Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman

Hard Magic by Laura Anne Gilman







The Particulars: Urban Fantasy, Luna, available both in print and e-book

Why was it in my TBR? I know Laura Anne Gilman writes books I love.

The Review:

The Blurb:
Welcome to P.U.P.I.—Private, Unaffiliated, Paranormal Investigations
A handpicked team trained to solve crimes the regular police can't touch—crimes of magic.
My name's Bonnie Torres. Recent college grad, magic user and severely unemployed. Until I got a call out of nowhere to interview for a job I hadn't applied for. It smelled fishy, but the brutal truth was I needed the work—so off I went.
Two days later I'm a PUPI—me and Nick, Sharon, Nifty and Pietr. Five twentysomethings, thrown into an entirely new career in forensic magic.
The first job we get is a doozy: proving that the deaths of two Talents were murder, not suicide. Worse, there are high-profile people who want us to close up shop and go away. We're sniffing out things they'd rather keep buried.
Looks as if this job is gonna get interesting. The only problem is, we're making it up as we go along…

My impressions:

For me, Laura Anne Gilman are one of those authors that you gradually get hooked on. And this is Gilman at her best.
This novel is set in the Cosa Nostradamus universe, just like her Retrivers novels. But while the Retrievers mainly are focused on Lonejacks, this one gives a glimpse into how someone raised by a Council mentor thinks. The Cosa is in upheaval, the tension between Lonejacks, Council and Fatae ( non-humans) are increasing. The founding of P.U.P.I create strong feelings in the Council.
It was fascinating to read about what happens when something new is formed. The training required, how others reacts. The plot were well written, and filled with unexpected twists.
What made this stand out were the characters. I loved how she displayed the headbutting that always occur on a workplace. Also, I liked how she deftly wove the uncertainty of the sitaution into the plot. First, Bonnie’s nagging doubt if she would get a job at all. Then, the worry if they would get to keep the job.

The thing that keeps this from becoming 5 stars is the ending. It felt cut short, on the other hand they are investigators, not cops.



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