Murder at Midnight by Avi

Posted by Miss Dewey at Orenda

Four paw prints. Fabrizio has a problem. He is an orphan and this, of course, leads to other problems like where will he live, who will take care of him, what should he do when he is accused of helping a traitor to the king. Fabrizio is taken in by Mangus the Magician and his wife to help with small chores around the house. While he is there, Mangus is trying to teach Fabrizio how to read and to understand that there is no such thing as magic but it is possible for a person to create illusions to look like magic. Fabrizio and Mangus live in an Italian city where magic is against the law and everyone is surprized when Mangus is arrested for performing real magic and using magic to threaten the life of the king. Now Fabrizio has a real problem. Should he help the man who has given him a home or should he help the king and tell the king everything he knows. I really enjoyed this book. Even though I had an idea of how the magic was created I wasn't sure if I was right until the very end of the story. And, even though I figured out how the magic was made, I wasn't sure how Mangus would be able to escape the king since everyone, except Fabrizio, believed him to be guilty. If you like this book try reading the sequel Midnight Magic or visit http://www.avi-writer.com/ to find more great books by Avi. (This review was based on an uncorrected proof. The final edition was published on September 1, 2009.)

Fic Avi