Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow: Nevermoor 4 by Jessica Townsend

Title: Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow: Nevermoor 4

Author: Jessica Townsend

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Lothian/Hachette

Published: 30^th April 2025

Format: Paperback

Pages: 663

Price: $18.99Synopsis: The highly anticipated fourth book in the award-winning Nevermoor series from one of Australia’s best-selling and most loved authors.

In the magical city of Nevermoor, long-buried secrets are coming to light, and Morrigan Crow’s life is about to turn upside down . . .

When Morrigan is invited into Nevermoor’s wealthy Silver District, she discovers a world of extravagance and a family mystery she’s eager to unravel. She could never imagine where it will lead: a white wedding, a golden dragon and a red pool of blood.

Embroiled in suspicion and danger, Morrigan leaps headfirst into a murder investigation, while also grappling with her ever-growing Wundersmith powers. And although her friends are there to help, she fears that could change if they learn she’s keeping a terrible secret of her own.

As shadowy forces awaken in Nevermoor, can Morrigan find a killer and solve the mystery in her own past . . . before the clock strikes midnight?

Jessica Townsend weaves a spellbinding tale of magic and mystery in this thrilling new installment of the Nevermoor series.

PRAISE AND AWARDS FOR NEVERMOOR: THE TRIALS OF MORRIGAN CROW

Best Children’s Fiction, Aurealis Awards 2017
Book of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards 2018
Book of the Year for Younger Children, Australian Book Industry Awards 2018
The Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards 2018
Book of the Year, Indie Book Awards 2018
Australian Booksellers Association, Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award 2018
Dymocks Book of the Year 2018
QBD Book of the Year 2018
Younger Fiction, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize (UK) 2018
South Australian Premiers’ Award 2020

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Morrigan Crow and Unit 919 of the Wundrous Society are back – and this winter, Morrigan has been invited to the home of the Darling family in the Silver District. For years, Morrigan’s family history has been a mystery…but now, the Darlings, her mother’s family, are coming in to turn things upside down. Starting with inviting her to her Aunt Modestine’s wedding, which ends in murder. This kicks off a lengthy mystery that lasts the whole winter, and takes Morrigan deep into a society she never knew existed with a family who has ignored her until now – but why? Why is the Silver District in danger now, and what does the Darling family want with Mog? Is it just a familial connection or is there something more, and how will it change things for her and the ever-fabulous Jupiter North?

Welcome back to Nevermoor, a world that is forever expanding with all sorts of diverse characters. As Morrigan’s world expands, and she finds out more about her new home, she finds out that there are more sinister things than Ezra Squall hanging around. In fact, in the latest installment, Ezra Squall seems to be the least of her worries as she meets the ‘Silverborn’ families. Everyone around her, particularly Jupiter, isn’t so sure she should be going off with them. It’s one of Morrigan’s first acts of teenage rebellion when she breaks the rules, and is embroiled in a murder mystery that could shatter the Silver District. Everything in this novel that we have loved from the first three is there, though Fen is a lot quieter as the novel focuses on Morrigan finding out more about her mother’s family. A family that has their own secrets.

High society in this story is very different – marrying into the Darlings means becoming a Darling and giving up jobs, which Morrigan finds out when she meets Aunt Margot’s husband Tobias and uncle-to-be, Dorian. It’s an interesting concept for Morrigan, who has never heard of men taking their wife’s last name, for example. This is a whole different world – it may as well be on another planet, it seems. The latest Nevermoor novel also has queer and disabled representation with some of her aunts and teachers, and Vesta Rinaldi, Dorian’s sister and this expansion of Nevermoor shows how accommodating the world is. It’s a hefty tome at over 600 pages, with lots to unpack about the Silver District and the lengths they go to cover things up. Morrigan is determined to find out what really happened, and thankfully, Unit 919 is there to help her, even if it means reading a series of books that sneakily feature aspects of the Silver District by Hillary d’Boer.

Everything in this book comes together well as Nevermoor’s diversity comes out more, and shines amidst Morrigan’s teen angst and argument with Jupiter and Holliday Chu about going to the Silver District. I got the sense that she wanted to please everyone, and in doing so, she was almost forced into a world that doesn’t suit her. Morrigan’s desire to fit is taken advantage of as well – showing her that the world isn’t perfect. The novel is a great addition to the series, expanding on everything we know about Nevermoor, Morrigan, Jupiter, and WunSoc. But there’s more than the murder and mystery of the author of the books to uncover. Nevermoor is under threat from the Guiltghast, Ezra Squall is popping in and out, and the dragon racing brings out the sporty side of Nevermoor.  It’s a great fourth addition, where things start to come together, but also fracture, as Morrigan questions her identity, where she belongs and who really cares about her. Of course, no Nevermoor novel would ever be complete without the Hotel Deucalion, the brolly rail and the fantastic train system. The public transport system works so well in this series, and it suits what the story needs.

One might expect that a fantasy series would rely on magical transportation, but what I love about Nevermoor is how seamlessly trains and cars fit into the world. They don’t seem out of place; it’s a world that I think is aiming to have the best of everything that we have in our world. People are still flawed, though, and that’s something that shows in any world, there are people who are good, who are bad and who are flawed and try to take advantage of things. Who abuse power and think nothing more of getting influence back – something Mog’s real family would never do. Gotta love you, Hawthorne, Jupiter, Cadence and the rest of Unit 919!

Whilst this is a fantasy with a dash of cosy mystery and increasing diversity in many forms, it is at its heart about family. The family that Morrigan has created since escaping the Wintersea Republic, and the lengths that someone like Jupiter will go to help her, and protect her. Silverborn explores societal expectations and class differences, and we get to see how stark these are through Morrigan’s eyes. It also examines the role secrets play in our lives – and how far people are willing to go to protect those secrets. To maintain reputations.

After she’s experienced the freedom of the Hotel Deucalion, the life of the Darlings does seem a bit glamourous at first, where everything looks perfect, and everyone can have anything they want is tempting. Tempting, but hiding a darker underbelly of backstabbing and grasping at power – doing anything they can do wrangle back what they have lost and fight against the rumours of any downfall.

The best characters to come out of the Silver District have to be Vesta Rinaldi and Lottie and Louis, the St James twins. They all bring something new to the novel, something unique that makes them shine and stand out against the rest of the Silver District. Lottie and Louis give the novel its whimsy and fun during Mog’s time in the Silver District as she learns more about herself, her Wunder and her powers that are always at the heart of everything. I think they help Morrigan learn to trust herself, and learn to trust her friends and Jupiter with secrets she’s been keeping from them. Facing her fears shows that she is growing throughout the series, and that the people who truly love us won’t judge what we do. They help, they become our allies and confidants, just as Jupiter, Hawthorne and Unit 919 do for Morrigan. How will the mystery be solved? You’ll have to read and find out!

This is the longest in the series so far – and with so much to unpack and an intriguing cliffhanger, it will be interesting to see where Morrigan, Jupiter and everyone else goes next, and what threads laid out in this book will come back in the next one. The layers woven in reveal that much more had been going on in the first three books and before we met Mog, which all makes sense, as some of the things that have happened get a light shone on them. It is what makes this series a joy to read – there is something in there for everyone, of any age, from the cheeky nods to Mary Poppins, talking cats with attitude, and a Wundrous sense of magic that brings the fantasy genre in Australia to life. A fantastic addition to the series!