I won this from Librarything. I think. Or I was supposed to have received it, and did not get it.

Regardless, the idea of crows as shape shifters caught my immediate interest. Real Corvids are absolutely fascinating. What could be better than a exiled one?

Diana is a victim of circumstance. Her murder (crow flock family) have banished her parents and as their daughter, her as well. For five years they have been living destitute.

Her father has tasked Diana into stealing a magic sword. One that can kill demons. He tells her it is the only way to redeem themselves and get them back into the murder. Diana is desperate for normalcy, acceptance and thinks this just work. If she dies in the attempt, death may be favorable to her present exsistence .

But of course someone else wants the sword - Sasha is a clairvoyant with angel blood. He is also under contract with a demon general. In this universe, there are demons who were expelled from Hell. Each one is battling for complete power of Earth.

Along for the ride is Norbo. A young man who happens to be possessed by a minor cat demon.

As a rule, I do not care for books with demons. Although the book is total fiction, there is enough unknown in the real world for this reader to stay clear. But the magic involved and chemistry between the 3 main characters made this book a fun read ( )

I really wanted to like this book, and it does have some points of interest, but I could not stick with it until the end. DNF

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review. ( )

I wasn't sure when I first got the book if I would like it, but I loved it. The characters are beautifully written and they seem so real. Also the details are great, plenty of explanations without boring you. I look forward to more of these stories.

This is a pretty gripping paranormal mystery.

Finding Your Murder
Book review by Erin Michaela Sweeney

Collective nouns are super wonderful. An ambush of tigers. A huddle of penguins. A raft of otters. A murder of crows. I’m not sure if Gabrielle Ash knew that last one when she began writing For the Murder, the first title in her anticipated The Murder Series, but I’m guessing so.

The book opens from the point of view of Diana Van Doren, a crow shifter. She and her no-good parents have been in exile in the central Texas hill country for five years. All the 28-year-old part human, part three-legged crow wants is to finally be accepted into the magical murder of crows.

Diana’s father, Charles, tells her to steal a demonic knife from an auction. He plans to use the knife to bargain his way back into the murder’s good graces. And promises Diana an entrée into the magical group.

We’re introduced to Sasha Sokolov’s perspective in Chapter 2. Sasha, a 32 year old with angel blood, is from the Russian Urals region and loathes the hot Texas winter. He’s in Dallas to meet with Madame, his demon boss.

Madame will grant Sasha his freedom after 20 years of servitude if he gets her the demon blade on auction and tracks down Charles Van Doren.

Soon the two main characters, Diana and Sasha, are at the auction. Diana’s accompanied by a demon cat who possesses a teenage boy named Nobu. Meanwhile, Sasha avoids a flirtatious vampire and stays clear of a pack of werewolves.

Other supernatural beings in this thriller fantasy universe include witches, sphinxes, and selkies. The book toggles between Diana’s and Sasha’s points of view. The author wisely chooses to use the third person, thus avoiding the possible pitfalls of first-person melodramatic inner monologues.

This fast-paced read has a solid plot, and I enjoyed the dialogue, which the author crafted so well. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

*I received a free ebook of For the Murder as a LibraryThing Early Reviewer member in exchange for an unbiased review. (This review also appears on GoodReads and Amazon). ( )