Blood & Ash

Wilde (the Unlikeable Demon Hunter series) combines hardboiled noir and Jewish folklore in this action-packed, perfectly paced paranormal romp. A centuries-old botched Kabbalah ritual created the magic users, or Nefesh, that pervade mundane private investigator Ashira Cohen’s alternate present-day Vancouver. Ash discovers a Star of David tattooed on her scalp and realizes it’s a ward meant to suppress the dormant blood magic she never knew she had. When she breaks the ward, her newfound abilities allow her to perceive a vicious, undiscovered shadow magic that no one else can see, not even the other Nefesh. Levi Montefiore, Ash’s childhood rival turned leader of Nefesh regulatory body House Pacifica, hires Ash to track those shadows down. Soon that case converges with one she’s working for a teenage client hoping to track down her missing refugee girlfriend. Golems, Nefesh politics, a dangerous plot to sell magic, and Ash’s attraction to Levi add spice, but the real star is Ash’s hilariously snarky narrative voice, which is archly sarcastic but never mean. Wilde balances exuberant wit with deep compassion and handles Ash’s chronic pain and fragmented family with care. This giddy, sexy series launch is a delight. (Self-published)