House of Cards

The Negotiator Trilogy, Book 2

By: C. E. Murphy

Narrated by: Eve Bianco

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

New York City's only legal counsel to the fabled Old Races, Margrit Knight is levelheaded in all matters extraordinary. But when she's summoned to negotiate a peace treaty among rival factions, her own mortal world threatens to fall apart. Margrit's been in hot water before, but reentering the underworld brings a new set of problems. And a new set of friends and enemies, including a ruthless vampire mobster, a dragonlord who won't take no for an answer, a band of subversive selkies...oh, and Alban Korund, the sexy gargoyle who got her into this mess - and whose granite-strong touch still haunts her every fantasy.

©2008 C. E. Murphy (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

2nd of the series....

Loved this book and the narrator was perfect for it too!
Well written and well read.
You can always tell which person was talking - always a help with an audio book.
Great!

Better than the first

Definitely better than the first book. I enjoyed the twist and turns of this one a lot more. And I like that we got to know the other characters more. I still feel like the main character Margrit talked too much sometimes but I think that's my only gripe.

Wishing For More!

Thank you C. E. Murphy and Eve Bianco for this very entertaining story. Can’t wait to start book 3.

Strong middle book for the trilogy.

The second in the Negotiator Trilogy finds Magrit Knight thrust once more into the world of the old races even as she comes to terms with how she feels for the Gargoyle, Alban Korund.

When her on again/off again boyfriend, Tony, invites Magrit to attend a function with him (one he's acting as a body guard for the visiting wealthy Hawaiin, Kaimana) she's introduced to the all too human world of wealth and power. Except Kaimana isn't human. No more than another of the party goers, Daisani, is.

When the world of the old races pulls Magrit back into their side of things, Magrit doesn't protest - at first, but things rapidly spin in a direction she wasn't ready to face. One that loses her Tony as anything other than a friend, and exposes her to the unexpected prejudice of one of her roommates, Cole.

Add in the fact that someone is trying to kill the Djinn, Malik - someone Magrit would happily see dead herself - and things start to become a little complicated for the legal aid lawyer.

As the middle book in the trilogy House of Cards is a solid, enjoyable read (or in this case, listen). Murphy continues to build on the strong foundations of the setting without swamping the reader with too much background. The draw between Alban and Magrit feels real, just as Janx and Daisani continue to be compelling in their own ways.

I could feel Tony's frustration when he finally gives up on the relationship, and the way Magrit deals with that reminded me of more than one friend's reaction to a bad break-up.

The narrator works brilliantly, to me, for this series and I'm glad there wasn't a switch as there have been in some series I've listened to. Her pacing matches the story nicely, making the story easy to listen to.

Testing of the Negotiator

In Bk 2 House of Cards, Margrit Knight aka Rit, legal aid council is trying to set the wrongs right but trying to keep the peace both in the human world and the paranormal world. She's great in the court room, but peace talks over past rival factions test her own life and the lives of those she loves. It's a tricky balance and no matter how hard she attempts to set the past underworld problems on a new course for working together someone always has a hidden agenda.
At least she has her mysterious gargoyle Alban...she thinks
This book was not as quick moving as the first one, but a lot of critical information is discovered that will come to make sense in book 3.

An engrossing piece of literature from CE Murphy

CE Murphy brings life to bold characters and fantastic story lines worth being immersed in.

Delightful 2nd in Negotiator Trilogy

Contrary to what others have written, I find the second book in this trilogy just as enjoyable as the first. And the narrator is a delight to listen to. I have no problem distinguishing the players because she effectively stays consistent in her dialects. I look forward to the third book. The author is an excellent writer and it will be like saying goodbye to good friends when I finish the trilogy. Thank you for making my travel hours so enjoyable.

liked the first one better

I liked the gargoyle romance from the first story and this book was more about grit helping the selkies, vampires and gin. I just want more gargoyle romance.

Great series

Great story, great characters. I loved how they constantly had to one up one another. They called themselves rivals/enemies but deep down they were friends and even family. This is series is awesome. I highly recommend it for reading

Frustratingly good

This is a hard review to write. I loved it and I hated it. First off, the narrator is good and really great at doing accents. But there were times her accent faltered. Most times all male voices sound the same other than Janx’x. Alban didn’t sound like he did in first book. There’s too much extra fluff and pretty words in these books. It’s almost like a poem in describing things. I love her descriptions, don’t get me wrong. But most of it could be eliminated. It got frustrating. Margrit is so stupid at times. I hated her in regards to relationships. She tells Tony she loves him and within minutes takes off with Alban then has Gargoyle sex. She’s weak and shallow. But other than that, she was kick ass and great in all her other dealings. I love the characters in this series! Even the bad ones are enduring. Now for the positive.

This is such a unique story that despite getting frustrated, I am going to listen to the next book. It is a complex world with wonderful characters. They are so horrible and dangerous but absolutely amazing. It’s the type of danger one loves to get involved with. Because as long as they don’t kill you, you will come out stronger. Despite being so fierce and criminal, they are loyal.