Terrier

Beka Cooper, 16, lives near the worst of her district because it's closer to where she has to write up her papers after working in the Lower City. Her world revolves around thieves, beggars, and the like. She's a “Puppy” for the Provost's Guard—an in training sort of cop with two of the best “Dogs” (that's like a real cop) to train her. Beka's largest obstacle is her shyness. She wouldn't have any friends, if they all hadn't known her forever. So obviously, it's hard for her to talk to strangers, which is part of her job (to find criminals through criminals). With her cat, Pounce, she walks around towns, listening to birds and dirt (it's her magic, they tell her the things that they hear/see/have lived). The trouble begins when Beka notices that babies are going missing and her birds (they have dead souls) of mining and being poisoned. And when Crookshank's grandson goes missing (also her friend Tansy's baby) Beka begins a sort of chase to find the kidnapper. She uses every resource she has: her friends (including the new “rushers” Rosto and Anniki; and the mage Kora); her magic; her cat; other people she knows; and her status. Beka solves the case (eventually, you know she has too), turns out it was the baker's son who was stealing the children so they could collect ransom's, and it was Crookshank who was hiring the miners and then having them, unless they died on the job. Rosto, a used-to-be rusher, kills the old Rogue and is named as the new Rogue (a respected position among most of the poor and other “rushers”). It ends with her presenting all of the case in court, to have the kidnappers and such convicted.

I love this book. I can't really explain why. I just do..