This was somewhat of a random read for me. I have an ever growing list of books to read, but I felt like picking up something a little different. I looked over the brief description and decided to give Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells a try. It is the first book in her new Prospero’s War series and was published by Orbit just ten days ago on 1-21-14. The concept of magic being used to create illicit potions seemed interesting and I am always up for a fresh idea. The story revolves around Kate Prospero, a beat cop in Babylon, which is supposed to be in the Rust Belt. Think Detroit with a view of Lake Erie. In Babylon, Kate Patrols an area known as The Cauldron. The Cauldron is a particularly rundown area where the potion users and cooks are more dense.

Wizards cook up potions for vanity, greed, sex, energy, pretty much anything. Most of these potions are cooked up and distributed by a few local covens, which unlike actual covens, are really just local magic gangs. While there are legal, clean potions for sell (energy drinks for example or even fuels) most of the potions we encounter are cooked by street wizards with inferior quality, and of course are ‘dirty’ so to speak. These potions become addicting and ruin addicts’ lives as well as appearance. Kate normally arrests the users hanging around on the streets. A new and dangerous potion shows up which transforms the user into a  werewolf with no real control. In the very beginning Kate has to kill the user she encounters, which turned out to be an MEA snitch. Kate ends up getting herself assigned to the MEA (Magic Enforcement Agency) task force. Their job is to locate the source of this new potion and shut them down.

Before I go any farther, I need to say that I really enjoyed this book. It was the first book by Jaye Wells that  have ever read and I was impressed. I will have to grab some more. I have to be honest and say that this was unexpected though. I had some doubts that I would like this book at all for several reasons. First, the title. It sounded like one of those cheesy romantic-urban-fantasy stories. A quick look at the description was enough to contradict that. Next was the detective story angle. I have never considered myself a fan of generic mystery stories either. While they seem to always find their ways to the best seller lists, mysteries just never did it for me. I did reconsider this though, almost exclusively due to the magic spin. I have to say that I am glad I went outside of what I thought I would like and took a chance.

I have only one real issue though. At one point Kate makes it known that she carries a Glock .22. Sorry, no. I cannot accept that. I have several friends in law enforcement. They range from Port Authority and NYPD to federal agents. None of these people would be caught on or off duty with a little .22. It is just unrealistic, especially if you knew the daily beat meant facing people hopped up on anything. Drugs, or in this case potions, makes them harder to put down. A .22 would not cut it. In that situation a .40 would be appropriate. I could understand a 9mm. Without the insight of my LE friends, I do not know if this would have bothered me as much, or if I would have even noticed, but it did take me out of the moment.

Let us return to novel itself though. I did appreciate the building of the main character, something I always tend to focus on. More and more of her history and personality came out over the course of the book which made the “getting to know you” feel very natural. She was was well crafted and showed a bit of depth. I liked the personal and professional struggles and felt they made her more real. I think all of the major players had some good foundations and layers. There were definitely some moments of surprise as well as sudden understanding. Even on the detective side, there were enough twists where it completely threw me, yet not so much the it seemed forced. I enjoyed the interpersonal relationships as well, especially with her brother and her friend. The team member bonding is there as well and runs the expected course. There were many really interesting characters and I really hope that we see them again in the next installation. The ball-busting partner with the hard facade that opens up as well as the blow-hard captain have been done to death, but somehow even those work here. I also really like the realistic language. It is undoubtedly adult. I know a lot of authors in fantasy tend to use softer language to appeal to the wider audience, but in this setting it needed the stronger language.

Using standard ratings, I would give this a solid 4/5 stars. Very enjoyable, something I would recommend to people even if they are not fantasy readers. If you enjoy this one, the next book, Cursed Moon, is already lined up for an August release.