Murder of Crows: A Novel of the Others (The Others, #2)

by Anne Bishop

Return to New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s world of the Others—where supernatural entities and humans struggle to co-exist, and one woman has begun to change all the rules…

After winning the trust of the Others residing in the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn has had trouble figuring out what it means to live among them. As a human, Meg should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.
 
The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others, resulting in the murder of both species in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Simon Wolfgard—Lakeside’s shape-shifting leader—wonders if their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or a future threat.
 
As the urge to speak prophecies strikes Meg more frequently, trouble finds its way inside the Courtyard. Now, the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent on reclaiming their blood prophet—and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

• ISBN10: 0451465261
• ISBN13: 9780451465269
• Publish Date: 4 March 2014 (first published 1 March 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: ROC (imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc)
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 354
• Language: English

Reviews

[Linda]

Murder of Crows was just as good as Written in Red. The character development continued to both surprise me and make sense at the same time.
The whole world building is fantastic! It feels new and original, but still also like something I already know.
Meg is learning more about herself and the Others, just as Simon and the Others are learning more about Meg - and themselves.

[EBookObsessed]

I am enjoying the characters and the world building of this series. I would highly recommend to all the fantasy/urban fantasy lovers out there.

There has always been a line between humans and terra indigene who subtlely control the natural world, but some humans are beginning to stir up unrest. They want more: more land, more control, just…more. Why is everything controlled by the beasts?

Someone making two very dangerous drugs: one makes you furiously angry and one makes you lethargic and neither allow you to worry about your own safety. One is being fed to crowds of humans who are attacking terra indigene with no regard to claws and teeth, and the other is being fed to the terra indigene, more specifically traps are being laid for the crows and when they eat the drugged food, they simply stand there, helpless against their attackers.

The humans are forgetting that the lands given to them by the terra indigene are far apart and surrounded by woods for a reason, and that past uprising have lead to human cities suddenly disappearing overnight. Humans are responsible for an attack on crows in Jersy and they wake to find their city cut off. The city is under seige by the terra indigene. The humans can’t leave and their food supplies have been cut off. What happens now will be up to the terra indigene.

The leaders have chosen to meet at the Lakeside Courtyard. Lakeside isn’t immune to the unrest but it is the only courtyard with a human pack living within the walls. Meg Corbyn, the human liaison and a cassandra sange or blood prophet, has created her own pack of friends among the humans who work within the courtyard, and for the first time, Simon Wolfgard, the leader of the Lakeside terra indigene finds himself counting these humans among those he needs to protect, rather than just meat.

It is Meg who first warns Simon and the crows of the danger of attacks. A small cut allows the blood prophet to view the danger among the hunt for “shiny” that the crows usually enjoy on garbage day.

And it is that early morning prophecy that shines a light on the issue in the growing friendship between Meg and Simon. Since Meg was hurt in an attack, Simon has taken to protecting her and sleeping with her to make sure she is safe. But being suddenly kicked off the bed by a blood prophet, makes Simon shift to his human form to ask what is happening? Sharing a bed with wolf-Simon is one thing, but when naked-human-Simon slips under the covers, Meg has concerns where their unusual friendship is leading them.

As tensions rise between the humans and the terra indigene, can Lakeside be a shining example of co-existence of the races, or will is simply highlight the differences?

Since I read book 6 first, I have an idea what is in the future for this series, but I am still enjoying as the story unfolds.

In a story where the shifters are more animal than human, you can understand where both sides have a concern of how far Simon and Meg’s friendship can go. They have become very comfortable with each other and has the feel of a friends-to-lovers story, but Meg has just escaped a life of capitivity and is almost innocent to relationships in general, let alone the complexity of a romance with Simon. As leader, Simon keeps himself apart from the others, even the other wolves, so spending time with Meg brings him contentment. It is Simon’s people who remind him that while humans write stories of shifters and humans falling in love and living happily ever after, those same stories told by terra indigene are told as warnings why it should be avoided.

