Magic for Liars feels like an old school gumshoe detective novel, with magic thrown in. But although in many ways the magic feels like a subtle background note, never overshadowing the death of a teacher at a magical high school, it constantly tickles at Ivy's attempts to solve the murder and is the power that elevates the emotions of many of the characters to the point where it's easy for any of them to be capable of murder. Perhaps it's that possibility of magic that makes so much of this book feel like diversion is constantly happening. The book often focuses on Ivy's strained relationship with her twin sister, Tabitha, a teacher at the school. Or the possibility of romance for Ivy with another teacher at the school. Or the relationship going on between two students that could have led to murder. Or another student's power over everyone at the school. I think this book just got a little too muddled with different storylines for me. On the surface it's supposed to be a murder mystery, but the heart of it seems to be heavily focused on a wide entanglement of relationships where Ivy is constantly picking to try and get a knot out.