Counterfeit Magic by Kelley Armstrong Published by Subterranean Press on January 1 2010
Genres: Contemporary, Fantasy, Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Thrillers, Women Sleuths
Pages: 144
Format: eBook
Source: I Bought It
Goodreads
The first rule of a supernatural fight club?
Don’t kill your opponent.When the fighters come with lethal spells, werewolf strength and half-demon powers, that can be a lot tougher than it sounds. It’s hard to attract talent if they know they might not leave the ring alive. So when fighters at a California club start dying … it’s bad for business.
Witch detectives Paige Winterbourne and Savannah Levine take the case. Going undercover in the power-heavy arena of the fight club is a welcome change of pace for Paige, relegated to the role of The Wife as her husband struggles to find his place in his family’s Cabal—the corporate Mafia of the supernatural world.
As Paige is drawn deeper into new and dangerous corners of her world, she quickly discovers the greatest threat isn’t the killer in her sights. It’s something much, much closer to home. And this is one fight she can’t afford to lose.
This novella is narrated by Paige, who was the narrator of Dime Store Magic and Industrial Magic, books 3 and 4 of the Women of the Otherworld series. Paige doesn’t seem to be the most popular narrator of the series but I have always liked her so it was good to get back inside her head (so to speak).
Of course, Lucas, Savannah and Adam also feature prominently in this novella. It starts out quite simply enough, with a client approaching Cortez-Winterbourne Investigations, a young women who is trying to find out who murdered her brother. This client, however, seems to have a particular fascination with Lucas. Paige must confront the fact that her marriage may be in some trouble, though not necessarily from the angle it initially appears.
This was an enjoyable read, I particularly liked scenes involving the ‘fight club’. I also liked seeing the dynamic shifting between Savannah and Adam (as having already read Waking the Witch, Spell Bound and 13, I know where their relationship is heading).
It was also interesting to see Paige have some doubts about Lucas as they have always appeared to be a rock-steady couple that nothing could come in between.
This was a solid entry, not as involving as the main series but definitely worth reading.
[…] Counterfeit Magic (bringuivera.wordpress.com) […]