We also meet another group of humans known as the Intuit, who, while they don’t prophize, they do get feelings of thing that might happen. A large group of intiuts live on an island not to far from Lakeside. They believe that blood prophets might have one time been intuits. When the leader from the island wants to meet Meg, Simon agrees until he realizes that while things are awkward between Simon and Meg, Meg could easily mate with an intuit. Then Simon wants to make sure Meg doesn’t like him too much.

I am enjoying the world building presented in this series and as a romantic, I like the sweet moments between Simon and Meg. Right now there is not sexual tension, just a growing friendship that both are growing to depend on.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

[Nicole Lynn]

4.5 stars! Really drawn into this series and it's become a little bit of an addiction for me! Have to know what happens next! More of a review to come 😊

[nitzan_schwarz]

JUST POSTED ON THE BLOG! 

This book. THIS BOOK. You guys, I seriously can't even. It took a re-read for me to be able to form enough words to write a review about it. And even then, I'm not sure this is going to be coherent.

This book starts with a bang, with things developing in my ship--and then coming to a sudden halt. It physicallyhurt, because my little cinnamon rolls are so confused and baffled and I just want to hug them and spell out to them that they're falling in love. And that it's going to be okay.

Even though, let's be honest, it probably won't be. Not sure how Others are going to take a courtyard leader being mated with a human, but that's a worry for some other day.

We have enough to worry about in this installment as it is. Such as two dangerous drugs wrecking havoc among the humans and Others, starting conflicts that end in bloodshed and death and destruction. Mostly for the human side of things.

And the Lakeside Courtyard wants the Lakeside to survive, so they're working in order to end the conflict with the least bloodshed. Not because they personally mind the deaths of humans, but because they now have a human pack of exploding fluffballs in their midst and they will probably mind if such things happen.

Things were a lot easier when humans were nothing but meat...

Honestly, one of my favorite parts (after Meg and Simon's relationship and the small developments in it that gave me life) were seeing the humans interacting with the Others more, especially when leaders from other courtyards came to visit (btw - I love Alan and Charlie. I hope to see more of them!) It was fascinating, and hilarious, and it gave hope for the future.

But I don't really have much hope for the past, because a comment Meg says that kind of went by me the first time I read it made me realize her past might be even more horrific than I thought it was--and I thought it plenty awful before.

*shudder*

And between all the awfulness, this book is funny. Seeing the Others flabbergasted by the humans is funny. Seeing Meg deal with the wolves and the pups is funny. Seeing their day to day interactions, whether it's between Others, humans, or the Others with the humans made for some funny things because they're a family and they tease and they joke and asdfghjkl

THIS BOOK gave me life. Now I need the rest of the series to magically drop in my hands and come to me.

April 18, 2015 Read:
So... I read this awhile ago, and absolutely loved it, but I just never actually got around to writing a proper review for it.
Recording my notes here so they won't be lost :)

*I just want to gush on how amazing this book is.

*My god, Bishop managed to make me finish this in a day, practically in one sitting - it was just as addicting as book 1, if not more!

*MY OTP IS SO ENDGAME I CAN'T EVEN

*Loved the little peek we got of other Courtyard leaders, especially Charlie! I hope we see them all again.

*More of Jean and the controller in this one. It's interesting that we never learn his name, even at the end. It makes him this frighting, supreme entity instead of just another villain. On the one hand I would've liked him to be exposed as the sorry, miserable little piece of shit that he is. On the other... it's quite amazing, because this way Bishop is pretty much saying "humans can be as big a monster as real monsters, if not more so, without having any of the supernatural ability".

*I laughed out loud many times in this installment of the series; especially when the Others were attempting to understand and were confused by the exploding fluffballs! (you need to read the book to understand this reference, but then again, you need to read the whole series anyways).

