Hey, folks! I just discovered that apparently I have given some very popular books single-star ratings-except I haven't. Luckily for the people of the Lower City, the new puppy is a true terrier! And the ranks of the dead will be growing if the Dogs can't stop a crime wave the likes of which has never been seen.

Beka's magical listening talent is the only way for the Provost's Dogs to find out the identity of this brutal new underlord, for the dead are beyond fear. In this way, Beka learns of someone in the Lower City who has overturned the power structure of the underworld and is terrorizing its citizens into submission and silence. So good, in fact, that she hears things that Mattes and Clary never could - information that is passed in murmurs when flocks of pigeons gather. Never much of a talker, Beka is a good listener. What they don't know is that Beka has something unique to offer. They're tough, they're capable, and they're none too happy about the indignity of being saddled with a puppy for the first time in years. She's assigned to work with Mattes and Clary, famed veterans among the Provost's Dogs.

But it's also where Beka was born, and she's comfortable there.īeka gets her wish. To the surprise of both the veteran 'Dogs' and her fellow 'puppies,' Beka requests duty in the Lower City. This is the beginning of her story, her legend, and her legacy.īeka Cooper is a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost's Guard, commonly known as 'the Provost's Dogs,' in Corus, the capital city of Tortall. Hundreds of years before Alanna first drew her sword in Tamora Pierce's memorable debut, Alanna: The First Adventure, Tortall had a heroine named Beka Cooper - a fierce young woman who fights crime in a world of magic.

Terrier by tamora pierce