A Supernatural Spy Story Goes Dark in <em>The Rook</em>

Somewhere along the line during the making of a decision seems to have been made regarding tone. The book the new Starz series is based on, a 2012 supernatural spy thriller by Daniel O’Malley, is characterized by its humor, and by its (errant plot points include a cannibalistic cube of human flesh, sentient mold, and a man who sweats tear gas), a kind of Lovecraftian Jason Bourne story with a female lead. In the opening pages, a woman—her name is Myfanwy, it turns out, although that’s not the worst thing she learns—wakes up in London surrounded by dead bodies with no idea how she got there,.) The chain of command at her job is structured around chess pieces; Myfanwy is a rook, meaning she has to return to her job battling dark forces while trying to recover from her state of amnesia.