In the summer between second and third year at Whitehall, Emily accompanies Lady Barb on her rounds of the Cairngorm Mountains, bringing magical help to the locals and searching for new magicians. For Emily, tired and broken after the events of Study in Slaughter, it should be a chance to relax as well as to visit a new part of the Nameless World, to put her responsibilities aside and just be herself.
But the locals aren’t quite what she expects, with problems of their own, and Lady Barb is a different person away from Whitehall. As children start to go missing and evil things are abroad in the night, Emily discovers that a deadly plot is slowly bringing the mountain community to the brink of disaster and that her oldest enemies are about to make a very unwelcome return.
Excellent story but… I have issues with the editing and one major aspect of this one. First, the author needs to take care to use phrases properly such as it’s “if worse comes to worst” not worst to worst! If it’s already worst how does it get more worst? That’s just one example that jumped out at me, though there are quite a few. Second, some scientific research was in order for this book. Fission does not automatically create radioactivity. Only if a radioactive material like uranium or plutonium is used to…
Series finally moves away form being Harry Potter mimic into its own world of magic. Ok the author finally stopped sounding like a Harry Potter rip off and Emily is starting to show some backbone and a conscience about her role as a baroness. She is still acting like someone 5 years younger than her supposed age. But the author may not have a lot of experience (or respect) with 17 year old girls. For someone who is the only person to have defeated necromancers the other magicians do not seem to give her a lot of respect and wonder if she is up to “the task”…
I Hate Christoher Nuttall This book is written for teenage girls and I’m a 67 year old grandfather, hopelessly hooked on this entire series.myhe writing is very good, but the storytelling is flat out addictive. You lit ally won’t be able to put these books down. Nuttall is one of the best storytellers in the business and his writing is superb. Do yourself a favor, read his hard science fiction, don’t buy this, because you will end up addicted.