The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliott

Book of the Week: 1 March 2020

Cover illustration by Levente Szabo

Agatha is a good hawk, or so she has always believed. Her job is to patrol the sea wall and spot any approaching enemies that might attack her clan on the Isle of Skye. One day, she mistakes one of Clann-a-Tuath’s returning ships for an enemy one and fires a flaming arrow at it. Jamie is on board that boat suffering from seasickness. He has been given the role of an Angler, but is afraid of the sea. His anxiety isn’t helped when the flaming arrow sets fire to the boat and everyone must swim for their lives.

From this unpromising start, Jamie and Agatha are thrust together when a dreadful event destroys their quiet existence on Skye and they have to travel across Scotland to Norway on a dangerous mission to rescue those they love.

This is the first book in a new fantasy series called ‘Shadow Skye’ which features unique characters that will have the reader rooting for them and looking forward to book two. It’s one to try if you enjoyed The Shattered Sea series by Joe Abercrombie.