cover image Black Magic Sanction

Black Magic Sanction

Kim Harrison, . . Eos, $25.99 (487pp) ISBN 978-0-06-113803-4

The eighth bewitching but overly dense Hollows adventure (after 2009’s White Witch, Black Curse ) updates the travails of Rachel Morgan, delectable magical jack of all trades. Having recently learned that Rachel is a witch-born demon whose children would be demons, a white magic coven is shunning her and accusing her of black magic. They offer her a terrible choice: sterilization or imprisonment in Alcatraz. Trent Kalamack, drug lord and elf in hiding, offers to get the coven off her back, but her double-crossing “ex-rat ex-boyfriend,” Nick, shows up and lands her in more hot water. As Rachel battles those she thought were on her side, her survival depends on a paranormal cornucopia of elves, demons, vampires, gargoyles, pixies, and even a leprechaun. This thrill ride celebrates the can-do spirit of one of urban fantasy’s most charming witches. (Mar.)