Released: April 2007 Pages: US Hardcover: 496 | US Paperback: 512 Playlist: Here on iTunes. Summary from the dust-jacket: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.
Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... Quick Review:"Clare's atmospheric setting is spot-on, informed equally by neo-gothic horror films and the modern fantasy leanings of Neil Gaiman. Werewolves, vampires, angels and fairies all fit in this ambitious milieu. At the core, though, this is a compelling story about family secrets and coming-of-age identity crises. Fans of the smart/chic horror typified by Buffy the Vampire Slayer will instantly fall for this new series." - Publishers Weekly
City of Ashes
Released: March 2008 Pages: US Hardcover: 464 | US Paperback: 496
Playlist: Here on iTunes. Summary from dust-jacket: Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go -- especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil -- and also her father.
To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings -- and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?
In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation. Quick Review: "With the plethora of vampire titles published lately, it is difficult to find the good ones, but this one is it — a must-read for all vampire fans. If your teens missed the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, buy multiple copies and watch both books fly off your shelves… The interaction between Clary, Jace and Simon, Clary's on-again, off-again boyfriend, is fascinating, the plot is fast paced, and the battle scenes are straight out of an action movie. Look for the third installment, City of Glass, forthcoming in 2009." - VOYA
City of Glass
Released: March 24, 2009 Pages: US Hardcover: 560 Playlist:Here on iTunes or here at the Musical Menagerie. Summary from CC's MySpace: “I know how to wake your mother up.” Ever since her mother succumbed to an enchanted sleeping sickness with no apparent cure, Clary Fray has longed to hear these words — but her happiness is dashed when she learns that the cure exists only in Idris, the Shadowhunters’ home country, where she is forbidden to go. As the Council of the Shadowhunters prepare for war with Valentine and his massive demon army, Jace and the Lightwoods travel to the City of Glass, Idris’ capital, taking newly-made vampire Simon with them — but leaving Clary behind in New York. Clary has to use all her ingenuity and newfound magical skills to get herself to the Glass City on her own, a dangerous action that makes her a hunted enemy of the Clave.
The City of Glass is like nowhere else Clary has ever been — its twisting streets hide a myriad of secrets, and the secretive Clave relies on the ancient glass “demon towers” to keep the city safe from attack. As Jace and the Lightwoods struggle to convince the Clave that Valentine represents a threat the like of which they’ve never dealt with before, and Simon is thrown in prison as an enemy of the state, Clary, with help of her newfound friend Sebastian, must uncover the truth about her family’s past to save not just her mother but also Jace, the boy she loves but can never have. When Valentine attacks the city and destroys the demon towers, Clary and her allies are all that stand between him and the total annihilation of all Shadowhunters. Love is a mortal sin and the past tangles inextricably with the present as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the final installment of the Mortal Instruments.
You can readChapter One on the Mortal Instruments website! You can also read the chapter titles here on Cassandra Clare's MySpace.
City of Fallen Angels
Released: Hardcover: March 2011 | Paperback: July 2012 Pages: TBA Chapter Titles: Here Press Release: New York, NY, August 24, 2009—Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, has acquired City of Fallen Angels, a fourth book in Cassandra Clare’s bestselling young adult fantasy series, The Mortal Instruments, which has over 1 million books in print. The story follows Simon, a character from the first three Mortal Instruments novels, City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass, as he adjusts to life as a vampire. City of Fallen Angels will publish in hardcover in March 2011, followed by a paperback edition in July 2012.
Love, blood, betrayal and revenge — the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels. Simon Lewis is having some trouble adjusting to his new life as a vampire, especially now that he hardly sees his best friend Clary, who is caught up in training to be a Shadowhunter—and spending time with her new boyfriend Jace. Not to mention that Simon doesn't quite know how to handle the pressure of not-quite-dating two girls at once. What's a daylight-loving vampire to do? Simon decides he needs a break and heads out of the city—only to discover that sinister events are following him. Realizing that the war they thought they'd won might not yet be over, Simon has to call on his Shadowhunter friends to save the day — if they can put their own splintering relationships on hold long enough to rise to the challenge.
“Simon has always been one of my favorite characters to write about, and I’m excited to get the chance to tell his story while revisiting some of the other characters that I love form The Mortal Instruments series,” said Cassandra Clare. “The enthusiasm for telling Simon’s story that I’ve received from the team at McElderry Books and Simon & Schuster has been great and I’m excited to be working with them to bring a fourth book to the series.”
Released: April 2007
Released: March 2008
Released: March 24, 2009