Shadowseer: London

Shadowseer, Book 1

By: Morgan Rice

Narrated by: Kevin E. Green

From number-one best-selling author Morgan Rice, a USA Today best seller and critically acclaimed author of the fantasy series The Sorcerer’s Ring (over 3,000 five-star reviews) and the teen fantasy series The Vampire Journals (over 1,500 five-star reviews) comes a groundbreaking new series and genre, where fantasy meets mystery.

Shadowseer: London (book one) tells the story of Kaia, 17, an orphan coming of age in the Victorian London of the 1850s. Kaia yearns to escape her horrific orphanage, to discover who her parents were, and to understand why she can sense shadows when others cannot. Yet the streets of London are as brutal as the orphanage, and for Kaia, there is no easy way out.

When Kaia, arrested, faces an even worse punishment, Detective Pinsley, 45, notices a strange marking on her arm and thinks she might be the key in solving a peculiar, mysterious case. Bodies are turning up dead in London, and Pinsley wonders whether it’s the work of a deranged serial killer, or of something...else. The methods of murder seem impossible, as does the murderer’s ability to escape death.

Kaia is given a choice: help solve the case, or be shipped off to Bedlam, the notorious insane asylum.

Unlikely partners, each mistrusting the other, Kaia and Pinsley embark to scour the dark corners and cobblestone streets of 19th century London in search of clues.

Yet what they find may shock and horrify even them.

Dark fantasy meets mystery in Shadowseer, a pause-resisting, atmospheric thriller packed with authentic period detail, with twists and cliff-hangers that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Kaia, a broken hero, will capture your heart as she struggles to claw her way up from the depths, and solve unsolvable crimes. Fans of books such as Spellbreaker, The Dresden Files, Mortal Instruments, and Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde will find much to love in Shadowseer, satisfying fantasy fans who appreciate mystery and suspense, and mystery lovers who want something new, a clean hybrid that will appeal to both adult and young adult readers. Get ready to be transported to another world - and to fall in love with characters you will never forget.

©2021 Morgan Rice (P)2021 Morgan Rice

Loved this book

Twists and turns! An unusual concept, very well developed. I found myself rooting for the Inspector & wondering how they were going to solve this mystery. I am definitely going to read more of this author.

Murder mystery with powers?!

**audio quality is good, but the narrator does next to nothing with the female in the story, which is rather a large chunk.

This book was marketed as a fantasy mystery. This just happened to pop up in my BookBub ebook bargain email (of which I download everything free every day…). This was kind of closely following me making a comment about an idea I had to my fiancé about mixing fantasy with other genres (just an idea, I’m not a writer), so I pretty much flipped at this one being free.

The story follows Inspector Sebastian Pinsley, a Scotland Yard man of logic and rationale. As an Agatha Christie reader, he perfectly fit the general mold of what I expect from a murder mystery detective. As for the time period think of top hat wearing Victorian London, which coincidentally made me immediately think about Carnival Row, which also mixed the fantasy and mystery genre. Kaia, the books second perspective, is where the fantasy comes in. However, for 6/10th of the book you’re not exactly sure if that’s true or not, and even afterwards it wasn’t entirely certain. Especially with Pinsley shooting her down about it.

A lot of this novel worked really well for me, and I was excited to see that it’s actually a series. However, with the split genre I found that it’s not exactly a fantasy, nor is it exactly a murder mystery. Although there are more that can change the level in the mixture, I really desire something that is entirely integrated.

Personally a 4/5* for me, definitely interested in more.