The setting is not just Atlanta with vampires and werewolves but feels like a whole alternative universe. This, coupled with the huge variety of mythical and magical creatures that populate the novel, pushes Magic Bites more towards the fantasy end of the genre. Technology is a thing of the past and the skyscrapers that were a testimony to the engineering achievements of man are now just a ruined wasteland were the worst kind of magical outlaws hide. In the world of Magic Bites, magic has bitten huge chunks out of the city. Magic Bites is urban fantasy – its set in Atlanta – but not Atlanta as you would know it. Written in the popular dark urban fantasy genre with a strong female protagonist, Magic Bites could have ended up another Anita Blake derivative but with an original spin on vampire mythology and a snappy fast-paced mystery plotline there was no danger of that. Magic Bites is the debut novel of husband and wife writing team Ilona and Gordon Andrews known as Ilona Andrews. Pressured by both sides to find the killer, Kate realises she’s way out of her league – but she wouldn’t have it any other way. The Masters of the Dead, necromancers who can control vampires, and the Pack, a paramilitary clan of shapechangers, blame each other for the bizarre killings – and the death of Kate’s guardian may be part of the same mystery. But when Kate’s guardian is murdered, her quest for justice draws her into a power struggle between two strong factions within Atlanta’s magic circles. Kate Daniels is a down-on-her-luck mercenary who makes her living cleaning up these magical problems. But then technology returns, and the magic recedes as unpredictably as it arose, leaving all kinds of paranormal problems in its wake. When the magic is up, rogue mages cast their spells and monsters appear, while guns refuse to fire and cars fail to start.

Published 2007 260 pages Synopsis (from the back cover)Ītlanta would be a nice place to live if it weren’t for the magic….

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews