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Genevieve Scelan thought she was done with magic.
She was wrong.
Sure, six weeks earlier Evie—bike messenger, supernatural tracker, and avid Red Sox fan—had been instrumental in bringing down the Fiana, the organization of magicians that had ruled Boston's undercurrent for hundreds of years. But now they were gone, Boston could breathe easy again, the Sox had a chance at the pennant, and Evie was ready to relax.
Except it turns out that when you take down the guy on top, everyone assumes you're going to fill his spot, and now Evie finds herself at the center of a whole lot of unwelcome magical attention. On top of that, a new client needs her to call up a family ghost and ask about a stolen inheritance; Evie's friend Nate has a supernatural problem of his own; and a legendary pack of hounds has been terrorizing Boston's undercurrent. And try as Evie might to deny the legacy that runs through her blood, when the Hunt is called, the Hound must run . . .
This book starts six weeks after Spiral Hunt ended. This book starts off with a few different things going on.
First, Evie is summoned to Yuen's side was he passes on. But her job here is to verify, by scent, the ghost of his father is gone when Yuen passes too.
Then you start to see Evie seems to have a new found respect from... or at least response from the undercurrent now after taking out the top man of the organization named Fiana, of Magicians and ran the undercurrent (at the end of Spiral Hunt). Those of the undercurrent seem to be sizing her up, for one reason or another... Also, her world of normalcy seems to be colliding with the undercurrent work she does, which bothers Evie as she doesn't want to put her friends in harm.
Finally, Evie is visited by a potential client, an older woman who recently inherited chests of her Great-Great Grandmothers and believes they hold stolen items she would like to return to the rightful family.
The main thing I would like to say I enjoy about these books so far is the way Margaret Ronald starts off with a few different happenings and how they come together in the end. All the ties get connected and the lose ends tied up. And the mythology used in doing so.
Scent is Evie's ability to find anything, the descriptions used for scent are great. With Evie being part Hound and the way scent identifies everything to here I could really tell what she was smelling by the descriptions in words.
To me Evie seems to have grown more in this book. Not only does Evie seem to be accepting the Hound in her which is becoming stronger and helping those who need helping, but she seems to be starting to figure out what she is to do to help. Boston is changing or at least the undercurrent of Boston is. She still doesn't want to be involved in the undercurrent world, and the struggle to keep her normal life and the magic life separate is a big one for her. But she seemed to accept that the undercurrent is there and she is not going to be able to stay out of in completely. Although, Evie is a strong enough character in the end of this book that she decides the friend that don't want to know of this world or be around it, that she will protect them anyway she can - verbally not talk of it or physically fight to protect them.
In the end, I loved what happened with Evie and Nate. On all angles.
This book picks up shortly after the ending of Spiral Hunt, the first book in the series. Evie is still trying to keep her head above water, only now she has to deal with unwanted outsiders coming to town, and others expecting her to step in to fill the power vacuum she helped create. While no one will admit to wanting the Fiana back in power, at least with them, everyone knew where they stood. Now there's a little too much uncertainty in town, and Evie is once again dealing with unwanted attention. Poor Evie...
The story starts off with an unusual job for one of the few people Evie trusts. Yuen had helped Evie get her start as a Finder many years ago. As one of Evie's strengths is her loyalty, when he calls, Evie answers. Now Yuen is dying and he has one last job for Evie that seems pretty straightforward, but Evie soon learns that nothing is straightforward when dealing with the undercurrent. There are ghosts, rumors of a wild hunt, shapeshifters, possible possession, a historical mystery, and a whole host of other issues for Evie to wade through, all while trying to keep her day job. Never a dull moment for Evie Scelan!
Am really enjoying this series, as Evie is learning more about her powers and is actually growing as a character. Thought the story was interesting, the action was well paced, and the series is noticeably evolving. Gave this a 4/5 rating, and am looking forward to seeing where Ronald goes next and how Evie will deal with whatever is thrown her way!
Know for her incredible olfactory sense that enables her to find missing persons and things, Evie "Hound" Scelan helped her former lover Frank McDermott escape from under the dictatorial control of the Fiana a cabal who controlled magic use in Boston (see Spiral Hunt). However Evie who is still upset with what the Fiana did to prevent the Sox from winning a World Series was so successful she left the city with no one in charge of magical practitioners although most users expected Evie would take over.
Chinese-American Yuen asks Evie for the favor of witnessing his death and to insure his father's spirit residing in a jar that he gives her is gone when he is gone; she owes him so she pays him back by being there for him. He dies a few minutes later; Evie checks the jar, which she tells his daughter Elizabeth is empty. However, Elizabeth fails to heed her father's directions, a major haunting mistake. Meanwhile Abigail Huston asks Evie to find out what her great-great-grandmother stole and who owns this item. Evie agrees to take her on as a client; not understanding what she has accepted as soon the trail leads to her own "messenger"-ancestor and the undercurrent Hounds.
Readers will enjoy the latest adventures of Evie who most of the Red Sox Nation expects her to take over from the cabal she toppled as successful coups always do. However, all she wants is to ride her bike, decide on how she feels about Nate Hunter who has his own paranormal problems, and take on clients needing her wonderful nose. Traders will enjoy her escapades in the urban fantasy noir landscape as Evie is a unique protagonist unlike most people who communicate through sight or hearing, her prime sense is smell.
Harriet Klausner
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Posted January 19, 2010
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Overview
Genevieve Scelan thought she was done with magic.
She was wrong.
Sure, six weeks earlier Evie—bike messenger, supernatural tracker, and avid Red Sox fan—had been instrumental in bringing down the Fiana, the organization of magicians that had ruled Boston's undercurrent for hundreds of years. But now they were gone, Boston could breathe easy again, the Sox had a chance at the pennant, and Evie was ready to ...