Natalie Payne, the heroine of this striking debut and series launch, discovers a dead body her first full day on the job as the new events planner at Oxford University’s St Margaret College. In the kitchen, the woman in charge, Chef Smythe, has a meat cleaver sticking out of her back. Natalie soon gets an even bigger surprise; after she uses a key to her office left by Lillian, her predecessor, the cat that has been following her around since her arrival at the school transforms into a small talking winged black dragon. The creature hands Natalie a letter from Lillian, informing her that Natalie is “the Carimoniae Praefectus, one of a handful of individuals throughout history who holds responsibility for keeping alive the magic of Oxford,” the secret source of the institution’s strength. Gobsmacked by this revelation, Natalie endeavors to fulfill her duties as ceremonial prefect and get to the bottom of the murder. Morrison cleverly makes the genre-crossing work. Harry Potter fans with a taste for classic whodunits will be pleased. (Self-published)