Borrowed Souls

In this fast-paced urban fantasy debut, a young woman who needs to pay off her brother’s debt to a drug dealer ends up taking a job as a collector for a man who rents souls to the desperate and foolhardy. If Callie Delgado works for the Soul Charmer for just two weeks, she’ll get the money she needs. With sexy, mysterious Derek backing her up and providing the voice of experience, Callie learns how to retrieve wayward souls from deadbeat clients. When they discover a new player in town is cutting into the Soul Catcher’s business, the two are sucked into a ruthless struggle for control of the soul market and Gem City as a whole. Meanwhile, Callie is caught between loyalty to her family and resistance to their increasingly selfish demands. A blossoming attraction to Derek provides her motivation to break free and live for herself. Mueller explores an intriguing concept in a seedy, visceral setting that pops to life on the page. The romantic subplot is standard fare, but Callie’s personal development is genuinely interesting, laying the groundwork for even stronger future installments. Agent: Cheryl Pientka, Jill Grinberg Literary. (May)