I picked up ‘Murder By Magic’ because it was short (less than two hours), it was free (in the Audible Plus library) and it gave me the chance to sample a successful and very prolific Science Fiction writer who combines space travel and magic.

The only downside I could see was that ‘Murder By Magic’ is a prequel to a series I haven’t read. That turned out not to be an issue because the novella worked as a stand-alone story – albeit quite a brief one.

‘Murder By Magic’ was an engaging mix of FBI procedural and duelling mages. The world-building was strong but perhaps a little dull. The magic systems were clever and robustly thought-through. The magic battle that comes at the end of the novella is very well done. I didn’t learn much about the main character. I suspect that people who have read the series would be going: ‘So that’s what he was like when he wad a rookie!’

It kept me entertained for a couple of hours and made me want to read some more of Glynn Stewart’s books.