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Some elements that I remember:

  • Bluey-green cover with a medallion on it
  • Almost certainly set in London
  • Half of [city] is semi-abandoned, maybe partially flooded?
  • Begins with protagonist tracking/hunting an imp or jackal-like that has been stealing children
  • Protagonist is navigating/tracking by placing milk in a bowl of blood
  • At some point, protagonist (and friends) stumble upon and rescue a girl who is essentially feral
  • I remember one of the type of baddies chasing her were described as things from the ocean, and they made the air cold, clammy and salty when they arrived in the night

I got this book from the library when I was young - which would be around 10 years ago, give or take - and forgot the name and author, but the feeling of it stuck with me and I have been struggling to identify it ever since.

Any pointers - even just how I might better search for it myself - would be greatly appreciated!

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  • Was the main protagonist male/female? Were they adults? Did the book seem to be aimed at any particular age group?
    – phantom42
    Commented Nov 15, 2013 at 12:12
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    Was the medallion part of the cover art, or something added? The Newbery and Caldecott awards for children's books are medals, often added to a book's cover as a printed or foil overlay.
    – ImaginaryEvents
    Commented Nov 15, 2013 at 15:44
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    The main (first, at least) protagonist was a male adult, and I'd say it was young-adult or teen fiction... I read it in 2002, so I'd have been 12. Medallion was part of the cover art, I believe!
    – user19654
    Commented Nov 15, 2013 at 16:22

1 Answer 1

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Is 'The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray'?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_of_Alaizabel_Cray

It has a medallion on the cover anyway...

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  • 2
    This sounds very like it, though the tracking method is a bead of sulpher in a bowl of pig's blood rather than a drop of blood in a bowl of milk.
    – John Rennie
    Commented Nov 16, 2013 at 9:49
  • Aha, that is it! Have you read it? If not, how did you know? I cannot thank you enough :)!
    – user19654
    Commented Nov 16, 2013 at 19:42
  • I can't believe I've (thanks to you) finally found it again, aaahhhh
    – user19654
    Commented Nov 16, 2013 at 19:59
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    I did read it, and liked it. A bit surprised to see it has its own Wikipedia entry though - obviously we're not the only ones who rate it.
    – slam
    Commented Nov 17, 2013 at 15:38

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