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It's a different world out there. Supernatural being ("supes") are a part of the landscape, tending to be centered in the bigger cities; the hunting is better there. Scranton has the dubious honor of having far more ley lines than is common. Ley lines are lines of magical power, although there is dissension about how that works. Stan Murkowski doesn't really care how they work. He's a cop, a cop in the Occult Crimes Unit, and he has to deal with the fallout. Somebody (or something, more likely) is murdering vampires in Scranton. Occult Crimes doesn't just deal in crimes against humans. They are also responsible for the criminals who prey on supes. The vampires are being killed in a very ritualistic fashion, taking the normal methods at least a step or two beyond the usual. Stan has a new partner, one who has a reputation for perhaps not being the best possible partner. Stan also has a daughter, a daughter who is a vampire. It's a short, sad story. Stan, for this case, also has the help of a witch and a very old vampire. The witch is on his side; the vampire definitely has his own agenda. With any luck, this is the first in a long line of Occult Crimes Unit investigations. Stan Markowski is a wonderful character, flawed in many ways, dedicated, trying to do the best he can in a very uncertain world. Markowski has a jaundiced view of his world and it shows; he's willing to use whatever tools he can find to do what must be done. Sometimes that doesn't work out the way he planned it. Those times haunt him. His relationship with his partner changes during this book; Karl Renfer has more to him than one might think. While HARD SPELL is definitely a police procedural, it has some very funny moments. It tends to be dark humor, but it works. Fans of Jim Butcher would do well to check out Justin Gustainis. § P.J. Coldren lives in northern lower Michigan where she reads and reviews widely across the mystery genre when she isn't working in her local hospital pharmacy.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, September 2011
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