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.
)
