Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion
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The Night Raven
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SPECIAL: The Night Raven by Sarah Painter - October 2020
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Hello everyone.We are past the Autumn Equinox and the year is on the wane. I hope everyone is well and safe.
This is the discussion for The Night Raven, the first in Sarah Painter's urban fantasy/paranormal investigation series set in modern London.
As this was my nomination, I'll be leading the discussion. I'm Paul, or Pez, or Pezski. Pleased to meet you.
Please share thoughts of the book, or just first impressions. Please mark spoilers for those who may not have finished it.
We're into October and past the famous Goodreads Notification Drought of 2021 (which I am sure is what the year will be remembered for. Ahem).I thought I'd give a nudge to see if we could get a roll call - who is reading, has read or is planning on reading The Night Raven? It's a quick, light read so you should fly through it, no pun intended.
I was reading the book but just could not finish it. Lydia is 28 or 29 years old and acts like she is 18 or 19. She keeps going on and on about her not having any abilities and then there is the Fox. I found the book too young for my taste. I didn't even care how the book ended.
Mod
I’m up to chapter 14 and am enjoying the book. I generally don’t pick up books with supernatural elements. But this is well written, the story line is intriguing, I want to know more about the Families and want happened to Maddie. I was skimming over the sections with the ”ghost”, but now I’m curious about his story.
I found The Night Raven... OK. Like Arlene, it was coming across as a little young for my taste, or perhaps I just found the writing style a bit light. Initially, I was struggling to connect with Lydia, although clicked a bit around a quarter of the way in and and ended up enjoying the book more than I expected.One big issue I did have with the book is that there was no sense of place. If we weren't constantly told it was London I'd have no idea that we were even in a bustling city, never mind one of the most cosmopolitan, historic and storied cities on Earth. I can't quite put my finger on why this is - whether it is just something in Sarah Painter's writing style, or perhaps a lack of reference to people other than those directly involved. For contrast, I'm currently reading Lavie Tidhar's A Man Lies Dreaming, set in London in 1939, and he gives such a visceral sense of place.
As I say, while I did end up enjoying the story I doubt I'll be continuing with the series. I think I may have enjoyed listening more as a good narrator may possibly have brought a bit more verve than was present on the page.
Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers
Books mentioned in this topic
A Man Lies Dreaming (other topics)The Night Raven (other topics)
The Night Raven (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lavie Tidhar (other topics)Sarah Painter (other topics)
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about spoiler
Please note: If you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start.
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Summary
Meet Lydia Crow...
Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London.
When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.
Soon, Lydia is neck-deep in problems: her new flatmate is a homicidal ghost, the intriguing, but forbidden, DCI Fleet is acting in a distinctly unprofessional manner, and tensions between the old magical families are rising.
The Crows used to rule the roost and rumours claim they are still the strongest.
The Silvers have a facility for lying and they run the finest law firm in London.
The Pearl family were costermongers and everybody knows that a Pearlie can sell feathers to a bird.
The Fox family... Well. The less said about the Fox family the better.
For seventy-five years, a truce between the four families has held strong, but could the disappearance of Maddie Crow be the thing to break it?
The Night Raven is the first book in Crow Investigations, an exciting new paranormal mystery series from bestselling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter.