Eric Banyon, known as Bedlam's Bard, managed to save his young brother Magnus from what seemed to be a killer demon, but now he must rescue Magnus from their tyrannical parents. Eric does not look forward to the custody battle, but his friend Ria heads a high-powered law firm, and in a pinch he can use bardic magic to fudge a DNA test. But Eric doesn't know that his parents are allied with evangelist Billy Fairchild, himself a tool of the evil Unseleighe elves. If Magnus and his friend Ace, who is also on the run from her twisted parents, fall into Fairchild's hands, even Eric's bardic magic may not be enough to save them.

From Booklist

The latest Bedlam's Bard novel picks up where Mad Maudlin (2003) left off. Eric Banyon, a bard in Elfhame and a music teacher in New York City, is finishing the training of his bardic student, Hosea; seeking to adopt his own brother, Magnus, to keep him away from their parents, who tried twice to raise a trophy son; and running messages for his elflord, Prince Arvin. If this weren't enough to keep the book humming, Eric, Magnus, Hosea, and elven-exile-turned-nonprofit-CEO Ria are trying to help Ace, the minor daughter of an unscrupulous televangelist who has fled her parents, get emancipated-minor status. Legal battles turn lethal when Eric and Magnus' parents ask for help from what they think is a family intervention group but is really a front for the unseligh elves to torment and mindwipe mortals. Oh, and Eric's bardic immunity no longer protects him when his blood mother asks to have him "healed." Lots of action, some unobtrusive preaching (let children be themselves, not trophies for their parents), and a literally bang-up finish. Frieda Murray
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About the Author

Mercedes Lackey is known for several bestselling fantasy series, including the Heralds of Valdemar and Bardic Voices series, work that ranges from historical fantasy to grittily realistic urban fantasy set in the modern world. In only a decade she has made her mark as one of the brightest stars of fantasy. She lives in Oklahoma where she can be found prying the talons of birds of prey she is attempting to nurse back to health out of her hands.

Rosemary Edghill, after holding the usual array of Weird Writer jobs, including freelance graphic designer and vampire killer, has settled down to a career as a full-time writer, publishing popular urban fantasies as well as novels in genres ranging from romance to mystery.