4 stars for Deadly Spells (Prospero's War book 3) by Jaye Wells.
After much attention on Aphrodite Johnson and her O coven in book 2 Cursed Moon, the discovery of a dismembered body in Babylon's church in this latest instalment thrusts the bad blood between the other 2 major dirty magic covens into the limelight: the Votary Coven led by Abe Prospero and the Sanguinarian Coven under the new leadership of Harry Bane. Having grown up in the Cauldron, it cannot be helped that the victim is someone all too familiar to Kate; someone she knows from her old days as the scion of the Votary Coven. And news of the death unwittingly brings Kate down memory lane to the night of her mother’s death and reopens the old wounds to her heart.
Where sentiments run amok among the Votaries and the Sang to brew on the edge of a full-blown coven war, we see the same happening on the side of the good guys, in this case, the Babylon Police Department (BPD) against the Magic Enforcement Agency (MEA). Though working for the same cause, the BPD and MEA each wants full control of the murder case and refuses to cooperate with the other. Then comes the big question mark when John Volo interferes to maneuver the homicide case in favor of the MEA task force where Kate is now a member. Is Volos still holding a torch for Kate all through the years? Or is he a man whose motivations hide more than what he let on?
In Deadly Spells, the rapport between Kate and her partner Drew Morales reaches a new high. While it is kind of predictable, it is also very pleasing and amusing to see how their relationship changes in time and unfolds from Morales' sarcastic use of his Cupcake nickname for Kate to one intended with compliments. Sadly, the same cannot be said between Kate and her past love, John Volos. Perhaps there is more than meets the eye, but up till book 3, I still cannot fully understand why Kate treats Volos as if he is her archenemy. Frankly speaking, I root for Volos as I like to believe that the man will always be in love with his first love, at least in fiction.
Although the pace of this sequel is much slower than the previous two books, it is not detrimental to the plot as the story still spins wonderfully on the whole. Kate Prospero is now one of my favourite urban fantasy kick-ass heroines.
Publisher: Orbit
Publication date: 10 Feb 2015
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DIRTY MAGIC CAN KILL YOU.
After the grisly murder of a dirty magic coven leader, Kate Prospero and the MEA team must pitch in to help the police find the killer. When the initial evidence points to a rival coven as the culprit, the threat of a coven war looms over the investigation. But the case becomes even more complex when a tenacious reporter insists on sticking her nose in both the investigation and Prospero’s own past.
But Prospero isn’t the only one whose old ghosts are coming back to haunt them. Newly minted mayor of Babylon, John Volos, as well as Prospero’s boss, Special Agent Miranda Gardner may have damning ties to the murderer. The team will have to use all the weapons in their arsenal to stop the coven war and find the killer before the case brings down all their careers.
*Blurb from author's website*
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