Magic for Liars: A Novel

by Sarah Gailey

When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister - without losing herself.

• ISBN10: 1250174619
• ISBN13: 9781250174611
• Publish Date: 1 July 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: St Martin's Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

The writing was decent and the world she created was fun and easy to understand. The end felt a bit forced, but overall, I enjoyed this unique twist on a crime mystery story from Sarah. 

[ibeforem]

Ivy Gamble is a private investigator. Normally she spends a lot of time following around cheating spouses, so when a well-dressed woman appears in her office and offers her a chance to work on a murder case, it's tough to refuse. But there's another wrinkle -- the possible murder happened at a school for magically-inclined children where Ivy's very magical twin sister Tabatha is a teacher. Ivy isn't magical at all, something which has come between the two sisters over the years.

Unable to pass up the challenge of the job and what it could do for her business, Ivy finds herself ensconced at the exclusive school, not really sharing with others that she doesn't have magic and feeling very imposter-syndromy about the whole thing.

I don't want to share much about the mystery itself, because it's very twisty-turny and did not go in the direction I expected it to, which I really appreciated. Ivy is an interesting character. She is far from perfect, very insecure about her background and lack of magic, and in danger of getting sucked a little too deep into the mystery. I also liked the dynamic between Ivy and her sister and their struggle to heal their relationship.

As far as I can tell, this is a stand-alone novel, but I would be up to reading about Ivy solving more magical mysteries.

[Jo]

Review to come.

[kimbacaffeinate]

25% I am not sure if it's me, but I cannot slip in and find the pacing and narrative painfully slow. I may try again later.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Magic for Liars through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Magic for Liars is the latest standalone novel from Sarah Gailey. Honestly, after having finished this novel, I found myself wishing that it wasn't a standalone novel. But more on that later. Magic for Liars has so much to offer, with a rich blend of ideas and genres.
Ivy Gamble is a twin, but she and her sister are as different as you could ever imagine. Ivy grew up to be private investigator. Tabitha grew up to be a professor at a magic high school. Yes, you did in fact read that right. Their worlds collide thanks to a grisly crime that Ivy has been called in to solve.
This novel was absolutely fascinating and so much fun to read. It was well written, but I also loved the fun twists on a certain famous magical school series (cough cough Harry Potter cough). Magic for Liars made me chuckle, but it also enchanted me and kept me anxiously turning the pages.


Magic for Liars ended up being so much more than I expected – and I had decently high hopes for this novel. I knew upon reading the description that it was going to be a blast to read, and I wasn't wrong.
The core concept of Magic for Liars was very clever – magic meets private investigator. With some family drama, emotional trauma, and a heavy dose of self doubt thrown into the mix. And that's not taking into consideration all of the tongue in cheek moments in this novel.
There were a lot of clearly intentional jokes about Hogwarts snuck in here and there. Some were more obvious than others. But all of them made me chuckle. I had to appreciate the irony in some cases. For example, this novel is basically from the perspective of the non-magical sister (remind you of Petunia and Lily?). And let's not forget the new perspective on prophecies and chosen ones. That was a nice touch!
Ivy was an interesting main character. I'm not going to pretend that I liked her right away. Because I didn't. But she did grow on me. In fact, by the end I found myself rooting for her against all odds. I couldn't help but feel the heartbreak and every other emotion she was forced to deal with.
Speaking of Ivy, I found the PI side of things to be a shockingly good touch. It was fun seeing a 'normal' try and solve a mystery in a magical setting. You'd think that Ivy would be completely overwhelmed by the prospect – I know I would. But nope, she soldiers on. Because of her limited abilities (magically speaking, that is) and knowledge, Ivy had to work with what she had. And it was fascinating to see her work her way through the process.
This novel was a unique blend of genres and tones. It was magical and mystery, comical and intense, dramatic and light. Because of that it was a fantastic read. I hadn't realized how much I would enjoy this mixture...but now I'm desperately craving more of it!
This is one of those novels that I hated seeing the end of. Not because I didn't like the ending (though in this case, I would have killed for just a bit more), but because I just wasn't ready to finish reading it. Admittedly I haven't read any of Sarah Gailey's other novels, so clearly I'm going to have to dig through those and see what I can come up with! And I'm looking forward to it.


For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley and Tor Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

At the very beginning, Magic for Liars intrigued me. The prologue starts in a magical school – half high school, half Hogwarts – then in chapter one we’re transported to a delightfully film noir atmosphere as we’re introduced to Ivy Gamble. From page one, the atmosphere in this book was spot on, and it’s the type of book that immediately draws you in.

Throughout, the atmosphere, setting, and magic remains intriguing. Explanations of the magical system are simple to understand, but complex enough to be impressive. There’s a good balance of magic and reality to make the whole novel feel balanced in that respect, although the noir feel fades. Ivy’s head is an interesting place to be when she’s coherent.

That’s sort of where it all stops.

The characters in this novel were not deep or interesting enough to be memorable. There’s a Chosen One prophecy that’s underwhelming and the characters involved do not generally impress enough to make me care about the subplot. Some of the teachers at the school had potential, but they don’t have enough stage time to develop – the creepy English teacher, the supposedly ravishing love interest, the school administrator who is one of the best healers in their age, on it goes. As for Ivy herself… half the story she’s dead drunk and the other half of the time she’s too busy being insecure about being non-magical that I honestly don’t know how she got anything done at all. All of the crime solving bits are in a drunken haze, and as a reader, I felt a bit cheated out of the good parts.

As plot goes, this was utterly predictable. You can pretty much guess the whodunnit from the beginning, which just leaves the trail of clues to make the journey enjoyable. As I said, most the solving was done in bits and pieces when Ivy’s dank and only half-focused, so that’s not really developed. There’s a romantic subplot, a sibling subplot, and a Chosen One subplot, but in all these Gailey stretched themselves too thin and flat characters plus unexplained outbursts just make these a bit exhausting.

I very much enjoyed the magical explanations, and for those at least, I’m not disappointed for having read Magic for Liars. It’s a light read, and certainly leans to something more New Adult to Adult than YA, but generally speaking, it entertained enough. I think those who read and enjoyed School for Psychics would enjoy it, or anyone who likes a bit of a light paranormal investigative story.