Cassie Black Trilogy

Work at a funeral home can be mundane. Until you accidentally start bringing the dead back to life. Cassie Black works at a funeral home. She's used to all manner of dead bodies. What she's not used to is them waking up. Which they seem to be doing on a disturbingly regular basis lately. Just when Cassie believes she has the problem under control, the recently-deceased Busby Tenpenny insists he's been murdered and claims Cassie might be responsible thanks to a wicked brand of magic she's been exposed to. The only way for Cassie to get her life back to normal is to tame her magic and uncover Mr. Tenpenny's true killer. Simple right? Of course not. Because while Cassie works on getting her newly-acquired magic sorted, she's blowing up kitchens, angering an entire magical community, and discovering her past is more closely tied to Busby Tenpenny than she could have ever imagined. If you like comedic contemporary fantasy with snarky humor, unforgettable characters, and paranormal murder mystery such as Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series and Wilkie Martin's Inspector Hobbes, you'll find it hard to pry yourself away from this first book of the Cassie Black Trilogy.

There's nothing like an evil wizard to ruin a perfectly good trip to London. Ever have one of those weeks? You've taken an overdose of magic, you've just melted a twelve-year old girl, and Magic HQ has sent a letter "requesting" you come by to discuss your magic control issues. No? Just me then? I don't want to go. I've got a boss in a wheelchair (my fault), a zombie cat who demands his treats on schedule, and no interest in sorting out the quirks of another magical community. But when someone slips me information tying my parents' disappearance to HQ, I can't pack my bags quickly enough. I'm soon destroying historical displays, befriending befuddled ghosts, and focusing more on uncovering the truth about my past than on learning how to rein in my magic. Which, since HQ has a test for me that if I fail . . . Well, best not to think about that. If you like contemporary comic fantasy with unforgettable characters, snarky humor, and a touch of paranormal mystery-or if you've ever wondered what those garden gnomes are really up to-you'll find it hard to pry yourself away from The Uncanny Raven Winston.

Sometimes taking an overdose of magic is the least of your problems. Cassie Black has just lost two people through a magic portal. Her archenemy, the Mauvais, is threatening to destroy city after city if Magic Headquarters doesn't hand her over to him. And HQ isn't exactly saying no to that offer. As the Magic higher ups debate her fate, Cassie refuses to sit by and watch the grass grow between the toes of the surveillance gnomes. Biting back her life rule to never get involved, she knows the only way to stop the Mauvais is to go after him herself. Which is exactly what he wants. Because the instant Cassie falls into his hands, the Mauvais will gain the unlimited power he's always craved. So don't get captured, right? Easy for you to say. Trouble is, there's a traitor within HQ who's proving to be more devious, more powerful, and to have more tricks up the sleeve than anyone could have ever guessed. If you like contemporary fantasy with unforgettable characters, snarky humor, and a touch of paranormal mystery, you'll love what's behind the cover of The Untangled Cassie Black.

Cassie Black is back, and she's now heading up MagicLand's newest detective agency. Well, sort of . . . Cassie Black may have defeated an evil wizard, but that hasn't stopped her from getting kicked out of the Academy's detective training program. The upside is that it's forced Cassie to start her own agency. The downside? A lack of clients. Cassie thinks her career is on the upswing when Rosaria's new mayor hires her to find a missing jewel. It's a huge case that could turn the agency around. Trouble is, the jewel hasn't been seen for over 500 years, and Cassie suspects there's more to the mayor's sudden demands the jewel be found. What's more . . . something besides tea is brewing over at Magic HQ, but thanks to a little snag in the Magic bureaucracy, Cassie isn't allowed to lend her skills to the problem. In fact, if she doesn't sort out that bit of bureaucracy in the next few days, her sleuthing career will be over before it begins. It all has Cassie looking wistfully back on the days when all she had to do was save the world. If you like contemporary fantasy filled with wry humor, paranormal mystery, and diabolical office chairs, you'll love the twists and turns of this trilogy.

Book burning. Jewel stealing. Vampire hunting. Not exactly what I expected from a day's work as a detective, but at least things are no longer dull at the agency. Although I'm not sure how much longer the doors to that agency will be open, since the due date for getting my detective license just went whizzing by faster than a fairy on pixie dust. But, after making good use of my groveling skills, HQ has given me an extension to solve a case and complete my application. Which would be great if the only clients I have weren't dead clients, missing clients, and persnickety clients. I'm also contending with a boyfriend who's refusing to speak to me, there's a vampire uprising close on the horizon, and more Magics going missing by the day, including my own parents (yes, again). But the worst problem in my life right now? A bubbly new assistant, who not only believes we're besties, but also thinks hugging is permitted. Seriously, I'll take a vampire uprising over that, any day.

The grande finale of the laugh-snort inducing, fantastical mystery-filled, and utterly mis-named Cassie Black Trilogy! Morelli here. Cassie seems to find herself too busy eating pastries, breaking out of jail, and saving the Magic world (again) to bother with writing her own book description, so she's fobbed the chore off on me. Some people, am I right? Anyway, Black refuses to let me see a single page of the manuscript, but since I was there for most of the story, I can tell you this book is going to be full of . . . Eager-for-battle ghosts, misbehaving tower ravens, on-call dragons, spell-crafting elves, rat-stomping trolls, a tiny bit of necromancy, and a very heroic (if I do say so myself) half-troll who just happens to like crochet and classic TV. And even though this tale features a big old battle against evil, there's still plenty of Black's wry humor, fantastical mystery, and silly situations. (Because, okay, I did manage to sneak a peek at a draft of Black's manuscript . . . don't tell her).