Fighting is Emma Carstairs' life. She is training to be a Shadowhunter a demon killer and is determined to discover the truth behind her parents' grisly murder five years ago. At her side is lifelong best friend Julian, who is also her parabatai, a bonded-for-life platonic warrior partner. As a new rash of murders occurs throughout L.A. and faces from her past return, Emma gets closer to discovering the truth about her parents, even as she and Julian begin to navigate their changing feelings for each other. But the law that prohibits parabatai from falling in love is rooted in reason, and the consequences are more dire than they know. At more than 700 pages, this is sometimes overblown, and Clare relies overmuch on characters from other series in her Shadowhunter world (although this likely won't dissuade her die-hard fans). Still, there is much to enjoy, including a subplot involving the Wild Hunt that is fresh and often wonderfully told. With an intense cliff-hanger ending, demand for the sequel is likely to be just as high. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With a Shadowhunters TV series now on air, Clare has never been more popular. This new series delivers plenty of the violence, otherworldy intrigue, and star-crossed romances readers have come to expect.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2016 Booklist

Gr 9 Up-Shadowhunter Emma Carstairs is pulled back to a time that was full of pain and rage-the time her parents were murdered-when bodies with similar markings start turning up in Los Angeles. She and her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, must navigate cryptic clues, their tangled relationship, and the sudden reappearance of his brother Mark, who was kidnapped several years earlier by faerie. In addition, Emma and Julian must deal with the frequently confusing rules and politics of the nonmortal world and undercurrents created by secret agendas and conflicted relationships. This is a lengthy story with many characters and nearly as many entanglements and plot elements. Morena Baccarin does a good job of pacing and inflection as the narrator. However, the length and complexity will make listening a challenge for some teens. VERDICT Suggest this to ardent fans of the "Mortal Instruments" series as well as urban fantasy lovers who have time to focus exclusively on listening to the story with minimal distractions. ["A must-have for libraries with devoted Shadowhunter fans, who will undoubtedly be waiting for this emotionally intense beginning to her new series": SLJ 4/16 review of the Margaret K. McElderry book.]-John R. Clark, Hartland Public Library, ME © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Clare returns to her Shadowhunters world with this enjoyable if drawn-out tale. Set in contemporary Los Angeles, it centers on Emma Carstairs, a Shadowhunter adopted by members of the Blackthorn family who, like her, were orphaned in the Dark War five years earlier. Emma has become parabatai or sworn companion to Julian, the oldest Blackthorn boy living at the local Institute, where Shadowhunters live and train. When humans and faeries start turning up dead, covered in mysterious runes like those found on the bodies of Emma's parents, she and Julian investigate, accompanied by Julian's disoriented older brother Mark, recently returned after having been stolen by the faeries years before. Having been gradually revealed in nine previous novels, the Shadowhunter universe is complex, jargon-rich, and a bit unwieldy, but Clare's well-developed protagonists (each a fragile combination of heroic warrior and teenage neurotic), pell-mell action sequences, complicated family dynamics, and fascinating magic system continue to engage. This first volume in the Dark Artifices trilogy should easily please Clare's existing fans, but newcomers will want to begin with the Mortal Instruments. Ages 14-up. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.