Review--Unholy Magic

ENEMIES DON'T NEED TO BE ALIVE TO BE DEADLY.

For Chess Putnam, finding herself near-fatally poisoned by a con psychic and then stopping a murderous ghost is just another day on the job. As an agent of the Church of Real Truth, Chess must expose those looking to profit from the world's unpleasant little poltergeist problem--humans filing false claims of hauntings--all while staving off any undead who really are looking for a kill. But Chess has been extra busy these days, coping with a new "celebrity" assignment while trying on her own time to help some desperate prostitutes.

Someone's taking out the hookers of Downside in the most gruesome way, and Chess is sure the rumors that it's the work of a ghost are way off base. But proving herself right means walking in the path of a maniac, not to mention standing between the two men in her life just as they--along with their ruthless employers--are moving closer to a catastrophic showdown. Someone is dealing in murder, sex, and the supernatural and once again Chess finds herself right in the crossfire.

Finally finished Unholy Magic today after a long delay due to many things, but it was so worth it! This was really awesome and a great followup to Unholy Ghosts! Can't wait to read City of Ghosts, but it's a little down in the lineup in my TBR pile due to some other books I am desperate to read!! Going to have to rethink my next read, but moving on...

A few months after the events of Unholy Ghosts, Chess finds herself back in the swing of things as life goes back to normal, normal for her at least. She's still somewhat dating Lex and getting her drugs from him, she's still occasionally hanging out with Terrible, but then things get complicated. After a close run in with a fake psychic, Terrible asks Chess to help him out with the problem regarding the prostitutes being murdered because he knows some of them. And Chess reluctantly agrees, doing it as a favor for him.

Their relationship is a little tense still after the events of Unholy Ghosts. There is definitely tension between the two of them, in a good way almost. Much different than her relationship with Lex.

But things get complicated still when she has to go to a TV star's house for a reported haunting and once again, Chess is sure it's a fake, a fake that will pay her a lot of money. But after the first book, it's obvious things won't be as easy as she thinks.

This book really takes off from where we last left Chess, and a whole lot of good things happen that I can't talk about. I don't even want to give vague hints, but there is good stuff and an incredible ending that is definitely going to have repercussions in future books, possibly even City of Ghosts, but not 100% sure, but it will definitely have to come up. There are quite a few more loose ends in this book but it still wraps up nicely in the end.

Chess is still quite an amazing character. Very different from the average UF protagonist. Her drug addiction still bothers me a little bit, because sometimes the drugs become a problem for her and her actions, but that is also what helps make the series. It gives Chess that problem that she can't overcome.

This is definitely a series I will be sticking too. I was once again blown away by the language, the accents and drawls of the characters Chess interacts with sound so real and fluent, you can really hear it and it gives the book a nice edge. Of course the books are already edgy and the "scenery" is the same, Downside is a rough and rugged place, much like its citizens.

Now I have to do a game of "eeny-meeny-miny-moe" to decide which book I really want to read next. Will make a decision by the end of the evening...hopefully!