The Night Raven cover art

The Night Raven

Crow Investigations, Book 1

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The Night Raven

By: Sarah Painter
Narrated by: Kate Rawson
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About this listen

The Night Raven is the first book in Crow Investigations, an exciting new paranormal mystery series from best-selling author of magical fiction, Sarah Painter.

Lydia has always known she has no power, especially next to her infamous and more-than-slightly dodgy family. Which is why she carved her own life as a private investigator far away from London. When a professional snafu forces her home, the head of the family calls in a favour, and Lydia finds herself investigating the disappearance of her cousin, Maddie.

Soon, Lydia is neck-deep in problems: her new flatmate is a homicidal ghost, the intriguing, but forbidden, DCI Fleet is acting in a distinctly unprofessional manner, and tensions between the old magical families are rising. For 75 years, a truce between the four families has held strong, but could the disappearance of Maddie Crow be the thing to break it?

©2019 Sarah Painter (P)2019 W. F. Howes Ltd
Detective Fantasy Fiction Mystery Supernatural Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Paranormal Disappearance Exciting

Critic Reviews

“My favourite new urban fantasy series, clever and twisty and deliciously magical, with a shivery sense of wonder that feels utterly grounded in its London setting. Perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovitch, Genevieve Cogman or Robert Galbraith!” (Stephanie Burgis, author of Masks and Shadows)

What listeners say about The Night Raven

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    5 out of 5 stars

Nice wee listen!!

Really quite enjoyed this! It wasn't one of those listens which leaves you completely blown away, but it was wholly enjoyable.
I thought the narration was excellent!
All in all, worth the listen and I'll be checking out Book Two.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Fun story, not complicated, good for a rainy afternoon

I got this book for free so wasn’t expecting much, however, it was easy & fun to listen to, nothing complicated, I’m looking forward to the next one. Perfect if you want a bit of light reading to chill out with.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Bad narration

Good story but the narrator is hard to listen too, draws every syllable out, painful

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great narrator

Story was a little disjointed but I really enjoyed the narrators voice and delivery.
Easy listening

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Why matching a narrator to a story is so crucial

I quite enjoyed this book - though it's not on a par with something like the Dresden Files it was decently well written. But I think the choice of narrator was unfortunate and detracts from the listening experience..
This narrator is good at conveying emotion, but her overall style put me in mind of nothing so much as a Playschool presenter. The lead character is, I think, meant to be a modem female version of the hard-boiled (or perhaps soft-boiled) detective type, but this does not match up at all with the narrator's style, which seems more suited to lightweight romantic novels. I can tolerate it, but it's far from ideal and will make me hesitate about buying the next in the series.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Found the story to be a bit of a non event .

The story didn't really go anywhere felt like an extended introduction to the characters and the plot got a bit lost. The listening experience was saved by the great narration.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

Likeable characters, a good story line and I look forward to the next book. I love the narrator’s voice.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Okay

Not sure as yet on this one. I like the concept and everything but found myself a little let down overall with the story overall. I will continue on with the series and see how it develops. An acceptable read nevertheless.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

interesting story line, great narration

interesting story line, I'm looking forward to further understanding the different families and their powers in future books. This book was clearly just setting the scene for further exploration of their world. an enjoyable listen. the narrator performed exceptionally well, an easy to listen to voice.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Similar to the Rivers of London series

I enjoyed this story, I’ve been hankering for a series set in the modern day that delves into occult stuff but isn’t too deeply into the fantasy element- something similar to Rivers of London. I wanted modern dialogue, an interesting main character, a mystery to solve. This was a pretty good choice.
I wish the Angel and ghost characters had some more character development but I suspect that this was written to be resolved over many books, so don’t be expecting that. Not the most enthralling story though, but interesting enough to make me want to read the next book.

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