The Book of Lies
by Melissa McShane
★★★★★
Deeper and darker
Melissa McShane has a way with worlds; you simply believe. And the world of The Last Oracle is being overrun with murderous invaders. Some are familiar and familiars; some are horrifyingly intelligent and intent. Helena will need every ounce of gumption she has – and a metal water bottle – to battle the monsters invading the Conference of Neutralities. (Gosh, I love a strong female character who uses a mundane device with such deadly and effective skill. No fainting or faint-heartedness here!)
In The Book of Lies, Helena is getting a clearer picture of the bureaucracy and the Board behind the administration and application of the Accords. While she fights to keep Abernathy’s from being relocated to London, she also battles to keep her relationship to Malcolm hidden from the Board, from her parents, well… from everyone. She’s juggling to keep the mundane world and the world of custodians and neutralities from intersecting, segregated store hours for factions from becoming part of the Accords, and to simply make it through another day alive.
The Book of Lies is a fun, frenetic read and a great addition to The Last Oracle series. Some things are wrapped up and some important hints fly in toward the end of the book. All-in-all a very satisfying read with wonderful world-building, a greater expansion of the mythology of Portland’s magical community, and a great lead-in for the upcoming final book. Another book set aside with a sigh that it has ended and anticipation for the next.
This is not a stand-alone novel, so if you haven’t read the first three, start with the Book of Secrets (https://smile.amazon.com/Book-Secrets-Last-Oracle-ebook/dp/B07MFWBPYZ/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=the+book+of+secrets&qid=1562249819&s=gateway&sr=8-8) and work your way on from there. Happy reading!
Book description
For over seventy years, the use of familiars—monsters bound by magic to fight beside humans in the Long War—divided magery into two factions. Now, the monsters strike back.
As Helena prepares for the Conference of Neutralities, reports of familiars breaking their bonds to attack and kill their masters raise tensions between the factions to an unprecedented high. Faced with the challenge of keeping her relationship with Malcolm Campbell secret from more than a hundred of her fellow custodians, Helena must also protect herself from rogue familiars—and they’re closer than she thinks.
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