Dirty Magic is the new series from Jaye Wells featuring a bad ass cop named Kate Prospero. She’s an Adept, which is a person born with inherent magic skills. But she turned her back on making potions years to raise her younger brother when their mother passes away. She even attends AA type meetings for former magic users and abusers. In the present time, she works patrol for the Babylon PD chasing down criminals to lessen the guilt from her wreck less past. One night, she chases a perp into the Cauldron, a crime filled neighborhood where magical covens rule the illegal potion trade. She corners her suspect, but this guy is hopped up on some potion giving him unnatural strength and blood lust. After he bites her twice, she’s forced to shoot him in self-defense. Major bad luck as she learns he was an undercover MEA (Magical Enforcement Agency) cop. He was meeting an informant to learn more about a deadly potion called Gray Wolf that makes users hulk out with werewolf symptoms before dying. While on suspension, Kate becomes an unofficial BPD consultant to the MEA task force. If she helps solve the case, her boss, Captain Eldritch suggests this could lead to that elusive promotion she’s been eyeing.
Gardner, the tough as nails squad leader, teams her up with a cocky partner named Morales. If she fucks up, she’s off the case. No second chances. Kate is confident she can step up, but the case soon points in the direction of John Volos. He was her teenage boyfriend that she dumped when she turned her back on their magic coven. He’s now become a rich businessman dealing legit potions to Mundanes (i.e. normal humans with no magical skill). They haven’t seen each other in years, but there’s still something between them. Kate knows he’s up to something, as the informant ends up dead near his office. But she’s not 100% sure he’s behind Gray Wolf. As this potion is really deadly, she can’t exclude him from the case even if it rustles some political feathers. Things get even messier when her brother Danny runs away to hang out with Volos. She may be too close to the case and fuck up her only shot at a new life for her and Danny.
I’m a big fan of Jaye Wells’ Sabina Kane’s series, so was quite pumped to see what she’d write next. This world has less supernatural creatures than her other series. Nevertheless, the stakes are still pretty high with magical coven turf wars and illegal potions flooding the streets. I warmed up to Kate rather quickly yearning to know more about her mysterious past that haunts her. How can you not be on her side when she’s doing the best she can to make ends meet for her brother. Not alot of sexy times, but there’s certainly scintillating heat between her and Volos. And little bit of attraction to her partner Morales as well. I have no doubt the next book will expand this universe and have her face off with Volos again. I’d recommend this series for fans of Kim Harrison’s Hollows series as both have kick ass females using questionable magic to save the day.
Read my other reviews of the Hollows series on my blog.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.