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

4.75 ★ Audiobook⎮ I began this audiobook within seconds of finishing the previous installment. When you’re riding the high of a newly discovered series, you do things like that. I will say that I liked this installment slightly less than the first, but only slightly. It continued with the larger, over-arcing storyline, which moved at a steady pace, while the smaller, faster-paced plotlines shifted focus a little in this installment. For example, the main storyline (the growing divide between humans and terra indigene) is steadily picking up steam, albeit at a tantalizingly pace, and the minor plotlines (usually dealing with smaller/internal conflicts) that are happening in conjunction are occurring and being resolved much more quickly. This installment saw more of Mary Lee and the other humans that work in the Courtyard and not as much of Sam, the wolf pup whom I adored in the previous book. I appreciate how Anne Bishop can artfully juggle multiple minor plotlines in tandem with the overall main plot. This technique gives her the opportunity to develop extremely well-rounded characters, along with an excellently crafted world. Murder of Crows takes the reader even further into the world beyond the Courtyard and it is marvelous. It’s amazing how Bishop’s writing strikes such a delicate and enticing balance that causes the story and its characters to come across as delightfully dark. For me, it’s just perfect, like a really great dark chocolate.

[liz089]

Read more about this review and others on my blog Freyja Eats Books

SUMMARY.
As a human residing among the Others of the Lakeside Courtyard, Meg Corbyn should be barely tolerated prey, but her abilities as a cassandra sangue make her something more.

The appearance of two addictive drugs has sparked violence between the humans and the Others in nearby cities. So when Meg has a dream about blood and black feathers in the snow, Lakeside's shape-shifting leader, Simon Wolfgard wonders whether their blood prophet dreamed of a past attack or a future threat.

Now the Others and the handful of humans residing there must work together to stop the man bent of reclaiming their blood prophet - and stop the danger that threatens to destroy them all.

STANDALONE or SERIES.
This is the second part in The Others series !!

WHY this book.
I choose to continue this series after I finished the first book, Written in Red. I completely fell in love with it and wanted to know more.

FIRST THOUGHTS.
Awesome book ! I really liked that I could just continue everything I had to leave behind when I finished the first book. It really is a great story, and I just felt like I needed to know more, read more. This story has put me under some kind of spell that does not let me go, that has a hold on me. Even when I’m busy with other stuff it keeps poking me in the back of my head.. It really is one of a kind.

PLOT.
In this part we continue were the first one left off. We are in a world where the Others are in control and the humans are becoming more and more rebellious. We got an introduction to the drugs Gone over Wolf and Feel-Good in the first part, but it evolves more in this one. More accidents involving the drugs, and the Others come together in Lakeside Courtyard to decide how to handle this new threat. They know the drugs are being manufactured by using blood prophets and start a search for The Controller..

I really like how the plot is building in this part, the danger of a war looming.. You see things coming closer and closer, knowing that things will explode eventually.. but just not yet. It keeps you on your toes, feeling the tension building. Loved that ! Very exciting.
We get more history about were the blood prophets came from and how the Intuits play a part in that. The world keeps growing, I like that.
It also keeps that spooky background that I am really enjoying as well.

ROMANCE.
Not a lot of romance in this one too, but a bit more. You see the tension building between them, that they keep growing closer together. They are falling in love, but are not really ready for it. They are going in an easy pace, not interrupting more important parts of the plot and I really have a great admiration for that. It just stays nice on the background with some exciting stuff in between to keep it going.

SETTING.
In the first book it was more about Lakeside and the Courtyard itself, but in this book that world is growing. We get to know more about its surrounding villages and towns, and even a little bit beyond that. She really makes it all so visual.. Like I am standing there next to them.
We get to know more about the history of the land and its inhabitants. Everything is just growing bigger and bigger, not overwhelming you with a lot at once, but gradually expanding it. This way, you don’t get an information overload that makes it boring. This way, you get to progress it better and keep you interested.

CHARACTERS.
I really like how you see the characters growing as well. Not a lot of Others know how to deal with humans or have not come in contact with them. Now, there are more and more of them in the Courtyard. The Others are learning and that make for some funny scenes too !
This way everything stays logical and does not go too fast to keep it real. Like real persons they are growing and learning and you live right along with them.

FAVORITE.
I really am starting to like Monty more and more. He is a very smart guy, and things deeper than most humans do. He cares for both sides and I have a great appreciation for that. Also I feel kind of sad for him that he has to deal with his bitch ex-lover for his daughter. I want Lizzy with him !!
Oh, and I am totally enjoying the Elementals !! I wish I could draw so I could put up some nice picture of Water riding Fog or Air riding Tornado…

LEAST FAVORITE.
I don’t know if I really have someone I really hated in this book.. Yes The Controller is the big bad evil in this book, but I barely know him ! Maybe Phineas Jones ? Creepy shark dude.

