The Ragpicker King

By: Cassandra Clare

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Christian Coulson

In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as “everything I look for in fantasy,” Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.

ONE OF PASTE’S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.

Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.

Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.

As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.

©2025 Cassandra Clare (P)2025 Random House Audio

Need the third book asap

Love love love!! This was such a great story and kept you guessing and surprised until the very end. Already wanting to relisten

Beautiful continuation of this storyline.

Clare uses beautiful imagery and well developed characters to pull our full attention into a storyline largely free from typical fantasy tropes. The characters develop into surprising roles that are in line with their history but not expected. This series has the potential to surpass any other recent fantasy series without needing to rely on graphic sexual content or violence.

Wow I never thought!

This book was written so well The way she moves the characters around the board is just amazing and just to make it clear you don’t have a clue what’s going to happen. In the end I was very sad then realized that like everyone reading this he did all he could do to save the ones he loves! This story can not be over! It would be a tragedy if it is!

Storyline was excellent!!

I enjoyed how previous stories were woven throughout & the connections were well written. The intricacies involved to provide unexpected plot twists were deliberate and well planned. An excellent & entertaining lead.

the story!

it’s so captivating i love all the characters and story line i cannot wait for more in the series to come out

I love this series books!!!

I can not wait for the next book . I feel like I waited for this book for so long ,but it was so worth it . I love all of her books . I really was stuck on the shadow hunters . I love the sword catcher one just as much .

The Strategy!

I loved every bit! I was skeptical before I started this series. Clearly I was wrong, I love the attention to detail that Cassandra Clare put into her work.

Worth the Wait!

Clare continues to drawn me into her worlds with words. The details she shares about the scenes, and the perspectives of those perceiving them, are beautifully crafted and tailored to lead the reader exactly where she wants them to be. Her use of the language of her subjects, even outside their own thoughts or words, builds on the immersion of the story in a way that gives the feeling of being present oneself, as if I myself were a part of the story.

The only drawback is that on occasion, the narrators seem to get the tone implications wrong. Sometimes when someone is speaking, it’s as if the tone used just doesn’t match the situation or the character. This of course is not a reflection at all on the story or the writing, and is only made obvious by the fact that every other moment is done so well that the characters are so distinguishable from one another, regardless of which narrator speaks for them. It’s a true testament of skill when a character can speak and be recognized by only their voice and inflection, without the author having to write plainly which character is speaking every time.

Excellent new series!

The first book, The Sword Catcher, magically set the stage, introduced the cast of characters and began a fantastic tale. The Ragpicker King was a perfect sequel - just as full of twists and surprises as the first book. Resuming the tale, while introducing new characters while continuing the story, this listen is hard to put down. Leaves you longing for the next book, like the first book did. This is the best new fantasy out there.

Loving this series

I love these narrators. And this story 😩
That ending has me feeling all the feels and reeling a bit. So good, and it’s got me really excited for the 3rd book!