Review: Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge (Black London #1)

Street Magic (Black London #1)
Caitlin Kittredge
Published: 2009 (St. Martin’s)
Purchase at: Book Depository, B&N or Amazon

Rating (out of 5): 3.5 stars

Pete has spent 12 years convincing herself magic doesn’t exist. She saw her crush killed by something. Everyone told her Jack was dead, magic and ghosts don’t exist and she focused on facts. Years later she’s a Detective Inspector for Scotland Yard and she excels at her job.

Children are going missing in London. A tip comes in about where to find the first missing girl, alive, and Pete’s forced to play it out. The only problem? The tip comes from Jack. He’s angry with her and she’s baffled that he’s even alive. He’s not a ghost, mid you.

Magic is involved in kidnapping of the kids, and Pete needs help. Mage Jack gets wrangled into helping Pete get missing kids back from the Black. Only he’s been using heroin for the last 12 years to dampen his magic. In addition to being able to work magic, he also sees the dead. And they’re loud. His only way to cope has been a needle. Being a cop, Pete forces the guy to go cold turkey while she deals with his being alive, him antagonizing her and the realization that magic is real.

There’s excellent foreshadowing and a creative plot in Street Magic. The dynamic between Pete and Jack is gripping. At times it’s witty, others visceral, but always emotional. Caitlin Kittredge creates such a dynamic world with more questions than answers, which can only allow her Black London series to explode.

It took me longer than expected to read Street Magic (about a week). I enjoyed the book and the characters, but I’ll admit the British slang slowed my reading. It works perfectly within the world, just a learning curve for the first bit of the book. It was worth taking the time, though.