THE BAD.
Even though I agree with how things are evolving.. I do wish for some more SimonxMeg action.. Hopefully in the next part !!

FAVORITE QUOTES.
“I smelled blood,” Simon said. “It was … upsetting.” He looked at her torso, just below the breasts. Did the cut open up? If it opened up and bled again, would Meg need to speak prophecy? Or did she have a fresh cut? Was that the reason she was in the bathroom? “Is there something I should write down?”
“No,” Meg replied tightly. “It’s not a cut, so there aren’t any visions or prophecies with this kind of blood.”
He cocked his head. “There are different kinds of blood?”
Vlad, who was standing closer to her, looked at her face and took a step back. Simon wished he hadn’t put on the jeans so he could grow a tail and tuck it over his male bits.
“I’m a girl!” she shouted. “It happens!”
Simon glanced at Vlad, who looked equally puzzled.
“You’re both so quick to think it’s ‘that time of the month’ whenever a girl isn’t all sweet and sunny, but it doesn’t occur to you when it really is that time of the month?”

“Simon, it’s Meg. I’m closing up the office now and … It’s not the first time you’ve had to go away, but it feels … different … this time. Empty. I don’t know. I want my friend to come home. I’m going over to Merri Lee’s to watch movies that we can cry about, but I’d rather be able to hide behind you and watch a scary movie. When you’re there, I don’t see too much of the scary. Anyway, see you soon.”

You couldn’t choose to step away once you got entangled with the Others. He just hoped that humans would gain something from the bloodshed that was coming.

FINAL THOUGHTS.
Give me book three !!! NEED to continue ! I really am falling more and more in love with this series, it is just THAT GOOD. You should most definitely read it. 5 Freyja’s !!

[wyvernfriend]

While reading this Daesh attacked Paris, fundamentalists attacked people for being different to them, it was interesting to see Anne Bishop show how exclusion of moderates can happen so easily the echoes were interesting.

Meg discovers more about herself and her abilities and what her blood can do. There's also two addictive drugs appearing on the market that appear to have links to Meg and her need to prophecise is making her cut herself. Her mission, in her own mind, is not only survival but to also rescue the others like her who are still suffering from abuse.

It's an interesting series about a world where humanity isn't the dominant life-form and where things could go horribly wrong at any time for humanity where the dominant are others who regard humanity as interesting food.

I'm enjoying this series.

[littleread1]

I liked this better than book 1. I think it is because I understood the world better. What kept throwing me off was that it was our world, yet not. Like - days of the week. Wednesday was there, but there was also Firesday, Moonsday, Earthday, etc. Don't ask me the order I still don't know. The Atlantic Ocean is there, but the continent/country(?) is Thesia.

But anyway Meg and Simon have developed an awkwardness over a misunderstanding that was actually quite adorable and endearing. The supporting cast of characters expands some, and the switching POV's was done more smoothly. After this one I might consider continuing this series on audio. We will see when the next one comes out what mood I am in. :-)

[kimbacaffeinate]

Gods above and below I love the characters that Bishop has created. I have always loved shifters, vampires, wolves and elementals, but Bishop’s interpretation of those residing in Thasia is unique. They are a little raw and use to seeing humans as prey. Yet we see tremendous growth in them as well as the humans who interact with them. Simon Wolfgaurd the leader at Lakeside made me laugh, and swoon a little. I truly enjoyed his developing relationship with Meg. Meg is such a refreshing heroine, and unlike any I have encountered in urban fantasy. She is tough when dealing with the others and shows little fear, but she is also timid and unsure. Sometimes she has this childlike innocence about her and at other times she seems wise beyond her years. All these complex sides of Meg work and make her feel genuine. I loved the growth we see in her, and when she gets annoying I cannot help but laugh. Characters from the previous novel are further developed. I love all of the supernatural characters in the courtyard and appreciated how Bishop took the time to develop these secondary characters. Bishop introduces Skippy, Intuits, and additional supernatural creatures who added humor, enriched the world and at times made me giggle-snort. We get another perspective from another cassandra sangue that was brutal, and clearly showed how these girls have suffered. Her voice is strong and she brings a clearer picture while enchancing the story in her own right. Bishop introduced villains, and other humans which added to the tale and furthered my enjoyment of this world. I did miss some of the interactions in the courtyard, but am confident we will see more.

