Trace of Magic

by Diana Pharaoh Francis

[Melanie]

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

I’ve heard great things about Diana Pharaoh Francis for a long time from Berls from Fantasy is More Fun, so when I finally got a chance to review one of her audiobooks, I jumped at the chance. I didn’t really know much about this book going it. I had not read any reviews, only the blurb from Goodreads. I will say, that I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed it.

This is a world where you have people with different magical abilities. Riley Hollis is a Tracer. She can follow someone’s trace and see where they’ve been in the past. She is much stronger than she lets on though. If some of the powerful people figured out how powerful she really was, she would become a target. Most people can only track someone’s trace for a short time. Riley can track someone’s trace back forever and even after they died.

Detective Clay Price is known as a dirty cop. He is in the pocket of the mob as an enforcer. However, when he isn’t doing the mob’s work, he is actually a pretty good cop. He needs someone to do a trace for him, but doesn’t want it to be on the record with the police or the mob, so he comes to Riley. He makes her an offer she can’t refuse to work for him. Then her sister calls in hysterics because her boyfriend’s place is in disarray. Price and and Riley work together to find out what happened to the boyfriend. They find out it is all tied together.

I really enjoyed this story. It was full of action. I liked the magic. Riley is a great character that is full of sass. Price is decent character, better than I thought he would be, seeing that he was part of the mob and all. I was a little surprised that Riley gives in and sleeps with him as quickly as she did. She also starts to reveal more and more about herself to him faster than I would’ve thought, even after sleeping with him. There are also some really great side characters in this story that I would like to learn more about.

It was a pretty good start to the series. I would like to see the second book and see where this series goes. It has promise. The second book isn’t available on audio yet. I don’t know if it will be or not. I’ll have to wait a bit and see.

Narration
This is my first audiobook with Elizabeth Phillips. I will say that I thought she did a great job. I has no issues with any of the voices, male or female. I was always able to distinguish between the characters. I did listen at an increased speed, but that is normal for me. I would recommend her for more books.