Murders at Karlov Manor

by Seanan McGuire

Kaya returns to Ravnica just in time for a grand celebration—but not everyone will be leaving Teysa Karlov's lavish manor alive.

Genres: Fantasy

139 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Hi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.

Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).

I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(

Reviews

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy sorprendido por el murder mystery tan bien escrito que me he encontrado aquí. Aprovecha de maravilla el escenario que le proporciona Ravnica para construir un caso realmente interesante que consigue implicar a muchos personajes pre-establecidos de manera natural. Va a ser muy chulo jugar a este set sabiendo lo que referencian las cartas, especialmente siendo una historia que he disfrutado tanto.

[MajesticalLion · Rating 4 out of 5]

In spite of how deranged the set was for Ravnica, the actual story avoids the more outlandish details of Murders. Seanan McGuire once again manages to tell a really good story from some very sub-par source material. Kaya remains one of the best characters left in Magic's toolbox. Big fan of who the culprit was. Has a lot of implications for Guild stuff and Ravnican world building going forward. Now, at long last, it's time to read the great bullshit. The "we do cowboys now" set. Outlaws of Thunder Junction.

[Nikita Volodarskiy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Murders at Karlov Manor. I'd give it a 4/5.

The story was engaging, with okayish characters and even a bit of intrigue. What made it better for me was that it's set in the Magic: The Gathering universe. The connection to the game adds extra excitement, especially if you're familiar with the cards. It makes the whole thing more immersive. Without that MTG link, I probably would have rated it a 3, but the added layer of Magic lore really brought it to life.

Some parts were a bit odd and even cringey. There were moments when the dialogue or scenes felt awkward. It also felt a bit forced at times, like the author was trying too hard with the Ravnica guilds. You could tell when the characters went to different locations just to introduce each guild, and that came off as a bit fake.

But overall, if you're a fan of Magic: The Gathering, it's definitely worth a read!

[Dua (in reading slump) ✨]

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[Peter Lowry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story, given a full 10 chapters + an epilogue, felt much more fleshed out & well paced than several of the previous Magic Set Stories!

While people may say the Detective/Murder Mystery angle was silly or hokey I really enjoyed it & felt that Seanan & WotC did a solid job incorporating that into Ravnica.
After multiple rushed stories (all of which were good premises & had excellent world building, but were just crammed into short reads & given little room to breath) this felt a good bit more robust.

[Jeff Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the setting and the art. I also adore the idea of a mystery but some of the key character representations seemed contrived and out of sync with how they've appeared in the past. I understand they don't have a lot of space to create depth in these but wish they did. Super happy they have them in podcast form now.

[Parish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peak

[Derp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Proft was a fun character and I enjoyed the final reveal, but otherwise didn't get much out of this. It was nice that this one got 11 chapters so there was actually room to breathe.