Riot Headline Book Riot’s 2024 Read Harder Challenge
Mystery/Thriller

Quiz: Which Book of Magic and Mystery Should You Read Next?

Christine Hoxmeier

Staff Writer

Christine Hoxmeier can usually be found hard at work in her beloved home of Austin with a cup of coffee in one hand and a taco in the other. She spends her free time reading, writing, and dreaming of a teleportation device so she can visit her friends spread across the globe on a daily basis. If it were possible to live inside one Disneyland attraction for the rest of her life, Christine would cheat and choose to split her time between It's A Small World and The Enchanted Tiki Room. She prefers to communicate in CAPSLOCK and with gifs. Twitter: @aramblingfancy

Ink & Sigil, the exciting new novel by the author of the Iron Druid Chronicles, from Del Rey Books.

Al MacBharrais can cast spells with enchanted ink and uses his gifts to protect our world from the Fae. But anyone who hears his voice begins to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he only communicates through writing. And his apprentices keep dying in freak accidents. When his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in Glasgow, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life. Now Al must play detective—while avoiding those on his trail. His investigation will take him through Scotland's magical underworld, and he'll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he's to survive.

While this year hasn’t turned out like anyone expected, there are a few things that remain the same. As summer begins to slowly fade away and the nights turn cooler, we start to reach for familiar fall comforts; rust colored pillows, warm blankets, autumnal scented candles, cups of spiced tea, and books full of magic and mystery. Even those of us who live in warmer climates can’t help but yield to the call of fall and cozy books.

I don’t know about you, but some of the elements I’ve been drawn to in the books I’ve read this year is a sense of familiarity and known ending. When I pick up a romance novel, I know the book is going to end with a happily ever after. And when I begin a mystery novel, I know it is going to end with the mystery being solved. What a delight to know, even vaguely, how a story will end, during a time when it feels like nothing is ever going to end.

The only thing that would make reading a novel full of mystery even more enjoyable right now would be to add a bit of magic to it, the truest escapist element for any story. It’s easy to believe that life and the world would be a bit better if only we had a bit of magic at our fingertips. While there is no wrong time or season to read a mystery magic novel, what better time to delve into one than at the beginning of fall?

Whether you’re in the mood for mystery book with magical elements, a book set in a fantastical magical world, or a story that is more magic with a side dash of mystery, we have a suggestion for you. Take our quiz to find out which book of magic and mystery you should read next!