Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells, The Prospero's War #1The last thing patrol cop Kate Prospero expected to find on her nightly rounds was a werewolf covered in the blood of his latest victim. But then, she also didn't expect that shooting him would land her in the crosshairs of a Magic Enforcement Agency task force, who wants to know why she killed their lead snitch.
The more Prospero learns about the dangerous new potion the MEA is investigating, the more she's convinced that earning a spot on their task force is the career break she's been wanting. But getting the assignment proves much easier than solving the case. Especially once the investigation reveals their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years earlier—on the same day she swore she'd never use dirty magic again.
Kate Prospero's about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get you burned, and that when it comes to magic, you should be never say never.
Dirty Magic was one of those titles that as soon as I read the first few sentences of the synopsis that I wanted, needed, to read. Orbit has been publishing some very good Urban Fantasy series over the last few years and a short while ago I read The Oversight and got me fired up for more of the Urban setting so it was time to dig in. Dirty Magic is the latest series by Jaye Wells who is well known for her Sabina Kane series which made her a USA Today bestselling author, so Dirty Magic had to be good! And it was, trust me, there are themes in this book that no author has ever used before! Good stuff.
The first thing that falls to note is the writing style. It directly bolsters the whole cop feeling of the book. To be honest it is not a style that I would normally had associated with a female author it sound just a bit to rough for their use but it does work it's wonders when you look at the complete story. It isn't all nice colors and roses in Dirty Magic but the dark side of police work. Jaye Wells writes her story in a confronting manner and with a very engaging flare, involving you into the fullest in her story. The interactions that are drawn out of this writing style is something that you would see in the pulp police movies or tv series. Somehow it produces some laughing moments but set in this story it has a very dark undertone.
Normally in urban fantasy we see a lot of the supernatural and urban wizards battling it of against each other. In her story of Dirty Magic Jaye Wells introduces a completely new concept which I haven't seen before used in this way. Potions. Yes you have wizards but they cook up the potions. Either illegally, they are known as dirty magic or legally as clean magic. It was very cool to read about these new things in urban fantasy as it offered a completely new and interesting perspective to the whole story. Though you are still reliant on the adepts/wizards to cook for you, everyone can drink down a potion to enhance themselves. The usage of these potions vary from making you better, faster and stronger to attracting the opposite sex. The potions are being cooked by different coven's each specializing in a different type of the arcanes blood or alchemical just to name a few. And as you know with home-brew things, the illegal potions, you never know just what side effects you might induce...
The story of Dirty Magic follows the female lead of the story, Kate Prospero, an 29 year old police officer. During a task she tries to capture a bad guy none lethally but ends up killing him by accident. Only later to learn that she shot an important informant who was supposed to lead the police force to the roots of a new dirty magic potion known as Grey Wolf that has been going about on the street with disastrous after effects, turning people into creatures with a craving for blood. Perhaps an lucky thing accompanying her bad move is Kate promotion to the MEA, Magical Enforcement Agency, who specialize in keeping the streets clean from the dirty kind of magic. This promotion was just what Kate has been hoping to get in the last few years, though it's not really done the natural way... And as a rookie of the team she does get the full wind from the front when dealing with new situations making the "getting used to" just a bit harder. However Kate doesn't have a a clean slate of her own, she is an adept and has been working in the past for on the of covens and was named something of a prodigy. In her past some dark things happened which made her cause to swear of the usage of potions. But now that Kate finds herself digging deeper and deeper into the nature of the Grey Wolf potion she uncovers the truth behind everything which forces her to abandon some of her earlier believes. Kate also gets reunited with her ex-boyfriend from back in the days John Volos and this quite makes the things more complicated.
Kate Prospero makes up one great protagonist, she isn't the standard protagonist that you see in the normal Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance stories. Yes, she is described as a pretty detective but she has a large added backpack full of history carrying around. At home she takes care of her younger brother Danny, since her mother died a long time ago. This besides the long hours that she makes doesn't leave her with a lot of spare time to hit the bars and have a good time. It is exactly this that you see in her character, a terrible weight on her shoulders. Being so busy taking care of everything doesn't leave her with a lot of room to get down to the going out, so there isn't the typical seducing romancing bit. Added to this is the way that she has her own set of rules that she upholds with a lot of effort. She has sworn of the usage of potions for her own gain and does force this on her brother Danny that leads to some quarrels at home, now a lot of readers might say what isn't this hypocritical to do since she cooked herself. Well no, because you learn just what disastrous effects Kate's cooking had on her and her family... With Kate, Jaye Wells has created a very engaging and complex main protagonist for her series, with all that Kate has gone through you will definitely be rooting for her from the first page.
Next to Kate there are plenty of secondary characters that you get to meet throughout the book. Most of them feature in the police force of the MEA but one other John Volos, the ex-boyfriend of Kate was also one of note. The interactions with Miranda Gardner were great to read about and the team that Kate becomes part of with the MEA is one bunch of eccentric persons, they all have specialized in a certain field form the combat specialist down to the wizard who cooks the special potions for the team to preform better. Though the focus is a lot on Kate, Jaye Wells doesn't let this determine the fate of the other characters and make them stand out just as much as the main protagonist. All in all a very solid character cast.
The ending of Dirty Magic is one snowball effect. With Kate halving delved deeper and deeper into the nature of the Grey Wolf potion, she has uncovered something that she rather wouldn't have learned. It seems that it is true what they say, you cannot bury your past... But Kate is determined to finally lay it to rest. It promises a lot for the sequel Cursed Moon in August.
Dirty Magic is a fresh addition to the Urban Fantasy scene, Jaye Wells has created a unqiyue story that has some very cool idea's working in it's favor and she steers away from some of the more commonly used urban fantasy tropes. Yes there are still wizards but they cook up the bad and good potions that are available for everyone. There aren't all powerful wizards etc. but everyone can be made into a deadly weapon with said potions, or just help you along in the field of love to name another example. The world wherein Dirty Magic takes place is dark and grim which is only lifted occasional with a happy moment for Kate. The characters and mainly Kate is complex and has many levels, owing to her troubled past, she is one of those protagonists that really helps to get you involved in the story and you will be cheering her on during her investigations and battles. Dirty Magic is a great story and kick-off an exciting new series. Not to be missed for any Urban Fantasy fan!
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