Nine of Stars Is a Wildly Entertaining Weird Western

Nine of Stars picks up seamlessly from Bickle’s Dark Alchemy and Mercury Retrograde left off, and while the new book can be read independently as an introduction to the series, you’re missing out if you skip over the first two installments, which have been retroactively labeled “prequels.” Petra Dee is, by now, fairly comfortably ensconced in Temperance, Wyoming, if “comfortable” is ever the right word when you’re living in a place crawling with supernatural baddies. She’s trying to find balance with the once-immortal, now-human Gabe as he adjusts to his new status. As a geologist working in Yellowstone National Park, Dee and her coyote sidekick Sig discover a butchered wolf deep in back country, and notify the park rangers.
Dee is still learning the secrets of her Alchemical gift, but suspects there is something more to the wolf killing than a simple poacher, and her suspicions are soon confirmed. While trouble in the back country is brewing, trouble in town is growing for Gabe, too: the new sheriff wants to question him in relation to the disappearance of vanquished villain Sal Rutherford. When Dee learns one of her friends, a park ranger, has been injured while looking for answers about the suspected poachers, she and Gabe head out to solve the mystery on their own, and hopefully bring an end to the danger.
As a native of Michigan and a resident of some very, very cold regions, freezing temperatures and snow storms are nothing new to me. Bickle’s descriptions of the frozen terrain of Temperance had me grabbing for more blankets and scooting closer to the heater. The deftly wrought tension as the characters sped toward the final showdown make this book a thrilling read, one I couldn’t put down.
With a wonderful balance of real world Wyoming and magical elements, Nine of Stars is an outstanding entry Weird Western, and I can’t wait for the next installment. If you’re looking for a series that will hook you from the first page, this one hits the target with dead-eye accuracy.
Nine of Stars is available now.