A Local Habitation

January 25, 2010
McGuire follows 2009’s Rosemary and Rue
with a fast-paced cross between a murder mystery and a slasher film, liberally spiked with magic and technology. Half-faerie PI October “Toby” Daye leaves San Francisco for the nearby County of Tamed Lightning to check up on her patron’s niece, January, who’s uncharacteristically fallen out of contact. Toby soon realizes that ALH Computing, the county’s secret seat of power, has big problems. Someone doesn’t want outsiders snooping around, and as the body count rises, Toby will risk life, limb, and soul to find out what’s really going on. While most of the deaths could have been prevented with a little less plot-mandated stupidity, the world-building is solid, the storytelling energetic, and the atmosphere sinister as mythological creatures face off against mad scientists.

February 15, 2010
October Daye works as a PI in San Francisco where her Faerie blood makes her part of the supernatural community. When Sylvester, Duke of Torquill, sends her to check up on his niece, ruler of the County of Tamed Lightning (Fremont, CA), she finds that Faerie folk in the Countess's employ have been mysteriously dying in a manner that contradicts the known rules of the Fae. VERDICT Second in an urban fantasy detective series featuring a resourceful female detective, this sequel to "Rosemary and Rue" should appeal to fans of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files as well as the novels of Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, and similar authors.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2010
Second efforts following strong debuts often disappoint, but thats not the case with the latest Toby Daye mystery (after Rosemary and Rue, 2009). Half human and half fae, Toby, now working full time as a PI, is contracted for what seems an easy jobchecking in on her liege lords daughter, January, who hasnt been returning his phone calls. But Januarys home (and computer company) is a tiny free duchy located between larger fae countries, each of whom would like to take over her land and wealth. Undismayed, Toby sets off with Quentin, a fairy knight in training, only to find that far more is going on than unreturned phone calls: three of the computer companys employees are dead, and January is missing. The action takes place only over a few days, and the setting is limited to Januarys duchy, allowing McGuire to evoke the country-house-murder plot of traditional mysteries while at the same time writing an excellent urban fantasy. This unusual but enthralling combination will draw in both mystery and fantasy readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)