Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge

When Pete Caldecott met the irresistible Jack Winter when she was 16 years old, she knew her life would never be the same again. Older and wiser with magic at his fingertips, Jack seemed to charge the very space his lived in. That is until Pete watched him get killed by a shadowy form he tried to summon from a graveyard. Flash forward 10 years and Pete is now a London detective with a string of cases involving missing children. After receiving a mysterious tip about their location, Pete discovers Jack strung-out on heroin with precise information about the kidnappings. Unwilling to let Jack fade back into obscurity, Pete forces him to not only sober up but to help her find the other children - although she doesn't believe in the possibility that magic is involved for a second. As the mystery begins to unfold, Pete is forced to confront her own past and the existence of sorcerers, demons and faeries.

I found this to be a fun, fast-paced ride, albeit sometimes a little dark. Pete and Jack's relationship is full of angst arising from some huge misunderstandings those ten years ago and both are sure the other is lying about something. What I liked about Pete was how loyal she can be: to the missing kids, to Jack. It really made me like her even more. My only problem was how quickly Pete went from a no-nonsense detective to fist-throwing brawler ready to defend Jack. It really didn't seem in keeping with her 'toe the line of the law' persona. Other than that, the descriptions of a magical London underworld centered in Whitechapel were more than a little fun.

2 comments:

Angiegirl said...

Michelle, I've been trying to decide whether or not to pick this one up! Thank you for your review. Sounds like I definitely want to.

Michelle said...

Angie - Yea, I wasn't sure if I would go for this one either - I hope you like it too!