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Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge

In Caitlin Kittredge's dark fantasy, Street Magic, the urban landscape of London provides more than just a backdrop for an engrossing story about ghosts and magic and redemption. London is almost a character, particularly the secretive shadowy world called the Black that dwells within its nooks and crannies.

Twelve years ago, Pete Caldecott watched a mage die. Jack Winter was impulsive, good-looking, and dangerous. A man who made outrageous claims about his powers and made her believe in his witchfire. Worse, he made her believe in him. A mistake that cost Pete her sanity, and Jack his life.

Or so Pete thinks. Now a Detective Inspector, Pete is investigating a missing child case. The first solid tip takes her to a trashy hotel room where she finds a junkie hoping to score some cash for his help. The heroin addict is none other than Jack Winter.

Pete's no longer a rash sixteen-year-old girl enamored by an older boy and his parlor tricks. She's seen too much on the job, and in her own life, to give even a second thought about real magic. She's spent a long time ignoring her own odd talents, and an even longer time mourning the man who opened the door to it all.

And for reasons he won't explain, Jack hates her. Pete's too controlled to give in to her shock, or even to give voice to her relief. Instead, she reluctantly uses Jack's tip ... and finds the girl, alive, but irrevocably damaged.

When other children start disappearing, Pete tracks down Jack and insists that he help her break the case. She locks him in her flat and forces him to quit his habit cold turkey. As Jack fights off his addiction, he leads Pete into the world of the Fae, into the recesses of the Black, where magic and otherworldly creatures live-and die.

As Pete and Jack learn to trust each other again, they begin to piece together the mystery of who is stealing London's children, and why. Pete also begins to face some terrible truths about her past ... and finally admits that she has some abilities of her own. When their investigation leads them to Highgate Cemetery, to the crypt where both their lives changed forever, Jack and Pete find themselves facing an old nightmare. This time, Pete is determined to see it through with Jack, no matter the cost.

Street Magic, Book One in the Black London series, is the first novel I've read by Caitlin Kittredge, but it will not be the last. Kittredge writes gritty noir fiction, dragging the reader through magic's underbelly. It's not a pretty place with sparkle and rainbows; it's far more fascinating and darkly entertaining. Kittredge is one helluva writer. She builds a believable world populated with characters both interesting and terrifying. Her protagonists are human, right down to their flaws, who reach beyond their own pain and shortcomings to save innocents. And in doing so, save themselves as well.

Street Magic arrives in bookstores on June 23, 2009. Reserve your copy now. You'll love every second spent in Black London.

Learn more about this author, Michele Bardsley.
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