfe's copy of the Widdershins Gazette has the headline 'Hotel Gula Closes' referencing the events of Piece of Cake.
 * Voss' copy of the Yorkshire Journal has an advert for Swift's Apothecary.
 * The same newspaper has a headline 'Unusual summons reactions - experts confused!' which is possibly a reference to an unused storyline that involved Eliza having an allergy to magic.
 * It also has a headline 'Hotel to be renovated' referencing Hotel Gula.
 * The advert in the newspaper that makes Voss realise Wolfe is in Widdershins is the same that confirms for Acedia that Mal is back. In Curtain Call, it can be seen in her basement on the wall with Mal's name circled, which Harry notices.
 * Voss' brewery is called Deosil Brewery - Deosil is the opposite direction to Widdershins.
 * Eliza has two mentions / cameos in this book - she's the apothecary mentioned when Ben and Mal argue at the start, and she's the one who turns them away after Voss' men show up at hers faster.
 * Jill from Darken has a cameo - she's the woman with a snake-like spirit Ben sees outside of the brewery.
 * The pub where Wolfe and Voss play a duet is called 'The Hunter's Folly' - Pemberton Pryce's notes on Mal in Witch Hunt mention Mal is a regular there, and it is the pub where Voss is seen working at the end of Sea Change.
 * Up until the final act of Green-Eyed Monster, the main colour in Mal's costumes is red. After he says "I think I like blue", his subsequent costumes have more blue than red, with the red eventually fully disappearing. As blue is the colour of his door and his magic, this shows how after briefly losing the Sight he embraces his powers more fully.
 * There is a poster advertising 'Wizard for hire - H. Dresden' in the alleyway Nicola and Mal fight Voss' men - this is a reference to The Dresden Files.
 * In the same alleyway there is an advert for 'Angel Investigations' - this is a reference to the character Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 * There is also a poster for Eliza's Fourth Anchor Society.
 * Mal avoids looking at Ben and Wolfe while he doesn't have the Sight.