Murder of Crows (Courtyard of the Others) by Anne Bishop

Fantasy

From Goodreads: 

After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murders of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside's shape-shifting leader—wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or of a future threat.

As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

I said that I could not put Written in Red down.  Before I had even finished I checked to see if Murder of Crows was on the shelf at my library.  It was.  I checked it out and started it as soon as Written in Red was finished.  I started reading around noon and finished at 2 a.m.  Once again I could not put it down.

Meg, Simon and the rest of the characters are back and trouble is still on the horizon.  The two drugs that were mentioned in Written in Red are at the heart of Murder of Crows.  That drug is connected to the cassandra sangue and is a threat to both humans and the Others.  Meg is the important link in finding and stopping the production of the drug.

Meg grew in book one and in Murder of Crows she matures and changes even more.  Her relationship with Simon is not without problems.  They both have problems understanding each other and have to work to keep their friendship on track.  Some of the side characters become more important in Murder of Crows.  The human police that work with the Courtyard play a big role in stopping the drugs. 

Anne Bishop has written another tense, slightly dark book with just the right traces of humor.  My only problem – I have to wait until March of 2015 for the next book.

This would not do well as a stand alone.  It picks up where book one leaves off and while there is back story you still need to start with Written in Red.

Roc published Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop in 2014.