Black Heart by Holly Black

Cassel Sharpe is walking a fine line between working for the Feds and dealing with the Zacharov family. One misstep could land him in a lot of trouble. But working with the Feds isn't all it's cracked up to be. They claim that they're the good guys, but they're slippery and unexpected, and when they make Cassel a deal that seems too good to be true, Cassel is suspicious. The only problem? He can't afford to not take it.

Holly Black's conclusion to the Curseworkers trilogy is sharp and intelligent, full of sly plot twists and more elaborate cons that will keep you flipping pages late into the night. Cassel has to make a lot of tough decisions in this book, in dealing with his family, deciding what truths to tell, in how he will react to Lila, and how he ultimately wants to live his life and use his rare ability. There are a lot of attempts to dig up the past, with some interesting discoveries, and good drama between Cassel and the Zacharovs. It is a busy read, but not too overloaded, and Black does a great job at surprising readers and concluding the book without completely tying off all loose ends. Some things are left a mystery, but all of the important things are resolved, making for a very fitting end to this smart and intense mindbender of a trilogy.

Cover Comments: I'm not a fan of this cover at all...click here to read the Cover Talk post.

ARC provided by publisher.

Remember that one time I met Holly Black?

She's cool.