After a while, it does start to get repetitive and annoying, especially when it predictably blows up in her face. At first, it’s fine, as it shows just how much Ivy wishes she could be like the image she has of her sister, attractive, free and special. However, she’s also very unsatisfied with who she is and because of this, she’s spends a lot of the novel acting out different (alternate universe) versions of herself e.g. She has her work cut out forĪs a protagonist, Ivy is basically how you’d imagine a standard noir private investigator to be – never far from a bottle, a loner, unresolved family problems, and accustomed to dealing with unsavoury types. Pick up some well needed cash, but it also means facing Tabitha and somehow gettingĪ bunch of adolescents to tell it to her straight. Teachers dies under mysterious circumstances, the headmistress hires Ivy to investigate.Ī murder case seems like the perfect opportunity for Ivy to test her skills and Just happens to teach magic subjects alongside the regular). Teaches at a secret academy for magical teens (think American high school that Ivy herself is a regular Joe, her estranged sister Tabitha is a mage and Noir Meets MagicĪround Ivy, an alcoholic PI who has difficulty getting close to people. Magic for Liars is a book with both a solid and fun concept – I mean, a murder mystery at a magic school? – but somehow, it never really manages to scratch either your crime or fantasy itch in quite the way you’d hoped.

Magic for liars by sarah gailey