Detective Duarte Mysteries: Book 2
Reactionary Bewitchment
Jamie Sands
The case: a double murder covered up to look like suicides.
The best lead: … a rabbit?
Auckland Detective Jack Duarte and her still-green-behind-the-ears partner, Piper, are called to investigate a double murder and quickly discover that someone is actively targeting local mages for death. But why? Stuck with an orphaned pet rabbit who was the only witness to the murders and few other leads, Jack and Piper dig deeper into the local magical community to search for clues.
Everything goes off the rails when Emmaline, the psychic who helped Jack in the past and is her not-quite-but-maybe love interest, ends up in the cross-hairs of the murderers. Time is running out for Jack and Piper to find the culprits as the rising tide of anger against magic users starts to threaten everyone they both hold dear.
Meanwhile, both Jack and Piper are also facing their own personal challenges. Jack has to make some hard decisions about her future, including her job and her relationship with Emmaline. Piper juggles facing their own fears about magic with taking care of the eccentric rabbit witness (who isn’t quite as normal as it first appeared!). A visit to a secret magical-creature reserve has unexpected consequences, revealing just how imperilled and entangled the magic community is.
If Jack and her rag-tag team of underappreciated heroes are unable to bring the murderers to justice, more innocents will die, and the city’s paranormal denizens will have nowhere safe to turn when the cauldron of hate and fear boils over.
Some mysteries can only be solved if you break all the rules…