By: Astrid Scholte
Genre: YFB - General fiction (Children's / Teenage)
Published by: A & U Children
Published: 1 Mar 2022
ISBN: 9781760630799

Description

Shadows are dangerous. Edem is illegal. And liars are cowards.


Ever since his mother was killed in a freak edem-based crime, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal: to have illegal users of extradimensional magic brought to justice. Cayder dreams of becoming a prosecutor and, when he secretly accepts an apprenticeship under the city's best public defender, he plans to learn every legal trick he can to one day dismantle defence arguments. Then he'll finally be able to make sure justice is served.


But when he meets all three criminals he is to defend, he finds they are teenagers, like him, and their stories are… complicated, like his. As their cases unfold, Cayder must race to separate the truth from the lies and uncover what really happened the night his mother died.


From the bestselling author of Four Dead Queens comes a heart-pounding mystery rife with secrets and danger, where nothing is as it seems...


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Review

Cayder and his sister Leta have never really got over the death of their Mum in a freak edem crime. Edem is illegal, and such magic must never be used. But both have dealt with it in different ways.


Cayder wants all illegal edem users to face justice, but Leta thinks there is more to edem than the rulers are telling them.


When Leta ends up in the high security prison, charged with using edem to kill 300 people, Cayder doesn’t believe she could be responsible. When he tries to help her, he gets entwined in two other cases and suddenly everything is complicated.


Can Cayder find the truth to save his sister and discover what really happened to his Mum?


This is a fast-paced, thrilling fantasy novel with amazing characters that readers will love. It is full of twists and turns, set in a mystical world. Throw in a good jail break, and this book will appeal to a wide range of readers. Perfect for those who love fantasy in Year 8 and up.


Reviewed by Michelle