Bodies of Magic by Freya Marske

Book Review

Elloise

In the Grand Duchy of Sieuxerr, the year’s cohort of mage-scholars are about to take their final exams in the hope of qualifying as true healers and giving them a chance to use their skills to help others. At least most of them are hoping to qualify, but among the Year 5 students, more than one of them harbours a secret which may soon become unravelled.

Moyna heads to the Academie, as prepared as she will ever be to find out which other students will sit the Grand Exam as part of her team – they will pass or fail together as they face five patients presenting five medical mysteries awaiting diagnosis and treatment. She has little time to consider her teammates – Alys, expected to fail, Estiene, son of the Head Healer, Jehan Fortier who she already knows a lot about, and Clement, best friends of top student, Ysabel – before the patient is ready and the exam begins.

None of them were prepared for the discovery of a dead body in the exam hall, especially when they realise it is in fact fellow student and teammate, Ysabel, who lies dead. There are no clear causes of death, though many will assume suicide. Even stranger, as the first round of the exam ends, a letter from Ysabel herself deepens the mystery. The four students will have to use all of their healing abilities and every scrap of investigative intelligence to find out what really happened to Ysabel and clear themselves of guilt. Unfortunately for them, Ysabel will not be the only victim.

Bodies of Magic is a clever murder mystery set in the world of dark academia, beginning with the discovery of the dead candidate and following the group as Ysabel’s clues slowly reveal who had motivation to want her dead and the skills to cause it. The background to the story is that mage-healers are in short supply, following a terrible illness, the serrage, which currently has no known cure, so those who test for the magic ability have no choice but to train and bond themselves to the service of healing and perhaps the search for a cure.

This book is crafted through richly subtle wordbuilding, weaving the complexities of the academie and society through the narrative. Marske has masterful control over the stage and its players as the investigation plays out. Each of our key characters hides desires and motivations, worries and ambitions from the others, and the relationships between them are revealed and explored as the story progresses.

Moyna is not the only one to have serious reservations and reluctance about the path laid out for her, and they provide a realistic contrast against Ysabel’s determination to succeed, and Estiene’s need to live up to the expectations of his father. It is a slow-burner at times, but with enough tension and revelations to keep things interesting.