Review Detail

Tig Torres and her friends barely escaped with their lives when they were hunting down the Lit Killer. Just when Tig thought her podcast and the mystery of Hollow Falls was finished, she receives an invite from the mysterious Murder of Crows armchair detective group. When she and her maybe-more-than-friend Wyn go to their meeting as guests, Tig is surprised by two things: 1, the leader of the group asked her to solve the mystery of the Hollow Falls treasure, and 2, minutes after he does so, he dies under mysterious circumstances. Tig, Max, and Wyn have another mystery to solve, and along the way, they'll uncover secrets they never expected.

I was first interested in this book because K. Ancrum is one of my favorite authors. I hadn't listened to the Lethal Lit podcast before, but I was happy to give it a try since MURDER OF CROWS is set after season 1. Literally a day later after binging the entire first season, I was ready to devour MURDER OF CROWS. Hollow Falls is a fascinating town seeped in dark secrets, and Tig Torres is just the sleuth to uncover them. K. Ancrum perfectly captures the tone of the podcast.

MURDER OF CROWS starts a couple of weeks before the new school year. The summer has passed since season 1 ended, but Ancrum does a great job showing how Tig, Wyn, and Max are still dealing with the trauma they experienced, no matter how resilient they are. Later in the story, Tig has an engaging reflection on what it means to keep searching for the truth and trying to right wrongs, even when it puts you and maybe even your loved ones in danger. We also learn about Tig's abuela's past and how hunting down a mystery changed the course of her life.

MURDER OF CROWS doesn't give a full blown romance, but there is significant development in the potential Tig and Wyn relationship. Tig is really uncertain about relationships, particularly after Oly, but she also can't stop blushing around Wyn and looking at her maybe a bit too long. I'm so excited to see where season 2 of the podcast takes them.

Lethal Lit listeners will love MURDER OF CROWS. Ancrum weaves an exciting new mystery in Hollow Falls and provides a gasp-inducing background to a favorite side character.