Magic for Liars

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published June 4, 2019 by Tor Books.

ISBN:
978-1-250-17461-1
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4 stars (1 review)

Ivy Gamble has never wanted to be magic. She is perfectly happy with her life life—she has an almost-sustainable career as a private investigator, and an empty apartment, and a slight drinking problem. It's a great life and she doesn't wish she was like her estranged sister, the magically gifted professor Tabitha.

But when Ivy is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member at Tabitha’s private academy, the stalwart detective starts to lose herself in the case, the life she could have had, and the answer to the mystery that seems just out of her reach.

4 editions

Quality writing, a bit of a bummer story.

4 stars

The quality of the writing is good. The explanation and description of events, magic, and emotions are clear and well done. The explanation of the magic in this world felt like there was a logic to it, but it's hard to comprehend. Which is how you want it when the protagonist, Ivy, was never a part of this world. She's an outsider looking in.

The story itself was pretty good, but not a particularly positive one. It's a bit of a downer. Personally, I found most of the characters unlikable. They had a haughtiness to them that made me want to smack each one of them upside the head. The exceptions being one of the teachers and the school secretary. The main character, Ivy, while not a great person overall, gets a dollop of empathy from me, and her actions make sense within the context of her life. From the …

Subjects

  • Twin sisters--Fiction
  • Women detectives--Fiction
  • Women teachers--Fiction
  • Magic--Fiction
  • Private schools--Fiction
  • Murder--Investigation--Fiction