Lucas Blogs About Magic for Liars

Well, that's eye-catching.

 

So, what's this book's deal?

Well, Hypothetical Reader, Magic for Liars is a fantasy novel by Sarah Gailey. It's about Ivy Gamble, a private eye, who finds herself in the employee of Osthorne Academy when a member of the faculty is found bisected in the library.

Bisected? You mean like split into two parts?

Yep! Right down the middle.

What kind of school is this?

It's a magic prep school.

Is Ivy a magic detective?

No. But her twin sister, Tabitha, is on the faculty. So when Headmaster Torres still has lingering doubts about the official investigation, she hires Ivy to poke around and see if she can find any leads. Anyway, Ivy and Tabitha fell out years ago after finding out that Tabitha could do magic and she went away to a school like Osthorne. While Ivy interviews faculty and students she also finds herself flirting with Rahul Chaudhary, the physical magic teacher, while maybe, kinda-sorta letting him think that she knows how to do magic.

Can't imagine that blowing up in her face.

I mean how could it? In any case, the other magic plot thread that spins off from her investigation involves another set of twins, Dylan and Alexandria DeCambray. Dylan has a bit of a hero complex, which might be justified since family tradition holds that someone in his generation is going to be revealed as a chosen one before their 18th birthday.

Wait, the putative chosen one has a twin? Is this a set up for the most obvious twist ever?

Well, twist is a strong word. But yeah, it certainly seems that way. Anyway, Alexandria seems like a typical mean girl character, but is her intimidating mien a sign of dark magic or is she just intimidating? In any case, Gailey does a good job of seeding the novel with interesting plot threads for Ivy to pull at in her investigation. And while I wasn't able to figure out who the culprit was before it was revealed, it makes sense and feels earned by the time you reach the ending.

Well, that's usually a good sign in a mystery.

It is. Though, I wouldn't really call this a mystery novel, per se. There is a mystery, and it is satisfying, but it's just as much about Ivy working out her relationship with her sister and confronting her own feelings of envy about the ways in which their lives have diverged. Because the story is narrated by Ivy (except for the prologue) we see all of this unfold from her perspective: her initial resentment of her sister as stuck-up and aloof, and the growing understanding that they develop as they actually begin talking to each other again. It works really well as a hook to get the reader invested in the protagonist as a character. Likewise, the choice to have her pretend to be a magic-user, which both lets her get more of an inside perspective in her investigation, but complicates her potential relationship with Rahul. Gailey manages to keep the reader on Ivy's side by making her acutely aware of her own failings. When you read Magic for Liars you aren't judging at Ivy, you're judging with Ivy.

Something tells me that sounded better in your head than it came out on the screen.

I cannot deny it. In any case, one very obvious twist aside, Magic for Liars is a pretty enjoyable take on the whole magic school concept. By making Osthorne very much like a normal (if fancy) high school, but with magic, Gailey is able to keep the story accessible to us non-magical people.

Seriously.

Okay, maybe I was being a little silly there. But there's actually more to this novel than I expected going in. There's all the stuff about sibling relationships and the ways in which people push each other away. There's also some commentary about the expectations and treatment of teenage boys and girls. There are a few truly astounding feats of magicianship. And, of course, a satisfying mystery that ends up tying into all these subplots. So, you know, if any of those things sound interesting to you, you might enjoy Magic for Liars.

Cool.

That's all you have to say.

Yes.

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey, Tor Books trade paperback edition, May 2020 (originally published in June 2019), 333 pages, pairs well with a night out with your estranged sibling who may or may not be able to help you solve a grisly murder

Links:

Here's the author's website, if you're into that kinda thing.