About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Michelle Sagara writes as both Michelle Sagara and Michelle West; she is also published as Michelle Sagara West. She lives in Toronto with her long-suffering husband and her two children, and to her regret has no dogs.

She can be found @msagara on Twitter or http: //msagarawest.wordpress.com

Reviews

In Sagara's lively third romantic fantasy (after 2006's Cast in Courtlight), scruffy Kaylin Neya, a private in the branch of law enforcement known as the Hawks in the city of Elantris, has a vision of a forlorn little girl while investigating the theft of a strange box from a local mage. As a result, the Hawks get on the trail of a missing child of the secretive, telepathic Tha'alani. Meanwhile, Elantris's Oracles warn that the city will be destroyed in two weeks. Could the mage Donalan Idis, a former inquisitor known for his brutal experiments on Tha'alani, be behind it all? Even before her likeness appears in an Oracle's predictive painting, Kaylin knows she can't avoid getting involved, no matter how much she hates using her powers. The impressively detailed setting and the book's spirited heroine are sure to charm romance readers as well as fantasy fans who like some mystery with their magic. (Aug.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Corp. Kaylin Neya, a Hawk working for the Halls of Law in the Imperial City of Elantra, investigates what she hopes is a routine theft until she and her partner realize that the stolen object is a magical artifact that seems to be tied to some unreported cases of missing children. Still not reconciled to her magical powers, Kaylin struggles to find a balance between her desire to enforce the laws of her city and the temptations that come with the possession of magic. Sagara's latest addition to "The Cast" series (Cast in Shadows; Cast in Courtlight) expands on the rich variety of characters living in the sprawling fantasy city of Elantra, home to a number of human and nonhuman races and presided over by a Dragon Emperor. Fans of Tanya Huff's "Vicki Nelson" series and Glen Cook's "Garrett Files" should enjoy this blend of fantasy adventure and urban detective fiction. For most fantasy collections. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.