The Night Raven

Crow Investigations, Book 1

By: Sarah Painter

Narrated by: Kate Rawson

The Night Raven is the first book in Crow Investigations, an exciting new paranormal mystery series from best-selling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter.

Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London. When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.

Soon, Lydia is neck-deep in problems: her new flatmate is a homicidal ghost, the intriguing, but forbidden, DCI Fleet is acting in a distinctly unprofessional manner, and tensions between the old magical families are rising. For 75 years, a truce between the four families has held strong, but could the disappearance of Maddie Crow be the thing to break it?

©2019 Sarah Painter (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

“My favourite new urban fantasy series, clever and twisty and deliciously magical, with a shivery sense of wonder that feels utterly grounded in its London setting. Perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Genevieve Cogman or Robert Galbraith!” (Stephanie Burgis, author of Masks and Shadows)

Original.

Really enjoyed the characters. Solid story. Had a lot of fun getting lost in it.

A good and entertaining time

Good fun. The characterizations are accurate.
Entertaining plot. Made me curious where the author would take it in future volumes.

Fun & Enjoyable

Very British, cute story. Might even consider getting the rest of the series. Narrator was a little annoying but I got used to it.

Ask yourself

Our heroine talks a tough game but doesn't stand up for herself. Why doesn't she tell her uncle that she must have a secure door with a security system and surveillance right off the bat ? Because it would eliminate half the book.

So consider if you want to spend hours with dysfunctional family, dysfunctional exes and dysfunctional enemies? If you think that's fun read on.

Slow going!

I’ve tried this book twice and cannot engage with the characters or the story line, in my opinion they boring, 2 dimensional and it’s so slow going.

Best book I’ve read this year

Too many books I started this year, didn’t get finished. But this one, I zoomed through in less than 2 days. A great urban/paranormal fantasy. It did wrap up overly quickly and I wanted to know more of what happened. But those are small things compared to being engrossed in the story and enjoying every moment.

Unique concepts just needs more magic

Not what I expected but it’s very interesting. I was in the mood for more magic but that’s me. The characters were interesting and the mystery was mentally engaging. The narrator was perfect!

Good quick read

I enjoyed this book. I liked the magical realism, I liked the characters, and the mob type tie in. If you're looking for a fun, quick, who dunnit definitely check it out. Will be listening to the 2nd in the series.

Great start, uh finish

So the start of this book felt very cool. The narrator did a great job, adding depth to the story. The beginning had grit. The beginning felt like it could anywhere. The beginning was about the old good part of this book.

In hindsight, I think the whole book was a lead in to the tryst with the copper...because it just ends shortly after. With all the setup and background I was expecting some cool revelation....and all I got was eh.

Is it worth a credit...well the beginning is, the ending isn't.

Surprisingly good

This is my first book by this author and I was pleased to enjoy it so much. It’s great when an author creates something new and different in a genre with a lot of copycats