Street Magic: A Black London Novel

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.

Pete and Jack met years ago, and Pete though Jack died on that faithful night. Pete is now a police officer and looking for a girl that has been kidnapped. Pete is checking out her leads and one leads right to the girl. A second girl goes missing and Pete tracks down her lead from the first case. As Pete walks into the room, there is Jack alive and a junkie. Pete spends the next couple of days cleaning Jack up enough to force him to help her find the girl. When they do find the girl, she is just like the first, blind and "empty". Three more girls going missing and this pair that spend 70% of their time fighting each other, and 30% fighting the creatures coming to kill Jack. Jack is a mage; if these creatures of all types kill Jack they will get his power. They have three days to figure it all out. It looks like whatever is taking the girls is also after Jack. The more time Pete spends with Jack the more she sees things that she never believed existed. Pete needs to find out what is happening to the girls, and how she watched Jack die yet he is still alive. Pete wants to walk away from Jack, but since that night years ago these two need each other.

It took me awhile to get into this book. I found the first half was Pete and Jack calling each other names and fighting. There seemed to be no real progression for quite awhile. The second half was much better. There was much more insight into what makes each character tick and wanting to find out more. I am on the fence out reading the next book in the series. I would like to know more about the Pete and Jack, but it was so hard to get into this book will it be the same for the second.

Pete is a Detective Inspector investigating a missing child case in London. She meets with an informant and discovers that the informant is Jack Winter, a man she saw die at the hands of a vengeful spirit 12 years before. ThIs Jack isn't the powerful mage she remembers--instead, he is a heroin addict--a wasted and hollow version of the man she idolized. Because the culprits are supernatural, Pete and Jack must work together to find the missing children and stop the abductor.

I enjoyed the tension and conflict present between Jack and Pete and thought it added to the overall suspense and setting of the novel. They are different than they were 12 years ago and must rebuild their relationship in order to save the children. Pete must also acknowledge and accept the fact that she too can use The Black.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to others. I quite enjoyed it and am really looking forward to how the characters develop in Demon Bound, the second book in the series.

I thought this book was gona be ok but not as good as her other ones. Well I was wrong, I started it on an 7 house plain trip and finshed it the next night! I jus couldn't put it down! There are so many eliments in this book that I love. You never really kow what is gona happen. I definly say READ IT!!