by Carrie Schutrick

Created on: December 02, 2009

Fans of Tanya Huff's Blood series, set in Toronto, will recognize the main characters of "Smoke and Shadows": Tony Foster, the former prostitute, and Henry Fitzroy, his vampire lover. The two have made a move to Vancouver (British Columbia), and Tony has gotten into TV. He's working as a production assistant on a series called "Darkest Night"-about a vampire private detective. He's also moved out of Henry's home and gotten his own apartment, which is difficult for him; he's gotten used to having Henry as a patron/parent, and it's tough living on his own. Not to mention the huge crush he has on one of the actors on his show, which causes no end of angst.

But that's all just life, and to be expected. The scary things start happening when a guest actor for an episode of "Darkest Night" ends up dead in fairly mysterious circumstances. Most of the crew is troubled, of course, but Tony's been around Henry long enough to know that there really is magic in the world, and sometimes it's not very nice. His suspicions mount, and eventually are confirmed when he discovers that Arra, the show's special-effects artist, is not what she seems.

So Tony's stuck trying to stop a malevolent magic-user, while still keeping up his PA duties and making it look as if nothing at all is wrong-and just to make things more fun, he really doesn't want to ask Henry for help, because asking Henry for help is something that he used to do before moving out of Henry's house. He collects a few other allies on the way, though in general their potential usefulness is inversely proportional to their willingness to help him.

Like the Blood series, "Smoke and Shadows" is fast-paced and deftly plotted; there's a bit of a difference in feel because Tony is absolutely immersed in pop culture. There are references and in-jokes on nearly every page, not neglecting a few sideways allusions to the TV series like "Forever Knight" and "Highlander" which are "Darkest Night"'s clear spiritual ancestors. But more than that, Tony is an appealing protagonist who tries to do the right thing; he isn't perfect, but who is? Some of Tony's problems come from his own mistakes, rather than mischance, and that's always interesting to see.

Anyway, what's not to like about a book in which the main character discovers in the last chapter that he has the potential to become a wizard?

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