Allies & Assassins- Justin Somper

Prince Anders, ruler of Archenfield, is poisoned and Jared, his Edling and heir, must take his place. There is traitors among the the Twelve, the people who handle certain aspects of the kingdom, such as communication (the Falconer) and security (the Captain of the Guard). Jared knows he will never be his golden brother and suffers from insecurity about his rule. Asta Peck, the Physician’s apprentice and niece, tries to investigate the assassination. Silva, Anders' wife is, is pregnant. Knowing who is the assassin is nigh impossible. Anders may not have been who everyone thought he was. These are the events of the book Allies & Assassins, which was written by Justin Somper. In this book, Jared is a newly crowned ruler whose perfect brother and predecessor to the crown has been assassinated. In the search for the murderer and with the aid of Asta, Jared finds out about the many secrets his brother was hiding and that his brother was not the quintessence of perfection as was projected to the world. Who was Anders in truth, why was he murdered, and by who?

I enjoyed this book because it was intricately layered with the multiple suspects and the surprise of who it truly was in the end. Jared was a complex and three dimensional character because of his realistic emotions and turmoil. I would highly recommend this book for both the interesting plot and the well developed characters.

Harshini Ramalingam
Periods 1&3