Deadly Spells (Prospero's War, #3)

by Jaye Wells

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

4.5 stars

So, I’ve picked up the audio for this series. I read the first two books. Now, I’m listening to the series. I think this series is great whichever way you choose to try to tackle it. I just recommend that you try it. This series is very much a unique series. It followed Kate Prospero, the niece of a powerful coven leader who is currently serving time in a magical prison. Kate walked away from the covens and her family (except her little brother, which she took with her) and went off on her own. She’s become a cop in one of the magical cities in the country. Adept (the term for magic users) cops are frowned upon. Most non-adept people don’t trust Adepts. But now, there’s an Adept mayor, who just so happens to be Kate’s ex-boyfriend and was also very high up in the coven in his own right.

So in the first book, Kate is attached to an FBI team, The Magical Enforcement Agency. She is the liaison between the local cops and the FBI. She has two bosses and it can make things difficult for her when she’s caught in the middle. She’s earned the respect off all her co-workers for sure. That is not something she had with the local cops. The FBI really suits her.

Each book so far, Kate and Morales (her partner), work with MEA team and local cops to solve a magical crime. This book is no different. Again, someone is killing people. This time, it’s coven members dying, which is sure to start a coven war. Kate knows more about the covens than any of law enforcement, since she has first hand experience with them. She is pulled in several directions on this case and not just work wise. There are also some dating issues for Kate.

One thing I really love about this series, is how close to real life it is. Kate has to deal with things like bad dates, a little brother that she’s raising and his school issues. These little touches really make Kate feel more like a real person. She’s doing everything she has to raise her brother while working as a cop, which has long hours and being on time to school things is very hard.

If you like cop stories, magic and gritty urban fantasy, this is the series for you.

Narration
This is not my first audiobook with Morgan Hallett. I’ve listened to a few, but not a lot. I think she does a really good job with the narration. It has been many years since I’ve gone from reading a series to listening (I tend to jump into listening these day), but I can say that it was no issue for me. I have to give a huge kudos for the voicing of Little Man and Mary. They are an interesting character in this series. Little Man is a baby that will never grow up. He’s attached (as in literally) to his sister, Mary. LM is the brains and Mary is the brawn, though they tend to just hide away when danger is lurking about. They are full of information. They share it with Kate for a nominal fee. I thought that Ms Hallett did a great job with this unusual pair. The whole things was good, but I wanted to call out that.