The Raven Scholar

The Raven Scholar is an epic fantasy with the twists of a murder mystery and the first book in Antonia Hodgson's Eternal Path trilogy. Orrun has known twenty-four years of peace under its emperor, Bersun the Brusque, and now his reign is ending. In the heat of midsummer, seven exceptional candidates gather to compete in a series of trials to take his place. Then one of them is killed. Neema Kraa, the emperor's brilliant and unconventional High Scholar, must uncover the murderer before the contest is over, all while competing for the throne herself. Convinced she has no allies, she receives an unexpected offer of help from the Raven, a mysterious presence that narrates part of the story. Winning would bring her an empire, and failing could cost her life. The novel was a 2026 Hugo Award finalist for Best Novel.