RogerBW's Blog

Magic Stars, Ilona Andrews 26 August 2019

2015 modern fantasy novella in the Kate Daniels series. Derek, now a vigilante known as the Grey Wolf, and Kate's adopted daughter Julie, deal with a killer and work out what it is the killer's trying to achieve.

Although these novellas are usually incidental to the main story, there are significant facts revealed here: what's happened to Hugh d'Ambray, and some things that Julie knows but someone else doesn't know she knows. (These do turn up in later novels too.)

There's a fair bit of action here, and Derek provides yet another distinctive first-person viewpoint. On the other hand, if you didn't already care about these characters, they might not be particularly engaging; they have a lot of history together and separately, and that's not always explained. Some of the other novellas have appeared in anthologies to bring in new readers, but this isn't one of them.

There's a hint that Derek and Julie may get a spin-off series now that the main sequence is complete, and I'll enjoy it if they do; the combination of personal darkness leavened by chat between the two is highly effective, and I'd be happy to read more.

[Buy this at Amazon] and help support the blog. ["As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases."]

Previous in series: Magic Shifts | Series: Kate Daniels | Next in series: Magic Binds

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