Street Magic By Caitlin Kittredge
Pete Caldecott is the daughter, yes daughter, of a respected former
member of Scotland Yard in London. Pete's life is turned upside
down when she is assigned to a very strange kidnapping case, and to
interview an informant on the case. The problem is that this
someone from her past was supposed to be dead for the last dozen
years, and now he hates her.
Jack Winter, a former boyfriend of Pete's sister MG, a Punk Rock
singer who also happens to be a powerful mage. Jack and Pete first
meet when she is sixteen (and he much older). Jack recognizes in
Pete a hidden power or magic, which Pete herself is totally unaware
of. Jack takes the young Pete to a cemetery to try to raise the
ghost of a long dead Sorcerer. Things go terribly wrong when Jack
looses control of the summoning, and ends up dead (or so Pete
thinks and has been lead to believe) and Pete barely escapes.
When Pete, who had followed in her fathers footsteps and becomes a
detective, is assigned the task of interviewing an informant in the
kidnapping cases New Scotland Yard is working on, she gets the
shock of her life. Pete is so desperate to stop these kidnappings,
she is willing to accept Jack's help despite his acrimony towards
her and his heroine habit. Desperate because these youngsters, turn
up blinded and drained of their essence, but alive. Not only does
Pete have to clean up Jack, so he can help her and not hinder her
in trying to solve these bizarre disappearances, but try to
overcome his seething hate of her.
This one has a little bit of everything for Paranormal fans (sorry
no romance)Mages, Sorcerers, Banshees, Unseelies , Ghosts and
Shades, and a healthy dose of Celtic mythology. Pete is a kick butt
heroine, who walks the line, leaning more to the straight and
narrow, but willing to try questionable tactics to get the job
done. She is stubborn but not rigid, and though not thoroughly sure
of all the supernatural awakening within her life and self, but
willing to accept it and figure out how it can benefit her.
I give this a 4.5 out of 5 not only because Kittredge's writing has
matured so much in this book, but also her character development
and their relationships are complex and yet believable despite the
the nature of the subject matter.