Sarah Painter

Sarah Painter is a fair hand at darkish urban fantasy with a mystery plot. Well, call it small-town fantasy in the case of Ward Witch.

Luke Taylor has been roaming around the British Isles looking for his twin brother, who may be involved in organized crime. His wanderings lead him to Unholy Island, just off the northern coast of England, not far from Holy Island and a smaller island whose Scots Gaelic name means dead zone. He gets stuck on the island despite the residents’ insistence that no visitor can stay more than two days. Many islanders have paranormal powers, and the island itself may have its own magic.

Ward Witch is set in the same uncanny universe as The Night Raven (2018), but it leaves a few too many open ends that we hope will be dealt with as the series continues.… (more)

Lydia is almost a muggle in a magical world. She is one of the less talented members of the Crow family, one of four powerful magic families that dominate the London underworld. She works as a private investigator in Scotland but comes to London as a favor to her Uncle Charlie. She wants a break from some traumatic investigations, but she soon finds herself holed up in her Uncle’s empty café, where she is threatened by a gunman, only to be rescued by a guardian ghost. Complications ensue, but family is family.
I like the potential of this urban fantasy, though I wish its world were developed in more detail.… (more)

Book source ~ Purchased at Chirp

Lydia is powerless in a power filled family. Or is she? By the end of the book I was having doubts that she truly had no power. She has something. Exactly what is still unknown.

This is an entertaining read. Lydia’s investigative path is fun to follow. There are great characters and weird happenings as well as danger and mystery. I don’t particularly care for how Lydia treats the ghost in her temporary lodgings. Honestly, why be such a bitch? Especially since he’s been so helpful. At least she thaws towards the end. Otherwise I might not want to continue despite being intrigued about her power, the families, and DCI Fleet.… (more)

Finally finished Sarah Painter's Crow Investigations series (8 books). I reviewed the first one a couple of years ago, and for some reason never continued the series at that point. To sum up, it can be best described as Rivers of London from the point of view of a magical South London crime family (probably based on the Richardson gang).

The background is that the London crime scene is run by 4 magical families: the Crow family, traditional sarf london gangsters based in Camberwell, the Fox family, Whitechapel-based criminals, the Silver family, more corporate and white-collar orientated running a legal firm, and the Pearl family, who are literally underground and don't interact much. A wild card is DCI Fleet, Lydia Crow's lover who is from a different magical line.

The series is told from Lydia Crow's PoV, and her efforts to stay legit, even when she becomes head of the Crows, and her interactions with the other families. She has to deal with her uncle, Charlie Crow, the Met, the secret service who are interested in the various family powers, and finally Fleet's mysterious father who wants to 'collect' Fleet.

It was a little bit of a chore finishing the series, and I took some breaks. Still, it was a pleasant enough read, and not too violent. The world-building would make a nice Liminal RPG backdrop; the secret service involvement being 'P' Division, the Foxes actually being a werewolf tribe, the Pearls being the vampires.

Recommended.… (more)