Booklog 56/2024: Sarah Painter: The Broken Cage – Crow Investigations #7 - Audiobook

Audiobook narrated by: Kate Rawson

First of all, let me say that I hate hate hate cliffhanger endings. You have to read/listen to this book along eith the next in the series (The Magpie Key) which was probably the authors intention. Well, it worked, but I still didn't like the ending. Having said this I do like the Crow Investigations books and would have read the next book regardless. In this Lydia Crow is recovering from the aftermath of jumping off a roof and killing her evil cousin, Maddie. Lydia seems to have inherited some of Maddie's power, a not inconsiderable benefit as long as she keeps strict control of herself. She’s still with Detective Fleet and sharing a flat with ghostly Jason. A prisoner in Fleet's police station is found dead in a locked cell, with a smile on his face and no indication of cause of death. There's a connection with the Crow family and an attempt to implicate them, Can Lydia Crow solve the murder before she's charged with it? In the meantime a high profile actor has gone missing and Fleet is under pressure to find him. Lydia begins to suspect that her uncle Charlie, supposedly safely locked away by a shady government department, is managing to cause trouble. And then, as I said, there's a cliffhanger ending. Ouch.

Booklog 57/2024: Sarah Painter: The Magpie Key – Crow Investigations #8 - Audiobook

Audiobook narrated by: Kate Rawson.

I slammed the previous book for its cliffhanger ending. This one resolves everything, thank goodness. Lydia is in trouble from two sources: her magical Uncle Charlie, who has escaped the clutches of the government and is now free to scheme and kill; and Fleet's father, a mysterious being known as the Collector. Fleet's premonitions are getting stronger and he can't always tell visaion from reality. He's holding it together - barely. Lydia has to negotiate a peace accord with the other three magical families, Fox, Pearl and Silver, while saving London's water supply from deadly contagion courtesy of the Collector. She's really up against it this time, helped and hindered by Fleet, who is still the love of her life, and Jason the ghost tied to her flat above the Fork cafe. I don't know if this is an end to the series, but it's a good breathing space with plot threads resolved.