If The Black God’s Drums wasn’t evidence enough that P. Djèlí Clark is a master of alternate history steampunk fantasy The Haunting of Tram Car 015 cements that fact. It’s a very specific niche to master, but what can I say Clark does it well. I had a fantastic time reading another novella by him and at this point, everything has and will put out is required reading for me.

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 is exactly what it says on the tin. In this alternate history, djinn live among the population and Cairo is a metropolitan centre due to the fusing of magic and technology. But with that magic comes the occasional angered deity. Our protagonist Hamed and his fresh out of the academy partner Onsi are charged with solving the haunting of a public tram before the ghoul taking residence within it gets completely out of control.

While mysteries aren’t generally my cup of tea Clark wrote a fun, fast-paced fantasy version of a golden age detective novel and I ate it up. The novella was perfectly paced and every scene was compelling enough to keep me turning the pages. Most of this book could be described with the phrase hijinks ensue so if you’re looking for that kind of tone in a book I would highly recommend this one.

I adored that this story was filled with fun and campy characters. Our protagonist Hamed takes on the role of the beleaguered detective well and his interactions with government bureaucrats, feisty waitresses as well as the developing friendship with Onsi was incredibly entertaining to watch. Clark is a very voicey writer and his style throughout the novella was steeped in flair and flavour.

The worldbuilding was stellar. As someone who recently finished the Daevabad trilogy by S. A. Chakraborty, I adored jumping into another world filled with Djinn lore. Clark’s imagination is mind-boggling and the way he fused history and magic to create a unique landscape was delightful to behold. The presence of Djinn in Cairo made the city a metropolitan centre equivalent to Paris or London and seeing the ripple effects of that was fun to note. Minor details like being looked down on for sending your kids to Oxford added colour and texture to the world. I also loved diving into aspects of real-world history and culture I’d never considered before. This book sent me down a rabbit hole of research regarding the Coptic Orthodox Church and Egyptian women’s suffrage.

The novella is set on the precipice of a landmark victory for the women’s suffrage and I loved seeing a perspective of the movement from a non-western country. The history of feminism and suffrage has often felt alienating because of its blatant whitewashing. The feminist icons girls are often taught to cheer on generally weren’t fighting for women like me so it was nice to see that kind of feminist action center women of colour.

In the end, I had a fantastic time reading The Haunting of Tram Car 015. While it didn’t quite hit my trope buttons like Clark’s previous work it was still an all-around amazing read. I would highly recommend anyone who loves historical fantasy and campy mysteries check this one out as soon as possible.