In Murder of Crows, Bishop’s world and character building blew my mind. The threat intensified as we gained more insight into the HFL, traveled to other parts of Thasia, and new characters came into the fold. Those things alone made the book stellar, but then Bishop fleshed out relationships, introduced three dimensional characters and increased our knowledge of the terra indigene. We learn about their books, movies and have an interesting time with cookies. Meg and the community are beginning to understand more about the cassandra sangue and Meg’s prophecies. From the first page to the last the tale ebbed and flowed perfectly as the tension increased. Bishop does an outstanding job of balances the darker tones of this plot with the light. We get multiple povs, including those of the Controller and another cassandra sangue which intensified the story keeping me enthralled. The treatment of the cassandra sangue by these controllers was dark and violent from abuse to rape. Bishop didn’t attempt to flower these details. She simply presents the facts leaving them to smack and enrage the reader. When reading my reviews you often hear me say, “I wanted more world-building and fleshed out characters.” Murder of Crows and Written in Red are exquisite examples of what I crave. All of my needs were satisfied from the panoramic view to the depth of details. Nothing was rushed; the plot was well thought out, and every word and detail was relevant. If every author gave me these beautiful details as seamlessly as Bishop, I would be on a never ending book high.

I was very excited to see that once again Alexandra Harris was the narrator. Harris did a wonderful job narrating Written in Red and impressed me even more with Murder of Crows. Her depiction of Meg truly captures her emotions and even her growth. She brought the characters to life for me, and I think her pacing is perfectly matched for the Others series. She uses different voices for each character that are so unique and so clear I could immediately identify them.

I rarely re-read books. My habit is to read favorite passages of books that I loved, but I will tell you I own both the books and the audios for this series and plan to re-read them again a little each night. If audio books are your thing I totally recommend, you listen to Written in Red and Murder of Crows. If not buy the books, rent them, or borrow them but for heaven’s sake read them. *flailing hands*

originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Melanie]

Listening to audiobook.

Drop what you are doing and read this series now. Best book of 2014, and I have a feeling I will feel the same at the end of the year.

I started this series late, as it was on everyone's must read list for 2013. I listened to book one in January and learned why everyone loved it. It is so completely different from everything else that is out on the market at this time, it is just great. The world-building is amazing. The characters, while they are not cuddly, they are still lovable in their own way. The series is very dark, but still has moments that will make you laugh.

In this book, we start a few weeks after the end of book one. Meg has ingrained herself even further into the courtyard and the lives of the terra indigene that live there. I love how such a fragile young girl is able to stand up to such ferocious creatures that surround here like it is nothing. The way she is able to cowl a wolf by just refusing to give him cookies, which he could easily overpower and take for himself, just shows that Meg has something more than most humans have. I think might be some sort of defense mechanism that the cassandra sangue may have developed to help defend them. It is not just the adults who understand how fragile she is, but the pups who have never even met her that have this reaction to her.

I also love how the author addresses the "wolf lovers" and the way the human population at large reacts to them. This is not something that is new to us, fiction or real history. How often do you see people who are shunned for trying to bridge the gap between to groups of individuals, whether it be race, religion or in this case species? The big difference here, is you have the lesser race being persecuted for interacting with the more dominate group. Usually, in real history, this is something that is admired and something people aspire to do. We want to be with the people of power, but that is not the case in this world. In this world, humans who want to interact with the others are viewed as traitors to their race.

The narrator made some changes to the words she is using in this book compared to book one. Like saying "bow" the word instead of B.O.W. as letters. Since I've listened to both, I'm not sure how it is written, not sure which is correct, but the change is strange. She is also pronouncing cassandra sangue differently in this book than in book one. I hope that we have some sort of consistency going forward in the series.

I do love how the narrator portrays Meg. She really brings out the innocence in her, but also strength. She still does a great job with all the difference characters and their personalities, even when they are in wolf form.