Today I have a book spotlight for you, with an excerpt, for the humorous fantasy, The Bone Thief, (The Roshaven Series Book 3) by Claire Buss
The Spice Ghosts have descended on Roshaven accusing Jenni of stealing their sacred bones and are threatening to destroy the city if they are not returned but Jenni the sprite has no idea what they’re talking about.
With the help of her boss, Chief Thief-Catcher Ned Spinks, Jenni promises to find and return them however the skeletal trail leads them into the dark and dangerous waters of the dread Sea Witch.
Ned is out of his depth and frantically treading water while Jenni must fight to avoid becoming catch of the day.
You can pre-order the book here:
https://books2read.com/
Releases November 12th
Ned
Spinks, Chief Thief-Catcher looked in dismay at the pile of reports on his
desk. Things were not well in the city of Roshaven.
‘And
these are all from this week?’ Ned asked as he gestured at the pile.
‘Yes,
Boss.’ Willow, a tree nymph and one of Ned’s catchers, nodded her head
vigorously causing her leaves to rustle. ‘There’s been multiple instances of
people claiming their magic has been stolen and a report from the Sailor’s
Guild that unexpected sea-related deaths have risen sharply.’
‘Have
you spoken with them?’ asked Ned.
‘The
Guild? No. We thought it was just their standard report –should we have?’
Willow bloomed uncertainly.
‘No,
not the Guild – the people who think their magic was stolen.’
‘Not
yet, but we’ve set up interviews with some of them this afternoon. But Boss…
how can we prove if someone’s had their magic stolen or not?’ she asked.
‘The
best thing you can do is find out why they think it’s happened in the first
place. See if they noticed a particular sound or smell or even person nearby
when they thought it happened. If we can discover a common element between each
experience then we might be able to pinpoint where it’s happening,’ replied
Ned.
He was
mildly concerned. In all likelihood the people who thought they’d lost some
magic had inadvertently used more than they expected or had some other ailment
that was preventing their ability to cast. But magic skimming, taking small
amounts of power from others, was illegal so if these were legitimate claims then
the catchers would need to find and arrest the culprit before they caused
someone permanent damage. Skimming was dangerous to both parties.
‘Let’s
hope it’s kids messing about so we can nip it in the bud or better yet, maybe
they all have a nasty cold affecting their casting. See what you can find out.’
He shuffled through the paperwork. ‘Is that everything?’
‘There’s
the paper,’ said Joe helpfully. He was Ned’s only fully human catcher, besides
himself.
Ned
waited for the lad to expand but nothing else was forthcoming so he examined
his paperwork pile more closely and sure enough, a copy of The Daily
Blag lay between reports. He eased it out of the stack and read out
the headline.
‘Death
at the Beach.’ He glanced at Joe.
‘There’s
a bit more, Boss.’
‘Yes,
thank you, Joe.’ Ned stiffened the paper with a flick of his wrists and read
on. ‘Towns and villages up and down the coast of Efrana are reporting an
increase in mysterious deaths linked to the ocean. Officials are baffled as to
why it is suddenly not safe in the water and are urging residents and visitors
to stay away from the beach.’ Ned read on in silence but the article lacked
any further facts. ‘What do we think – mermaids?’
Both
Willow and Joe shook their heads.
‘Sparks
thinks someone is communing with an evil entity in the sea, telling them when
people are in the ocean,’ said Willow.
Sparks
was another of Ned’s thief-catchers and a firefly with many contacts in and
around Roshaven due to his huge bug network of friends and relations.
About the Author
Thank you so much, Anita!
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