The book is up on Amazon  ==> Niko and the Shades

Adventures happen to other people, not kids like Niko, who grew up in the one place in the world where magic doesn’t work, and whose future is set and safe in the family business. Niko still believes this even when he moves with his mother and sister to Aldemyr, city of magic and monsters.

But on his first day, he sees shadowy creatures scuttling through the city streets, and that night he finds the remains of an animal sacrifice used for a black magic spell. Soon, he finds himself in the middle of court intrigue, black magic and murder. A magical assassin is attacking the royal court, and Niko may be the only one who can save the city from the rule of a tyrant.