15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant first novel, September 22, 2009
This review is from: Spiral Hunt (Evie Scelan) (Mass Market Paperback)
New authors appear every month, and while Margaret Ronald is not exactly a new author, she has published several short stories before this, this is her first novel. Some of her previous short stories had evidently starred Genevieve "Evie" Scelan who is the heroine of "Spiral Hunt" and who has the nickname of "The Hound". This is because she has the magical ability to smell things. Not like most people, but she can smell the magic behind them, if these objects have had any contact with magic, and she can track things long lost. Evie also seems to be developing other, as yet undefined, magical powers. Ronald also wisely decides not to explain everything, as references to past adventures and arcane things in Evie's life are constantly made, giving Evie and this novel an established feel to them.
One night Evie gets a phone call from a long-vanished lover, and he seems to be speaking in two voices, and before he hangs up he mentions that she has been targeted. This bothers her and she decides to start her own investigation to find Frank, and as the novel develops we are introduced to some of the major characters of her quest, such as her best friend Sarah, who runs the occult magic shop Goddess Garden, and who knows Evie's abilities and who has some secrets of her own. Other major characters are Nate, a friend and mathematician and his kid sister who he has guardianship of, and who may have some latent magical abilities of her own, and then there is the hunky and mysterious Brendan Corrigan. Brendan claims to be a friend of Frank's and who claims to want to find Frank just as much, if not more so than Evie herself, and who always seems to be there when Evie needs him the most.
In true detective novel fashion, what starts off as a simple job ends up getting more and more convoluted. Despite her developing powers, and what turns out to be her ancestry, Evie is neither a likable loser like your average pulp detective, or is she a super-woman with unbelievable fighting skills in tight spandex; she gets her butt womped badly several times, almost getting killed at least once. She is also no Sherlock Holmes as she falls, and falls badly for one really nasty red herring. Ah yes, the power of a pretty face.
What she is, is spunky, determined, resourceful, intelligent, and very much her own person. She will also find that despite having a very powerful enemy, she also has some very powerful and resourceful allies hidden in the background that have their own problems. In the end, she's just an average woman with a nifty power, and a naive newbie to the magical underground who has a lot to learn. The story behind this novel will ultimately be Evie's baptism of fire and through it, she will find out just what she is made of, who her real friends and enemies are. "Spiral Hunt" promises to be series, and is more urban fantasy than paranormal romance, because while the romance is there, it's not the prominent reason for the novel's existence. Although she does gets the girl in the end, it's not how you would think. This is also a good fair-play mystery as while the ending may come as a surprise, if you pay attention you will realize the clues were all there for all to see. "Spiral Hunt" holds the promise to be a full and rich pocket universe with the ability to grow and develop into its own uniqueness if Ronald takes the care to nurture it right. Evie is a good character that ranks up there with Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson, Jeanne C. Stein's Anna Strong, or Gina Farago's Ivy Cole, whose novel "Ivy Cole And The Moon" has a similar ending. I love urban fantasy, and I have no problem with strong women characters, and I certainly would like to see another book in this series as Evie, now outed to the magical world, she had hidden herself in plain sight, is forced to explore her magical Boston more than she had in the past.
A new novel, evidently coming real soon now, would also give Ronald the chance to more fully develop Evie's supporting cast of characters. Don't let us down Margaret.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent first novel, February 8, 2009
This review is from: Spiral Hunt (Evie Scelan) (Mass Market Paperback)
I thought this book was excellent. The pacing was great and the characters were real and compelling.
I read a lot of Charles de Lint and Jim Butcher and Spiral Hunt has some of the best elements of both. It is a great urban fantasy and reads like a fast-paced detective yarn. A real page-turner.
I really hope that Margaret Ronald will write at least a few more adventures with Evie and her circle of characters. There is a great deal of potential here.
Good job!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Urban fantasy done right, June 9, 2009
This review is from: Spiral Hunt (Evie Scelan) (Mass Market Paperback)
Ronald's debut novel posits a magical Boston that maps perfectly, with a heroine who isn't gorgeous and omnipotent and schtupping a vampire - she's ragged and imperfect and unique. The best urban fantasy stems as much from the personality of the city itself as from the characters, with the city itself as a character in its own right. Evie's Boston lives and breathes, and so does Evie - a deeply believable protagonist.
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