The Raptor & the Wren

Miriam Black has reached rock bottom. The shriveled up piece of hope that once dangled inside, has officially turned to dust. Now her nights are spent getting drunk off cheap wine and stalking the neighborhood to see who she can steal from next. Until FBI Agent Grosky tracks her down. It seems someone created a subreddit for a woman called the Angel of Death. A woman who looks a lot like Miriam. She's become an urban legend. Cell phone footage shows a grainy image of Miriam with a flock of birds at her call. And that's not all, they've tracked her all the way back to the Caldecott School murders. Furious that she's been exposed to the world, the final blow comes when Grosky informs her there is a copycat killer on the loose. One that is dressing like Miriam and reenacting her crimes. The past will come back to haunt Miriam as she hunts down the copycat, and the trespasser comes to collect his due.

The rules are changing in this second to the last installment. Wendig makes you question everything you've started to piece together. How the abilities work, who the trespasser is, honestly I'm not sure what to believe anymore. It makes me need the last book, wanting to see how everything ties together. It's a bold move, but I have no doubt Wendig will be able to pull it off.

Miriam always leaves me craving more. Maybe it's the carnality of it all, the animalistic way she deals with her problems. She is a severely damaged character and I can't get enough. I keep waiting to see if she can finally find some shred of redemption for everything she has done, killing and destroying book after book. It seems every time she finds some semblance of balance, she's knocked right back down. But she keeps standing back up ready to fight.

As eager as I am to see how Miriam deals with the new challenges she is left with at the end of this book, I don't want it to end.