Kris Neri, High Crimes on the Magical Plane

Samantha Brennan is a con artist from a long line of grifters; at the moment she is doing a psychic medium gig as she dresses the part of a gypsy. Her client is Dodie Drake who lives in the luxurious apartment in the Bonne Chance. As she goes to her client's home, Samantha sees a car filled with clowns whom she assumes are the stalkers of another tenant actress Molly Crane. Being a good neighbor Sam purloins a keycard and enters the actress' penthouse where she finds a dead male and Molly missing.

Sam goes to the FBI and talks to Special Agent Annabelle Haggerty. The two women enter the penthouse together while discussing the clowns probably abducted Molly. A task force is formed with Annabelle demanding Sam be on it. Soon afterward someone tries to kill Sam, but Haggerty saves her life and brings her into her home. Sam soon realizes her protector is a Celtic goddess who has visions that she sends to Sam so she can tell others concerning Molly. This way Annabelle can hide her alterego. Sam falls in love with a god and realizes brownies, gnomes and elves exist. Something dark and evil is coming to Los Angeles causing riots and gang warfare in its malevolent wake. Sam knows Haggerty is in trouble when this malevolence arrives; so she refuses to leave her friend alone.

Sam and Annabelle are the oddest couple with the former wanting to be what the latter is and the latter wanting to be what the former is. Confusing not at all as each envies the life of the other. Annabelle just wants to be an FBI agent as her goddess duties at times is overwhelming while Sam the shyster ponders what she could get away with if she had the goddess powers. This pairing make for a wonderful combination of a lighthearted yet also deep spellbinding urban fantasy mystery.

Harriet Klausner