Unbroken

Rath & Rune, Book 4

De: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrado por: Joel Leslie

The hunt for the evil Books of the Bound nears its end, as Ves and Sebastian track an elusive killer who can raise the dead.

Librarian Sebastian Rath has Bound himself to three of the four necromantic Books created by his ancestors. Only the Book of Blood remains—and it’s in the hands of an elusive killer.

Someone is murdering members of the Widdershins Horticultural Society using the Book’s magic. In order to stop the killings and Bind the final Book, Sebastian and Ves must find their way through a forest of lies and deception. But the danger is closer to home than they think, and more than one killer has Sebastian in their sights.

©2025 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2026 Jordan L. Hawk

An Engaging Story That Nicely Furthers The Series

The author is a consistently good storyteller. I thought the middle chapters of this series ambled a bit, but this book (4 of 5) neatly and enjoyably puts the story on track for a satisfying conclusion.

Great worldbuilding and suspenseful mystery

Though I did receive a review copy in ebook format, I ended up listening to the audio when it was released so I am going to review that version instead. Joel Leslie has been doing a great job giving voice to this series. I want to start by saying that I am a big fan of this author's worldbuilding skills. Though we first came to know the town of Widdershins in the Whyborne and Griffin series, it seems like a different town from Sebastian Rath's and Vesper Rune's perspective. There is less traveling to exotic destinations. Through them we get to see more of the town's inhabitants, and businesses.

In this book, Sebastian discovers that the horticultural club is losing members due to mysterious deaths that also lead to violent resurrections. He and Vesper have to deal the final death blow of the corpses in order to protect the people of Widdershins. But what is the secret that the gardening group is hiding that explains what is happening? It is a compelling mystery, but it is safe to say that the person responsible is also holding on to the final Book of the Bound, the Book of Blood.

To recap some of what has happened in this series, Sebastian has bound himself to three of the books and this is the final one. In the past, one other person had been attached to these books and he was driven mad. Sebastian has been pretty strong so far, though the books and the souls attached to them do seem to want to take over Sebastian's will sometimes. It's dangerous and I'm glad Sebastian has found a partner in Vesper. Vesper's brother Noct and the Endicott family are also good to have in his corner.

In addition to the person killing the gardening club members, the leader of the School of Night shows up like a wolf in sheep's clothing to wreak havoc. Vesper and Noct's mother and grandfather, who are also pretty heinous, are in town to do know God knows what. They prove themselves to be helpful in this book, but I do believe there is a ulterior motive in the works. With Sebastian binding to the final book, with little to no objection from the last spirit that inhabits it, I do think that certain parties are eager to see what happens when the books are all together again.

I had thought this might be the last book but I'm glad that they didn't rush what happens after this final binding with the main mystery of the book. Will Sebastian be able to handle it? Is something bad awakening as a result? I expect that we will find out the answers in the next book, and I cannot wait!