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A review by bookandcoffeeaddict
For the Murder by Gabrielle Ash
5.0
A shifter thief, a demon’s angelic henchman, and a cat demon (and its host) find common ground in the search to acquire a demon-killing knife in this found family heist urban fantasy.
Diana is a careless man’s careful daughter, a crow shifter exiled with her parents when her conman father conned the wrong demon and brought danger to the Murder (their crow shifter clan). Diana is now 28 and a professional thief, stealing items for her father and pining for the day Lead Crow allows her to rejoin the flock.
Sasha is a demon general’s right-hand man, born from an angelic bloodline and forced into servitude, using his talents to acquire whatever his employer desires. Taken from his mother as a child and raised by demons, he’s now 31 with a ledger stained red.
When a demon-killing knife goes up for auction, both are desperate to get their hands on it – Diana as an offering to her old Murder for a chance to be reunited and Sasha for a promise of freedom in exchange for the blade. The two join forces, along with Nobu, a young man possessed by a cat demon. Although working together, they all have their own agendas, and Sasha keeps his true motives under wraps as part of his own plan to use the other two to get his hands on the weapon.
While I was intrigued by the book’s description, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. It’s kind of impossible not to become attached to this little motley crew, they are all so damaged and alone in their own ways and in need of a hug. It’s impossible to stay detached – something even the emotionally-distanced Sasha learns the hard way.
The author does a fantastic job of keeping the action and stakes high the whole way through. The bond that forms between the three conspirators is established naturally and organically as they plan, fight, and face vampires, werewolves, demons, and more side by side in their quest for the knife.
The romance between Diana and Sasha is a very slow burn, so slow that I started to think there wasn’t going to be one. Their connection is more of an emotional (and magical) bond than a physical one, but rest assured the two are very attracted to each other and do share a few kisses and embraces eventually.
Oh – also it’s Christmas. The book is set during Christmas, but the holiday happens in the background, it actually doesn’t play a part in the book and none of the characters celebrate it. I found that kind of quirky.
I really enjoyed For The Murder and was left wanting more. Fantastic plotting, incredibly likable complex characters (who doesn’t love damaged-but-redeemable characters with hearts of gold?), and the perfect blend of action & emotion made this an absolute page-turner for me. I can’t wait to see what these three are up to in book two (coming out this fall) and will absolutely read more books by this author.
*Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with review copy
Diana is a careless man’s careful daughter, a crow shifter exiled with her parents when her conman father conned the wrong demon and brought danger to the Murder (their crow shifter clan). Diana is now 28 and a professional thief, stealing items for her father and pining for the day Lead Crow allows her to rejoin the flock.
Sasha is a demon general’s right-hand man, born from an angelic bloodline and forced into servitude, using his talents to acquire whatever his employer desires. Taken from his mother as a child and raised by demons, he’s now 31 with a ledger stained red.
When a demon-killing knife goes up for auction, both are desperate to get their hands on it – Diana as an offering to her old Murder for a chance to be reunited and Sasha for a promise of freedom in exchange for the blade. The two join forces, along with Nobu, a young man possessed by a cat demon. Although working together, they all have their own agendas, and Sasha keeps his true motives under wraps as part of his own plan to use the other two to get his hands on the weapon.
While I was intrigued by the book’s description, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. It’s kind of impossible not to become attached to this little motley crew, they are all so damaged and alone in their own ways and in need of a hug. It’s impossible to stay detached – something even the emotionally-distanced Sasha learns the hard way.
The author does a fantastic job of keeping the action and stakes high the whole way through. The bond that forms between the three conspirators is established naturally and organically as they plan, fight, and face vampires, werewolves, demons, and more side by side in their quest for the knife.
The romance between Diana and Sasha is a very slow burn, so slow that I started to think there wasn’t going to be one. Their connection is more of an emotional (and magical) bond than a physical one, but rest assured the two are very attracted to each other and do share a few kisses and embraces eventually.
Oh – also it’s Christmas. The book is set during Christmas, but the holiday happens in the background, it actually doesn’t play a part in the book and none of the characters celebrate it. I found that kind of quirky.
I really enjoyed For The Murder and was left wanting more. Fantastic plotting, incredibly likable complex characters (who doesn’t love damaged-but-redeemable characters with hearts of gold?), and the perfect blend of action & emotion made this an absolute page-turner for me. I can’t wait to see what these three are up to in book two (coming out this fall) and will absolutely read more books by this author.
*Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with review copy