Starseekers by Nicole Glover is a fun adventure full of magic, cleverness, murder, mystery, friends, family, and of course, villains.
The book’s synopsis leads with:
“Indiana Jones meets Hidden Figures in this brand-new stand-alone historical fantasy set in the world of The Conductors, in which the space race of the mid-20th century will be determined by magic…if not murder.”
Release date: January 2, 2026
Summary: It’s the 1960s and there’s a space race on for the moon. Cynthia Rhodes is a brilliant engineer at NASA and talented celestial magic user who happens upon the beginning of a mystery when a cursed stranger shows up at the local TV station her cousin runs while she is filming an educational magic show with her friend Theo, a professor of arcane archeology. Soon after, there’s an accident and potential sabotage at NASA involving a coworker that could be connected.
Theo and Cynthia jump into solving the mystery but it’s not just them. Joining the journey are Cynthia’s younger sisters, her friends, cousins, and other family members. Suspects pop up left and right as they continue to hunt down clues and chase danger like it’s second nature. Because it is.
The story follows the same family tree as the author’s other works including The Conductors and The Improvisers – also magic & mystery stories. Sleuthing is in the family!
Thoughts: Overall, this book is quite fun but it also includes themes of racism and the civil rights movement. It’s lighthearted banter, blooming romance, lots of action and magic intertwined with reminders of racial violence and discrimination of the time period the story is written in.
I really enjoyed this and found myself thinking within the first 25% how much fun this book is going to be. It’s unique in itself although the comparables reference Hidden Figures and Indiana Jones. I’d add in a bit of Enola Holmes in there as well.
Glover created quite a web of relationships both within the Rhodes family and outside that felt like it we didn’t have just two main characters but a whole crew working together by the end to solve the case. This gave the story a lot of depth in terms of relationships.
Starseekers is a fast-moving plot which has plenty of time for action and interaction between characters, but it doesn’t dive too deep into character development. This book is definitely for those that enjoy great characters without dramatic development arcs but also a plot that moves. There are a number of different components to the mystery to keep readers guessing until the reveal.
One of my favorite components of this story is there aren’t many limits places on the characters. They are able to do pretty much anything they want. The magic used is only limited to how fast they can react and cast spells. I enjoyed this as it gave a sense of autonomy and power to the characters.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys any combination of fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery. As someone who reads these genres exclusively at the moment, it was a perfect mix of elements.
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Find more information about the author and their books at their website linked here.
