Praise for New York Times bestselling author MICHELLE SAGARA and THE CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA series
âNo one provides an emotional payoff like Michelle Sagara. Combine that with a fast-paced police procedural, deadly magics, five very different races and a wickedly dry sense of humorâwell, it doesnât get any better than this.â
âBestselling author Tanya Huff
âIntense, fast-paced, intriguing, compelling and hard to put downâ¦unforgettable.â
âIn the Library Reviews on Cast in Shadow
âReaders will embrace this compelling, strong-willed heroine with her often sarcastic voice.â
âPublishers Weekly on Cast in Courtlight
âThe impressively detailed setting and the bookâs spirited heroine are sure to charm romance readers as well as fantasy fans who like some mystery with their magic.â
âPublishers Weekly on Cast in Secret
âAlong with the exquisitely detailed worldbuilding, Sagaraâs character development is mesmerizing. She expertly breathes life into a stubborn yet evolving heroine. A true master of her craft!â
âRT Book Reviews (4 ½ stars) on Cast in Fury
âWith prose that is elegantly descriptive, Sagara answers some longstanding questions and adds another layer of mystery. Each visit to this amazing world, with its richness of place and character, is one to relish.â
âRT Book Reviews (4 ½ stars) on Cast in Silence
There are, in fantasy, two types of series. One is the extended single story that, with multiple viewpoints and various plot threads, spreads out over several volumes. The other is a connected series of stand-alone stories which feature more or less the same characters facing different situations; mysteries are characteristically this type of series. THE CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA is the second type of series as well. Kaylin Neya, the main character, is an Elantran police officer, and her job is to investigate crimes and solve themâalthough both the problems and the solutions in a world with winged mortals, Dragons and large, furred Leontines tend to be less mundane than the problems a real-world precinct would generally face. I hope that someone picking up any volume of the series would be able to follow the story and the characters from the beginning of the book to the end.
But.
In this second type of series, the individual story arcs are often small; itâs the character arcs that have room to grow, because ideally what your characters experience for good or ill causes trickle-down changes that continue on into the future. The Kaylin of Cast in Shadow (the first of THE CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA) and the Kaylin of the book you now hold in your hands is substantially the same person, but she has learned to let go of some of her earlier prejudices because of the events of subsequent books (for example, Cast in Secret, in which she confronts her visceral dislike of the Thaâalani, the racial telepaths).
Some of the events of previous books also cause emotional ripples in her life, and while she is facing an entirely different threat in Cast in Chaos, sheâs come far enough to begin to acknowledge some of them. If this is the first time youâve joined her, welcome to Elantra; if youâve been following her all along, my heartfelt thanks.
For my Uncle Shoichi, with gratitude
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
The Halls of Law occupied real estate that the merchantsâ guild salivated over every time discussion about tax laws came up, and for that reason, if no other, Private Kaylin Neya was proud to work in them. The building sat in the center of the city, its bulk overshadowed by three towers, atop whichâin the brisk and heavy winds of the otherwise clear dayâflags could be seen at the heights. It was the only building, by Imperial decree, which was allowed this much height; the Emperor considered it a personal statement. She would probably have been slightly prouder if sheâd managed to make Corporal, but she took what she could get.
What she could get, on the other hand, could be a bit disconcerting on some days. She approached the guards at the doorâtoday Tanner and Gillas were at their postsâand stopped before sheâd passed between them. They were giving her funny looks, and she was on time. Sheâd been on time for four days running, although one emergency with the midwivesâ guild had pulled her off active duty in the middle of the day, but the looks on their faces didnât indicate a lost betting pool.
âWhatâs up?â she asked Tanner. She had to look up to ask it; he was easily over six feet in height, and he didnât slouch when on duty.
âYouâll find out,â he replied. He was almost smirking.
The problem with coming to the Hawks as an angry thirteen-year-old with a lot of attitude was that the entire force felt as if theyâd watched you grow up. This meant the entire damn force took an interest in your personal business. She cursed Tanner under her breath, and left his chuckle at her back.