Review: The Witchkin Murders

The Witchkin Murders by Diana Pharaoh Francis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Four years ago Kayla's world imploded when wild magic exploded and the supernatural world (or Witchkin) declared war on the humans. Now there is an uneasy truce with humans and the technomages on one side and all Witchkin on the other. Kayla was a successful detective until the war, when wild magic hit she transformed into a terrible monster whenever she got wet. Unable to continue working for Portland PD she now scavenges for scarce resources like tampons and peanut butter in areas ravaged by wild magic. Returning from one such scavenge she comes across three murdered Witchkin and despite all her fears, calls her old partner Ray to let him know.

Ray and Kayla had a very bad falling out when she abruptly quit the force without any explanation and emotions have run hot and fierce ever since, strangely when they meet up again for the first time in four years Ray feels more lust and frustration than anything else. They go their separate ways until a high profile kidnapping of two of the most prominent (and wealthy) members of Portland society bring Ray and Kayla back into contact again.

First, the things I liked. The world-building was great, I liked the magic mixed with technomages and shifters and mythology (even though it did seem reminiscent of the glorious world of Kate Daniels). There were strong tensions between humans and Witchkin and I liked some of the uses of magic. I also liked the hitherto less-explored mythologies and the creature which Kayla shifts into - kudos for choosing something out of the ordinary.

Turning to what I didn't like. First Ray only seemed to have one expression, or variants thereof, "his d*&k went hard", it actually started to seem like an almost forced reaction - like he had been infected with magical Viagra rather than a normal reaction to a woman he is in love with. Second, Kayla can't for the life of her understand why Ray gets so worked up when she puts herself in danger - she is in such denial about their feelings for each other that it becomes exasperating - for goodness sake you're supposed to be a detective woman, get a clue! Third there were a couple of very clunky political messages/statements which jarred on me.

Overall, this was a promising start with an interesting world-building and plot, let down slightly by the romance side (as urban fantasy often is). Not in the same league as Ilona Andrews, although so few are, but an enjoyable read nevertheless and I look forward to reading more in the series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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