Anne Bishop – Murder of Crows

The second book in the Others series, published March 4, 2014.
Genre: fantasy
Cover: nice



Return to New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop's "phenomenal" (Urban Fantasy Investigations) world of the Others - where supernatural entities and humans struggle to co-exist, and one woman has begun to change all the rules...
After winning the trust of the terra indigene residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.
The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murder of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard - Lakeside's shape-shifting leader - wonders if their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or a future threat.
As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now, the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet - and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.


Ever since I read Written in Red the first time last year (and all the seven times after that) I have been anticipating Murder of Crows big time. I needed more; I had to find out what would happen next to Meg and all the other characters living in the Courtyard. And so, finally, the book was in my hands. And so, with a few days off, I had all the time I needed to sit down and read the book, undisturbed.

Of course I loved it. I love almost everything Anne Bishop, and this series in particular. But I had already discovered this amazing new world, so it was not new to me anymore. I have been dreaming about this world for a year now, hoping for certain things to happen. Murder of Crows makes the world of Thaisia bigger, it goes outside of the Courtyard, and brings us new characters. Leaders of other communities of Others, and some Intuit, who might just be the ancestors of the Cassandra Sangue.
There is unrest brewing in Thaisia and the rest of the world, where humans are dissatisfied with their lot in live, which is not on top of the foodchain, but as food. They want to have what the Others are controlling, they want more land, they want to be boss, and they think they deserve to be. They don’t understand the very real danger the Others are to them anymore. The Wolves and Sanguinaty are just the visible residents of a Courtyard, there are other creatures like the Elementals, who can wipe the human populations of the face of the earth effortlessly.

But Meg has brought change to her specific Courtyard, and has changed how the Others look upon at least some of the humans. They think of their staff not only as non-eatable, but as Meg’s human pack. They have learned from them, and are hesitant to retaliate with brutal force. But the humans are asking for war, killing crows and making drugs that make both people and Others go crazy or too docile to survive.
Luckily, Simon Wolfgard can persuade some of the other leaders to wait a little longer, and find the source of the drugs. They do know how it is made, and they just have to find him. His courtyard and the humans working there serve as a mirror, an example for the Others.

The local police is helping as much as they can to keep the humans calm, and they will do whatever it takes to make sure their city is not wiped out as some others have been in the past, and will be in the future. I really like Lieutenant Montgomery. He was not raised near the Others, but he deals well with them, and he understands the consequences.


Yes, I did love this book, not as much as the first book which was a world of discovery and an amazing story all in one. I did miss the interaction with the Elementals a bit, and grandfather Eurebus and Sam, but a story has to evolve. What I really am sorry about, is that this book has not nearly as many pages as the first one. The books in this series cannot be thick enough for me. What Tess is, is finally given a name. But it does not really tell me anything yet. I want to know what she looks like when she lets go of her human mask.

Still, I loved the journey this book takes me on, and to meet new characters and see new places. It absolutely is one of the best series I have ever read, and I will doubtlessly read both books dozens of times again. I do wonder what the next book will bring, I guess war on the other continent and even scarier Others who don’t bother with looking human for our sake.

10 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian