From School Library Journal
Grade 7 UpβFans of Pierce's medieval fantasy police-procedural series will love this book as much as Terrier (Random, 2006). Beka, 17, is serving her first year as a Dog (police officer) in the Provost's Guard. She and her mentor and old partner, Goodwin, are sent from Corus to Port Caynn to try to discover the source of the counterfeit silver coins that are flooding the region, causing soaring grain prices and riots in Corus. Beka is accompanied by Achoo, the scent hound she rescued from its abusive handler. While in Port Caynn, she and Goodwin tangle with Pearl, Queen of the Thieves, and her crew. Beka falls for Dale, a handsome and charming gambler and bank courier who may be in league with Pearl. The action drags a bit in the middle to focus on the romance but makes up for it in the end. Pierce vividly imagines this world in which police procedures are different, yet similar to those of today. Ponce, Beka's wise cat, who is also a God, is mostly absent but Beka's other unusual magical sources of information-pigeons inhabited by talking ghosts of the dead and spirits in spinning dust funnelsβcontinue to add to the series' appeal. Beka is as headstrong and feisty as ever and frequently makes errors in judgment but is willing to learn from her mistakes. She truly earns the nickname Bloodhound as she faithfully narrates her story through journal entries.β Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton
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From Booklist
Readers unfamiliar with the first book in the Beka Cooper trilogy, Terrier (2006), will be temporarily confused by this follow-upβs cast of characters and colorful slang, such as βcoveβ for man and βmotβ for woman, but this teen police procedural stands on its own. Sixteen-year-old rookie policewoman Beka and her temporary partner, Clary, are sent to Port Caynn to investigate the source of counterfeit coins that have begun to appear in the markets and taverns. The wealth of detail, shared in diary format, occasionally threatens to overwhelm the bookβs pacing and action, but quirky, endearing characters save the story. Grades 6-8. --Cindy Welch