Fantasy/Paranormal
From Goodreads:
A Murder
of Mages marks the debut of Marshall Ryan Maresca’s novels of The Maradaine
Constabulary, his second series set amid the bustling streets and crime-ridden
districts of the exotic city called Maradaine. A Murder of Mages introduces us
to this spellbinding port city as seen through the eyes of the people who
strive to maintain law and order, the hardworking men and women of the
Maradaine Constabulary.
Satrine
Rainey—former street rat, ex-spy, mother of two, and wife to a Constabulary
Inspector who lies on the edge of death, injured in the line of duty—has been
forced to fake her way into the post of Constabulary Inspector to support her
family.
Minox
Welling is a brilliant, unorthodox Inspector and an Uncircled mage—almost a
crime in itself. Nicknamed “the jinx” because of the misfortunes that seem to
befall anyone around him, Minox has been partnered with Satrine because no one
else will work with either of them.
Their first case together—the
ritual murder of a Circled mage— sends Satrine back to the streets she grew up
on and brings Minox face-to-face with mage politics he’s desperate to avoid. As
the body count rises, Satrine and Minox must race to catch the killer before
their own secrets are exposed and they, too, become targets.
This is hands down the best new
series I have read this year.
Both the worldbuilding and backstory are right on target. Both unfolded before me as I read. It was so seamless that instead of
interfering with the story it added to it.
The characters and their
development were the perfect fit for the plot. We meet Satrine Rainey as the book opens and she had a lie
in her pocket. It takes awhile to
see why she needs the lie but that is such an important part of who she
is. Her family is her prime
concern and she needs the lie to keep that family together. Turns out she is very good at the job
the lie brings her.
Minox Welling cannot keep a
partner. He is brilliant but in a
very offbeat way. He sees the
facts in a way other do not. In
addition he has a secret that is not that much of a secret. Most people cannot follow his logic but
Satrine not only follows she can take it one step further.
As he and Satrine work together you
see why they are such a good fit.
A great cast of secondary characters aids them.
Mages are being murdered and it is
up to Minox and Satrine to find out why.
There are plenty of twists and turns in the story. Satrine’s secret comes out. Minox learns his secret is interfering
with his ability to work the case.
Even as the case is solved Minox sees what others do not. There is much more to the murders than
came out.
An important fact for the series is
the file of closed cases that Minox has.
While they are closed Minox feels that they were not solved
correctly. I see future books in
that group of files.
A Murder of Mages is an exciting well-written book. Satrine and Minox are strong characters with very different personal
lives. I like that fact that they
are great partners but work is their only common dominator. All in all this is a great start to a
new series.
DAW published A Murder of Mages by
Marshall Ryan Maresca in 2015.
I received an ARC of A Murder of
Mages from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
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