Terrier

3.5 stars. Wonderful, but it felt long and didn't capture my attention like the first books in either the Song of the Lioness or The Immortals series.

Beka Cooper, 16, lives near the worst of her district because it's closer to where she has to write up her papers after working in the Lower City. Her world revolves around thieves, beggars, and the like. She's a “Puppy” for the Provost's Guard—an in training sort of cop with two of the best “Dogs” (that's like a real cop) to train her. Beka's largest obstacle is her shyness. She wouldn't have any friends, if they all hadn't known her forever. So obviously, it's hard for her to talk to strangers, which is part of her job (to find criminals through criminals). With her cat, Pounce, she walks around towns, listening to birds and dirt (it's her magic, they tell her the things that they hear/see/have lived). The trouble begins when Beka notices that babies are going missing and her birds (they have dead souls) of mining and being poisoned. And when Crookshank's grandson goes missing (also her friend Tansy's baby) Beka begins a sort of chase to find the kidnapper. She uses every resource she has: her friends (including the new “rushers” Rosto and Anniki; and the mage Kora); her magic; her cat; other people she knows; and her status. Beka solves the case (eventually, you know she has too), turns out it was the baker's son who was stealing the children so they could collect ransom's, and it was Crookshank who was hiring the miners and then having them, unless they died on the job. Rosto, a used-to-be rusher, kills the old Rogue and is named as the new Rogue (a respected position among most of the poor and other “rushers”). It ends with her presenting all of the case in court, to have the kidnappers and such convicted.

I love this book. I can't really explain why. I just do..

Ahh okay. When I announced my intention to read my first Tamora Pierce book, a lot of people were very excited for me, and a few people said they thought maybe you had to grow up with Tamora Pierce to really appreciate her, and I could totally see that being the case.

I thought it was cool that it was a fantasy police procedural rather than a straightforward fantasy quest, and I liked the social commentary aspects of it. And I could totally, totally see how young girls would love this kind of plucky, magical, talented orphan girl protagonist.

Anyway, overall I thought this was... fine? A bit too long for my taste, and a bit too... well, it had a map of a made-up place in it. And a super long list of characters. Yet it did not have a glossary for all the weird made-up slang. Like, I get why you need new words to describe magical stuff, sure, but why in magic land are we calling girls “mots” and boys “coves” now? Why. BUT that's me and my grumpfest, I know there are plenty of people who would view that as a bonus.

So, lots of appeal factors for plenty of readers who like fantasy/intro to second wave feminist characters/police procedurals, but not a lot of appeal factors for me personally. But you keep doing what you're doing, Tamora Pierce, cuz I know I'm in the minority here.

PS apparently this is a prequel to some of her other books? Which I do remember the beginning being a letter to somebody about Beka being their ancestor? Possibly there are things a reader would appreciate more if they already knew this world and understood some of the references. The plot certainly stood on its own to a new reader.