Terrier

This gritty fantasy mystery plunges readers into the mean streets of Tortall's Lower City, where sixteen-year-old Beka Cooper begins her training as a "Puppy" to the seasoned police veterans known as "Dogs." Pierce masterfully builds a world where police work blends with street smarts and subtle magic, creating a compelling investigative narrative centered on a murdered baby case that demands both conventional detective work and supernatural insight.

What sets this fantasy apart is Beka's unique voice—captured through her journal entries—and her ability to hear the whispers of the dead carried on city pigeons, giving the police procedural an unforgettable magical twist. Readers who crave complex world-building, determined female protagonists, and mysteries that unfold through both gritty realism and supernatural elements will find themselves completely absorbed in Beka's dangerous initiation into law enforcement.