Jacey Bedford's Journal

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.

Audiobook read by Kate Rawson.

Now that wicked Uncle Charlie has been dealt with, Lydia has become head of the Crow Family, cutting back on the crime while trying to maintain an illusion of strength. She’s running very fast to catch up with all of the pies Charlie had his fingers in, and not doing too badly, but then the head of the Fox Family collapses and dies. Is it murder or natural causes? There’s not a mark on the body, but everyone assumes it was the former. And that means that Maria, now head of the Foxes, and already with a grudge against Lydia, is likely to jump to the wrong conclusion. Added to that Mr Smith – agent for a very secret government agency interested in Family magic, is trying to manipulate Lydia, and the Pearl Family still has its teeth into Ash whom Lydia rescued in Book #4. This is turning into more of a soap opera than individual books, and there’s cliffhanger ending to this one. I enjoyed the book, but I hate cliffhanger endings.

Audiobook read by Kate Rawson.
Lydia Crow, a daughter of the notorious magical Crow family  has set up her own private detective agency, but she's being pulled closer and closer into the family, when she's always tried to keep separate. Her own magical abilities, which she's always believed to be limited, are more complex than  she realised. She seems to be empowering her ghostly flatmate to become more solid, which affecting her dad's Alzheimers-like condition adversely. Paul Fox, son of the similarly magical Fox family blackmails her into taking on a case on his behalf which sends her into a disused area of the London Underground where she finds a body, one she realises is a Fox. And he appears to be cursed.  The Fox Family seems to be playing nasty games and Lydia is their target. Though the main conflict is resolved at the end of the book there's a plot point dangling which leads straight into the next book. So far I've listened to three in a row, and am now starting on number four.

Lydia Crow, a daughter of the notorious magical Crow family doesn’t have much magical talent apart from being able to sense magic in her, or any of the other magical London families. Some years ago she had an unfortunate affair with Paul Fox (of the magical Fox family) ended it and decamped to Aberdeen where she’s been working as a private detective. After attracting the wrath of a client by being too good at her job, she takes a break back in London and accepts Uncle Charlie’s offer of a flat above a now-closed café. As soon as she moves in, someone tries to murder her and she’s saved by the intervention of the flat’s resident ghost and meets a rather nice (sexy) detective inspector. But Charlie, head of the Crow Family, has an ulterior motive. He asks Lydia to take on a search for her missing cousin. Unfortunately, he doesn’t give Lydia all the pertinent information. Narrated by Kate Rawson, this is engaging and short enough to send me looking for Book Two in the series, Silver Mark..