The Night Raven – Sarah Painter

Lydia Crow is a member of one of the four magical families that rule London, except she has no real power, so has grown up outside of the family. She’s managed to get a pretty good life going up in Aberdeen as an investigator, but a small snafu on the job makes it necessary to leave town for a bit, and her uncle offers her a place to stay, for a favor.

That favor is to look into the disappearance of her cousin Maddie. Things get complicated –she’s got a ghost for a roommate, the local DCI is way too hot for either of their own good, and the truce between the families appears to be breaking down.

This book came across as a lot of set up – what eventually happens with the Maddie story line seems over way too fast (well, I’d say it’s not really over). I like the world building, so I’ll definitely be interested to see where things go from here, but I’ll need a little more from the second book to keep me coming back for more.